DP has just declared that A'levels are harder than a degree.

[supersop60]

And that's what employers are looking for.
AIBU to think he's a twit?

My a levels involved course work and one exam to test the whole two years. In that respect it was much harder as you had to go back to stuff that wasnt recent. My two degrees were easier as assignments and exams were more regular and recent. I suppose it depends on your learning style.
Plus my degrees were my passion. My a levels were a ticket to get me there.

I don’t think it’s a stealth boast, it was just my own experience really. I know not everyone is the same or finds things easy and I was also quite lazy and did just what I had to to progress. I also appreciate that as a one year course Scottish highers are not as difficult or cover as much ground as A levels and then when I went to uni I did a degree that was in a subject I hadn’t studied at school, so no real comparison with school subjects I guess :)

I agree with your dp to a point...a levels are exams that require knowledge. A lot of uni courses don't have exams. To pass a levels is to know shit, to pass a degree is to know how to reference other people's shit

But of course that entirely depends on what course you're doing!

GCSEs are harder than A levels and a degree. I was made to sit 13 GCSEs and loathed more than half as they were subjects I was dreadful at. A levels I got to choose and were in subjects I enjoyed. Loved everything about my degree which was 3 years of reading 3 books a week - heaven - and writing a lot of essays on things I was fascinated by. You couldn’t pay me to do a maths or science GCSE again. Most miserable days of my life.

honeyloops doing 5 A levels is entirely not typical, though. Most do 3. Adding 2 extra subjects would increase the workload but what we are talking about is the level of study, not the quantity of work.

I have both and found a levels much easier. Uni was a piece of piss.

A levels were harder for me

Sorry i meant a levels much HARDER. Not easier.

Anne you are talking about whether it was unpleasant or not. That you enjoyed your degree more than GCSE maths Doesn’t mean that your degree was objectively easier than GCSE.

A levels were harder, but employers want degrees

When I was st school we were always told A levels were more difficult because the transition to them was harder. A levels to degree was an easier transition.

Personally I found my degree easier than my A levels

I don’t think finding a degree relatively easy means it was an easy course. It’s probably down to being able to choose something you’re passionate about devoting several years to it.

It’s a privilege to nerd out about a topic or topics you love and put off real life for a while. I’ve had several jobs I’ve loved but university was the period of joy between the grind of school, much of which was fucking miserable, and the responsibility of full time work.

I found my A levels harder but I think that was because of the bigger jump from what was expected of me at GCSE. It meant I was already better primed for my degree and the first two years involved a huge amount of socialising over Uni work (or employed work) so yes, I found my degree easier.

Veterinary medicine and surgery degree - far hard than A-levels the volume of stuff to learn 10 times greater, exams incredibly intense in those days a week of exams every term so 23 hours of exams a term. No spare gaps in the day to study 9-5 lectures and practicals every day accept Wednesday when it was the easy 9-1. I slogged my guts out for 5 years and graduated with a mean score of 54%.
Post grad certificate 2 years studying on top of full time work blew vet school out of the water for how hard it was.
A-level were a walk in the park even though my Maths A-level had one paper 100 questions in 90 mins.

I got straight As at A Level and have a 2:1 in a humanities subject from a very well regarded university.

I definitely worked harder at my A Levels.

I definitely learned more “skills” in my degree.

Well it doesn't really matter what he thinks does it? Employers aren't going to be asking his advice before they interview candidates.

There's no right answer, some will find degrees easier, some won't and each employer will decide what they are looking for

I think he's right that Alevels are harder in that you start on them at 16 following GCSE, which in comparison to real academic work are really very easy. The step up from GCSE to Alevel is much much harder than that from Aleve to degree. The degree should show far greater depth of understanding and usually some original work but is generally more achievable imo.

It's not true that employers value Alevels above a degree though.

I agree with the headline in terms of juggling subjects etc, but in terms of what employers are looking for he's talking shit

PhD in science, A levels way harder. Never had an employer ask for my A level results though.

I found the jump from GCSEs to A Level the hardest than the jump from A A Level to first year degree level. This was in the sciences from a reputable red brick in the mid 90s. Obviously the content was harder at degree level but there was less juggling multiple and disparate subjects and by the time I started uni I had already developed a lot of the core analytical/problem solving skills/ good writing style etc. Degree level felt like a continuation of A Levels in a way. Wheee as GCSEs felt like a doddle once I'd started A Levels.

Depends on the degree, but I found my English degree much less hard work than my A levels.

But obviously, a degree is what employers want as you will have been taught critical and analytical skills.

Obviously no employer is going to advertise a job as requiring a degree, then say ‘yeah, okay, they’re actually harder after all’ when someone pitches up with just A levels. So that much is nonsense, if that’s what ‘what employers are looking for’ is supposed to mean.

Difficult though - three or more potentially unrelated subjects, one or more of which you may come to bitterly regret during the two years ... vs a more coherent course of study in a subject you’re more likely to have chosen correctly? That’s not quite so clear. I know I’d rather do my English degree all over again than A levels maths ...

On the other hand while it may feel easier, it can be that someone is working at a much higher level without really noticing. I have A level and degree English essays still kicking about, and the difference between what I wrote at 17 is vastly different to what I wrote at 20.

Found A levels very easy, though I only did three. I could have easily done 4 but this was discouraged by the college I went to.

Degree was definitely harder. Masters was hardest I've done though.

I found my degree (social work) very easy and enjoyable, I wonder did this is because I had a passion for the subject? Possibly.

I struggled so mich with my GCSE’s and A-Levels, I did well at GCSE but hated A-Levels and really struggled. Ended up dropping out and doing an access course which I found difficult.

I’m doing my masters in September again another subject I’m so passionate about so will do well I should imagine.

I have a degree in psychology. It was harder at A level than at university