What do you think of ppl with multiple degrees/qualifications etc?

[lapitup]

What do you think of a person when you hear they have a more than average amount of degrees/postgrads/masters etc and qualifications?

Do you think...good for them,they must be smart,have ambition, drive etc!

Or.

Do you think...god could they not make their mind up and/or stick to something??

I dropped out of uni after the first term
Did a L7 PGDip at 45 having returned to work at 43. Worked full time, managed house and two DC while doing it.
My DH treated me to the Masters the following year :). Am now 60 and contemplating a PhD when I retire.

DS has first degree, Masters and about to start PhD

DD Going into final year and considering a Masters.

DH has first degree and professional quals.

I have a degrees and two masters and numerous level 7 awards ( relevant to my profession). I love studying.
I intend to study for a PHD in the next few years.
However, I have always worked.
I am sometimes judgy about people ( usually men) who are ‘eternal students’ particularly when they are married with children. It just strikes me as being lazy.

I think just like I do about anyone else. What is the individual person's behaviour and attitude like. That's all I generally care about when it comes to people.

Pursuing additional degrees/qualifications is no different than any other hobby or pastime. Some people enjoy expanding on their field of knowledge, some enjoy the challenge of study, some want to broaden their horizons, some want to explore new opportunities. Lots of people decide on a career change later in life - perhaps after redundancy, bereavement, or a divorce. A significant change in life circumstances is often what prompts people to retrain.

I’ve got quite a few degrees and postgrad and professional qualifications. I’ve worked full time while studying for every one so I’m certainly not workshy!

I love learning and I love challenging myself. I’m halfway through a professional doctorate. I have plans for what I want to study after that. I know it’s not entirely normal (most people can’t be bothered!). I was told to leave school on my 16th birthday by my religious parents who disagreed with education; I think it’s something to do with that, perhaps I’d have gone done one degree and left it that otherwise. Or perhaps I’d still be like this 🤷🏻‍♀️

@doopdeepduup:

At 18 I was given bad advice about what to study at uni and went against my gut. It was languages at a decent uni because I was good at it (languages teacher in 6th form pushed for it). But I had wanted to be a primary school teacher all my life and should have stuck to my gut feeling and done a primary B.Ed.. Needless to say, the languages degree wasn't for me and I soon dropped out, was really lost in terms of advice available (this was pre-internet days), lost all my confidence, had a year out and rushed into a niche degree without too much thought as my mum was panicking that I was a dropout with no prospects and ready for a life on the dole . That did me ok for a number of years but the field is shrinking and job prospects and salaries are low.

There is always a "what if....." there in my head about the primary teaching. So I am always interested in these kind of threads and wondering how other people have managed it. At 47 I do feel that I've missed my chance now. The pay off wouldn't be worth the aggro or cost, DH works 60-70 hour weeks, the kids are in the middle of A-levels & GCSEs, and my parents have serious health issues. Plus when newly qualified it would be a drop in salary from what I'm on now. You need a lot of energy & time for primary teaching, it's difficult to secure a job and schools tend to go for energetic youngsters, not menopausal women wondering what might have been...... I couldn't manage a PGCE, I know a lot of people who have done it who didn't have the ties I do and were much younger, and they found it the most difficult year of their life, so it would have to be a B.Ed.

I think I've come to terms with it, and then a thread like this pops up and gets me thinking.

I study a lot - I have a few degrees, just starting another, and a whole list of other 'qualifications'.

I have four DC who are all school age now and well taken care of. Keeping the house straight doesn't take much time, even from a wheel chair. I'm disabled, mentally and physically, and stuck at home. I'm unemployable. I study to keep my overactive mind entertained to stave off disagreeable thoughts. If I can get student finance for it, I'll study it. If a college is offering a free course online, I'll do it.

I guess it isn't moral to take student finance for these things when I know I won't ever use the qualifications (and therefore wont pay the finance back), but the health care system has left me to rot so I'm taking what I can from the student finance system instead.

It’s not at all unusual in the field I work in. People have to be technically qualified, and mostly they will have a PhD (as well as undergrad/masters). Plus a slew of professional qualifications - all of which are needed to practice. It’s not uncommon for them to subsequently do a law degree/masters (and sometimes even a second PhD). Or alternatively to do a MBA.

@BabyDubsEverywhere I don’t think that unethical at all. Then again I don’t believe education is a purely economic tool. Good for you and every luck to you in your learning

Who are all these employers funding uni qualifications, out of interest?

I was awarded a scholarship for my MSc because I was from an underrepresented group.
Everything else has been paid for by the various universities I've worked for.

@RJnomore1 thank you!

I'd think good for them I'd be interested in finding out more about what they'd done and why (because I'm generally nosy!).

My first undergrad degree gained me access to my second degree. Plus I fully anticipate doing postgraduate qualifications when graduate, to facilitate specialisation in a particular area.

Definitely not a work shy bum though; I've worked pt throughout all my studies, plus birthed and am raising two children concurrently.

That they're rich. Education isn't cheap.

@Plussizejumpsuit I haven't paid for any either of my 2 degrees or postgraduate certificates.

@Plussizejumpsuit

That they're rich. Education isn't cheap.

