To ask if BSc Exercise Science is a good degree?

[holiday101]

Dd17 is very bright, predicted 10 A/A grades at GCSE and insists on the above degree. Her first choice is Exeter where the grade requirements are AAA, which is on par (or higher!) than medicine. In my heart it sounds slightly media studies, but don't know of anyone who has done it rather than Sport s Science (some unis combine them). I am not in favour of a degree for the sake of it as the dc will have to be heavily subsidised funded by us for living costs. My physio did Sport Science and said he was told by careers officer that it would open so many doors but it was merely a stepping stone degree and I read ES will be the same.
AIBU to be wary of this course?

If she’s getting all A’s and A*s then definitely I’d go for a more ‘pure’ science. There are modules as someone said above that can be used as tasters for other stuff. We all had to do the first year of the chemistry degree as well as all our stuff (double degree) and so we couldn’t pick much but I thoroughly enjoyed parasitology. :)

She’s clearly getting the grades and so she would be served better (in my opinion) by a rigorous science degree first then specialising.

I’d also say to her, as someone who has spent yonks at uni, that sometimes stuffyou didn’t expect really grabs you. It’s MUCH easier to follow that ‘wow, so parasitology is fun’ bug if you have that less restricted degree to begin with.

The specialisation and restriction is needed, but later. Definitely look at programs with years abroad or in industry - I didn’t do this and it’s a big regret of mine. Everyone I know who did is years ahead in their career.

If she is going to bother with a degree then she needs to do one that is seen as a "solid" STEM one as others have stated then specialise in the sports stuff after. It's a better plan for her life as she may want to change careers anyway later in life. Example my hubby studied Law but then ended up in accountancy/banking/finance roles. His initial degree was considered enough of a traditional profession for him to be able to have a flexible career which would make a good salary in the long-term. Just my two cents!

I trained as a PT, I was about 35 when I started. I had to train as an exercise to music teacher or gym instructor to access the PT course. It's a very competitive world and you need to have a good fitness level and keep up with research to be successful. Many gyms are now opting for virtual classes where no instructor is present and pay is between £20-30ph and unsocial.
Specialist coaches and instructors (ie Olympic standard, F1 etc )also have a degree, MSc, PhD.
I'd say the degree your DD is looking at is a stepping stone, very few degrees are enough these days without further study in research. MSc loans are now available but it would still be a financial commitment for you.
Could you pay for a business coach to have a session with her to explore exactly what she wants to achieve?
I don't believe you can qualify as a PT in a weekend, mine took many months, but if you can it's not worth the paper it's printed on!

I agree with the gap year suggestion. No point trying to change her mind, but she would be better off getting some work experience first.

Retired recruiter here, for specialist healthcare roles which required a excellent science degree ... and who got very tired of candidates insisting that sports/exercise science "really did count"

I completely agree with Yarnswift about the perception around lack of rigour, though obviously it depends on the student's career plans. Given the hopes of being an American football coach - and this from a student who doesn't even play sports - I'd say a gap year spent getting experience in the field, hopefully followed by a more focused degree, would be much the better option

I know an American football coach. One of the best in the country, played from a child until injury put him out. In the UK you don’t get paid for it and certainly couldn’t make a career off it, in the US you work like a dog for 9 months, 3 months no pay AND you can be sacked after one poor game. It is a very competitive cut throat industry.

I wouldn't choose a degree like this simply as it sounds limiting.

She's clearly clever and applied to the finest university in the World I might be biased - ex-lecturer but there are better universities for a subject like this (Loughborough) and unless the degree includes necessary vocational qualifications, it doesn't sound to me like the smartest move.

A more traditional qualification is easily topped up with other qualifications after graduation.

You only get one subsidised shot at university. If your DD's current career plans don't require a degree she shouldn't do one. Her A-level grades will guarantee her a place at university when she is ready - even if that is in 10 or 20 years.

She will need to think up a backup plan for what her career will be if illness, injury or old age stops her from being quite so active, so being able to do a degree as part of changing career would be an excellent way to get it going.

Sports/Exercise Science is a lot more respectable than "Sports Studies" - I would be wary of the latter but the science version isn't far off being a combined degree in human biology, physiology and psychology.

Why not do a combined degree, so Exercise and Sport Sciences combined with something more rigorous.

Excellent suggestion from Walkingdead. Exeter has a Flexible Combined Honours degree which means your degree can be in Whatever and Exercise and Sports Science. Keeps options open and everyone happy.

Lots of food for thought, thank you all. Will check out the combined options.

