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?

Well it depends on whether it's a degree worth having doesn't it?

I found A levels harder than my degree or my master's.

Employers want a degree though.

I agree. I've done both and now doing a masters and found A levels the toughest. Obviously not academically tougher but required consistent and continued effort at an age where other distractions were more appealing.

Depends what you mean by "hard". Speaking as an interviewer at a company that recruits graduates (and has done for decades), we've found that A-levels are a better predictor than degree for how smart someone is, and degree results tend to be more correlated with hard work. Obviously people buck both trends - it's a weak correlation - but our "brainy but lazy" applicants tend to have sailed through A-levels without much effort but can't replicate that at degree level, whereas we see people who couldn't manage top A-levels still come out of uni with a first through hard work.

I wonder if it’s the difference in the way they’re taught? I’ve always struggled to retain classroom learnt information yet flourished on placement.

Agree with the jump from GCSE to A Level being the hardest! Degree was challenging in terms of being more of an independent learner rather than the actual content. A Levels do seem much harder now anyway, I teach an A Level subject and we’re studying things I didn’t learn until the third year of my degree...

I think there is a degree of truth in this.

I definitely found my A level year more stressful than my Degree finals year. It’s partly “not knowing where you will be next year and it all depends on the grades” though. (I did maths at Cambridge for the record.)

I do do graduate recruitment and do struggle with comparing (eg) a 2.1 from Nottingham with a 1st from Loughborough whilst A levels are very easy to compare. An A is always better than a B. So we do look at the A level results.

However - I wouldn’t recruit someone without a degree for one of my roles.

What I found was in psychology the basics are very hard to understand, which is what they cover during your A levels. It took me a long time to know my stuff. I found it easier doing my degree and doing more complex work because I already knew the basics really well, if that makes sense.

I have both. Good university and not a mickey mouse degree.

A Levels were harder.

A- Levels seem so easy compared to the Irish Leaving Certificate. I had to do 7 subjects. No course work either like the UK- just two years of learning and an exam based on your knowledge at the end of those two years. I hold a very good degree from a top Uni in Ireland and my Leaving Cert (in terms of stress) was so much harder. You also have to complete a second language and a science subject. Maths and English are mandatory (as is Irish if you arent exempt). They say if you can pass your Leaving Cert, you can do any degree. I believe it.

It's like comparing apples and pears though? Number of subjects versus different kind of thinking with more independent study etc.

Further Maths A-Level is extraordinarily difficult.

The only real reason to study for A levels is degree entry. It’s a very intense two years though, and the first two years of many degrees are quite relaxed in comparison.

Employers recruiting young people for non degree positions are more than happy with Btech/NVQ/National Apprenticeships instead of A levels:

www.allaboutschoolleavers.co.uk/articles/article/304/a-levels-vs-tech-levels

So he’s half right/half wrong!

Many people found their degree somewhat less challenging than their A levels. This is often spoken about.

I think it is partly due the way the different qualifications are delivered and assessed.

For example: Many degrees are not exam based, whereas most A levels are now exams at the end of two years.

Also - often on a degree the first year only has t be passed and doesn't count towards the grade. So students are usually a good couple of years or more older - so more experienced with studying and exams, a little more life experiences and just a bit more mature.

There are often factors that can make it seem this way.

I’d say my Maths A Level was a much more advanced level, or step up from GCSEs than my History and Geography ones were. Not all A Levels are equal. My degree was Criminology, which was harder than Geography and History A Levels but not the Maths A Level

A- Levels seem so easy compared to the Irish Leaving Certificate. I had to do 7 subjects. No course work either like the UK- just two years of learning and an exam based on your knowledge at the end of those two year

Most A levels are now 100% exam. Even where there is a coursework element it is usually only around 20%. Although there are still less subjects - usually 3, sometimes 4, rarely more - they are studied in more detail than the individual ones in those qualifications where there are several subjects.

When he says employers are looking at A levels rather than a degree I suspect he has heard that so many get 2.1s for their degrees nowadays that the employer has to look back at A level grades to differentiate between applicants sometimes

I think that is very true for some subjects.

A levels are harder by a mile

I did science a-levels and a science degree and I found my a-levels harder. I think because my memory isn’t great so memorising 2 years information for a final exam was difficult. I found it much easier doing coursework for a degree with exams at the end of a module.

I’m guessing he thinks employers then are just having a laugh when they say they want educated to degree level?

Your husband doesn’t have a degree does he, hence why he has this view. He’s not talking from a position of knowledge.

Does he even have a levels? I’d also guess he struggled there...?

A levels are harder and probably more intense, but degrees are whats looked at by employers, mainly

I agree with him 100%.

I hated A levels, I found them so uninspiring and hard. It was basically parroting information and other people’s opinions and if you didn’t parrot the information perfectly you didn’t get a good grade.

Studying for a degree was like a breath of fresh air, I was suddenly allowed to come to my own opinions, research them and make my own arguments. There was a lot more academic freedom and I loved it.

Did A levels in 2001-2003 and a degree 2004-2007.

When I was in the 6th form, admittedly a long time ago, the head said we would never have to work as hard again in our lives as we would for good A levels.

I got my degree in 1994. My A levels were by far harder. Four years after this I was helping a friend with their A levels and it was the same work we had done for GCSE. Can't comment on current situation though.