There are loans and grants available. Lots of people work full-time and study, part-time evenings and weekends. Just like any other hobby. Some choose to spend their money on courses instead of pubs, new clothes, holidays, and restaurants.

Some choose to spend their money on courses instead of pubs, new clothes, holidays, and restaurants.

And some people can just afford the rent, bills and food and will never have the money to choose to spend on courses, holidays, new clothes, restaurants etc. It'd be very naive to deny that money doesn't have anything to do with being able to do degrees.

Who are all these employers funding uni qualifications, out of interest?

It tends to be blue-chip companies with large budgets for staff development. Or the training budget for Graduate Schemes, Interships. Plus being in the right place at the right time helps a lot!

Internships

[quote lapitup]@Plussizejumpsuit I haven't paid for any either of my 2 degrees or postgraduate certificates. [/quote]
Great! But overall that's rare. My point about education being expensive still stands.

@SheepandCow your post comes across as patronising.

I'm aware of this as I did exactly this to get my masters (which I got a distinction for) I worked, went without loads of stuff and still did loads of free work to get a job in my field. My partner did the same, with us taking ylturns to get our masters. I didn't have a holiday abroad with my partner until we had been together 9 years.

When I did my MA there were no student finance loans only loan offered by banks. I'm aware this has changed now. But even though this us the case it is still incredibly expensive to study at university level. Especially doing it more than once. Even though I had a loan it was financially almost crippling for us. So to flippantly say you could just get a loan multiple times isn't particularly realistic for most people. Therfore I'd still say the majority of people who can afford multiple degrees are not exactly poor.

I work in research and I am under educated compared to my colleagues. I have an BSc, a PgDip, an MSc, a Level 8 social science professional qual and I am about to start my PhD. Still earn under 40k a year though.

My mum works in Asda, my dad is a gardener. I am not rich or from a privileged background but have had scholarships and funding due to studying STEM subjects but self funded approx 11k myself. It isn't always the feckless or financially privilieged who access lots of education. Sometimes you have to study that much to work in your field. The contribution we make at my place of work towards public health is as a direct result of being highly educated. We couldn't do our jobs without it.

• a BSc - (still haven't bern taught to proofread yet )

I’m one of those multi qualified people. BSc, MSc, PhD all in the same field, becoming more specialised, then professional qualifications eg: Chartership and Fellowship of my professional body.

I’m old enough, and my parents ooor enough, that I did my undergraduate degree in the last cohort for which fees and maintenance were fully funded all the way through. My MSc fees/maintenance were paid by a combination of industrial grant and research council funding. I applied for a PhD studentship from a research council whilst I was working in an actual paying job(!) (relevant to the MSc), having already secured a potential supervisor at the university I did my MSc at. I was awarded full fees and maintenance! So 7 years of studying cost me nothing. I was fortunate with my year of birth, and being a girl in engineering didn’t hurt. You’ll be please to know that I have either worked in the public sector, or fir public sector clients, ever since. UK plc are recouping their investment in me!

I could have had a doctorate then if I hadn’t been to so many pubs and restaurants 😂😂😂 funny idea of what it is to grow up in poverty. You should be proud of all your qualifications multiple or not, I’m sure you worked hard for them ☺️

I paid for my initial degree (starting at the age of 24) with bank loans. My second, (at 35) I agreed a payment plan with the university. I have other qualifications which employers have paid for me. And this current one, (age 41) my employers offered me as part of an employment/retraining package, which I really couldn't refuse.

I will pay for the next one myself, probably through payment plans and saving between now and then. I am planning ahead for that now.

@CurlyhairedAssassin I am sorry that you have had this experience. I am a primary school teacher, so I know exactly what you are talking about. I am a couple of years younger than you and currently retraining to a different pedagogy and it is so much harder than studying in my 20's and 30's! (For example, I was up at 4am this morning, to get on top of admin things before the kids woke up). It just wouldn't be possible if my DH was working the hours yours is, as it really does require teamwork. I was denied the chance of education as a teen (I was in care and left, with good grades at 16 but that was the end of school for me) and so as soon as I could, I started with night classes. I never really stopped, because I really wanted to educate myself. I chose the wrong degree and my grades reflected that. I continued so I had finished, but never felt proud of it. So I started again, and this time did what I wanted to study. DH also wanted to do a degree, and so pre kids, we did it together, around our jobs Now that we have a (big) family and the kids are our focus (plus we live in a different country to our family, so no outside support), we take turns to study, and give the studying person the Sunday to work the whole day.
We have always used the how to eat an elephant approach. Slowly, one mouthful at a time.
DH is 46 and contemplating his next move.

I am sure that you will guide your kids through their choice and encourage them to follow what their heart tells them too!

(I always wonder about art studies. If I had been eligible for funding, I would have love to study that. DD is a great artist and I secretly hope she follows this!)

@Plussizejumpsuit
I don't understand how my post was patronising? I was just pointing out that it's not only rich people who study for more than one degree. There have always been part-time and evening options. Some people might choose to spend their money on study rather than other leisure activities including pubs, holidays, or new clothes. Some can afford both. Both options are equally valid. We all have different preferences and neither is more worthy than the other.

I agree it's harder to an extent now. In the past people could study and claim benefits, and also the Open University used to much more affordable and accessible. I think it was the Blair government that changed that.