@holiday101 i went to Exeter. She'll get interviews for jobs just based on the uni let alone the degree.

You can make a decent enough living in fitness instructing alone if you’re good and run your own classes, and don’t work for a gym. However, you don’t need a degree for it - she sounds like she has the world at her feet and could do so much more than teach Pilates in a village hall!

Personally I’d let her do it as a) it sounds awesome and b) it’s such a wide field, she will find something she likes that will make her enough money and c) Exeter is a fantastic uni. I’d have loved it

Just had a thought (sorry, been thinking about this loads because it really is a big regret of mine, I would have loved to have gone to uni to do this degree) - would it be possible for her to speak to any current students on the course (in any of the years) or any past students? Don't know if Exeter would be able to set anything like that up, or a more local uni, somewhere else that does it. Or, is there a careers centre. Don't know if Connections still exists (that was about when I was looking) or something similar to that.

I sometimes find it crazy you're meant to be able to decide and know what you want to do with the rest of your life when you're 16 or 17.

Also, if she wants to work in sports coaching in the USA, the course with the year in the USA would be very useful for the connections she could possibly build through that.

If she really wants to do coaching, she can get experience in that maybe in the summer holidays. I don't know if it still runs but I coache on something called Spar Track (Star Track when it wasn't sponsored by them). I did that when I was 16 and 17. So I was coaching a group of 6-13 year olds at a leisure centre (I was an assistant coach), and I had a folder with coaching materials in it and did the learning along the way. Also, there is a national lifeguarding qualification which a lot of people like to get as it opens doors for a lot of jobs, and that's something that's very separate to uni and a lot of people do it when they are 16/17/18 from what I know.

How about something like Natural Sciences as a degree. It's often possible to take some sport modules alongside more traditional science subjects within that kind of programme.

Thanks again for the replies, they have been very helpful. Last night I showed her the thread and she is keen on the FCH option. For those in the know, would that make you more employable? I assume for example it would be 50% chemistry and 50% ES, so is that enough 'rigour'?

holiday my field was recruitment rather than academia, but in such a situation I might well probe why a candidate chose a particular course and look for something ... a background of interest in sports, perhaps, or maybe volunteering in the field - to support the answers

From what you've told us it just doesn't seem to be there and the focus on the exercise science appears to be more a case of "fancying it" and a dream of something that really hasn't been researched in any great depth

It's got to be your DD's decision of course, but I'm not sure this is something I'd be happy to finance on the above basis

No stick to the traditional as they will be more valued.

The Exeter degree is similar to many others.

Does she particularly want to go to Exeter? Because if still open to different universities, I would strongly encourage her to look at the exercise and sports courses at Loughborough

www.lboro.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/study-areas/sport-exercise-and-health-sciences/

because their reputation is seriously good, and will automatically carry more weight with employers in related sectors.

Agree with Rose - makes a huge difference to employers particularly in the first few years.

Couldn't she do a PT course and work as one to put herself through university studying something worthy of her brains? I wouldn't be funding a non subject degree for my DD that is for sure.

A proper science or physiotherapy degree will allow her to specialise in sports at a later date but still have a solid impressive grounding.

With those grades she should be able to do it at a Russell Group uni.

Much more impressive than a sports science degree which screams personal trainer.

It would be strange for someone to do this particular degree without background in sport at a decent level.

That said, Exeter, along with Loughborough and Birmingham, are known as the top unis for Sport Science, so having a degree from Exeter would have an intrinsic value per se, due to the calibre of the institution.

Like others, I'd encourage her to consider a more "solid" option, given the academic ability she clearly has. My eldest did a degree in Sport and Exercise Science, but this was back in 2009 when fees were much lower; she was adamant that sport was the only thing that interested her (and was competing at national level in her events - international level with her club). Given the dearth of jobs for school leavers, and the fact that apprenticeships were not really an option back then, I encouraged her to do the course she wanted - if nothing else she would have a degree and have a good time growing up and standing on her own two feet.

She graduated and worked in the sports industry for a while - long hours and low pay. Now she is a primary teacher and enjoying it - coaching athletics in her spare time. One of her friends did a Masters and is now a sports scientist with the England Cricket team, but it took a few years of further study and unpaid internships for that to happen. A lot of graduates from this degree become PE teachers. She needs to think very carefully.

My younger daughter was very similar to yours in terms of GCSE grades; she read Physics at a Russell Group uni, and I was happy that she picked a robust option. She is now happily training as a Medical Physicist.

Plenty of time to consider her options, so it's good that you've raised this at this stage.