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 know several people who have multiple degrees and PHDs and they are either not working or in "hobby" jobs that pay basic wages such as museum work.
Personally I only do degrees that are actually needed for my job and prefer just to get stuck into a job and work my way up.
I did a nursing degree initially at 18 then later on when I became disabled a podiatry degree as it's a job I can do sitting down all day.
Doing a PHD would not improve my career whatsoever, I only need an MSc to get into management no higher qualifications than that needed.
I find most people I know (I'm sure there are exceptions if anyone bites me) who do PHDs for no other reason than they want to are just doing vanity projects and become "doctors" on a basic wage or just don't work at all.

@GreyishDays thanks for that - is it better than CiteThisForMe???

@formerbabe

Delayed adolescence and a reluctance to grow up usually

this. I do know a lot of people with several degrees, but there's also that obsessive 'degree gathering' Once worked with someone like this - she was complaining about not finding the right degree course in a fairly esoteric subject. I asked why she didn't just research and study the subject, why did she need a degree? She looked at me as if I was the one that was completely bonkers. I came to the conclusion that she thought degrees were a grown up equivalent of collecting brownie badges.

@JamieLeeCurtains

Also, some of these supposed 'degrees' are actually short modules or course components on much bigger degree courses.

And I can imagine that there may well be 'history of the wedding ring' somewhere as part of a highly regarded degree strand in Anthropology & Semiotics. Why not? University is about more than learning, it's about keeping knowledge alive and vibrant.

Exactly! My old university offered a module in knitwear design .... it was part of the highly regarded fashion and textiles degree which had amazing links to the textile industry.

I actually run a module that specifically looks at the history of higher education - this narrative around Mickey Mouse degrees both fascinates and infuriates me!

I think they don't want to settle down to an actual career.

I have a degree and a masters which are directly related and needed for my job. DH has a degree and a pgce which he doesnt use at all. He could have done his job out of school lol. I know many people with 2 degrees or a degree and 2 masters and they are still saying 'I cant find a job. Maybe I will go back to university and do X degree' which is usually as useless as their first 3 courses.

My first thought is usually 'how do they fund this?!?'. I was stoney broke throughout university and I had bank loans coming out of my ears (I went to university in a country with no govenrment help). Admittedly, I do also think they are hiding from reality and the slog of just getting a job and working your way up. They feel they shouldn't work for 24k with all their qualifications, yet they have no work experience.

in "hobby" jobs that pay basic wages such as museum work.

Museum work is hard to come by. The fact that it is poorly paid does not make it “a hobby job” if it is what you want to do.

Sometimes people study subjects because education and learning is a goal in itself, not because they think it’s a step up on a lucrative career ladder.

@lapitup
I'd say it is two degrees and a PG Cert.

I have a PGCE at Master's level, it's a PGCE not half a masters or a degree.

What is wrong with having a PG cert or PG diploma or graduate diploma?

I just feel jealous! It's pretty normal where I live and the area I work in to be honest.

Well if there was a jam making one I would have got that when I was 4 - my grandma was a cook and showed me how to pick my own berries and make jam (and tarts).

When you were making jam, how much did you understand about the chemistry and physics and the processes involved? Did you do detailed nutritional analysis of different types of jam? Did you do experiments on how to reduce the sugar content while still maintaining the preservation of the fruit? Did you look into the history of how humans first learnt that heating fruit with sugar would allow it to be kept for a long time? Did you do a comparison with other ways of preserving food and how people could have best improved their vitamin C intake over the winter months and prevent scurvy?

I've no idea if there's actually a degree course in jam-making, though I would assume it could come up in subjects on nutrition and so on, and I touched on it briefly in a module on history of food during my history degree. But I know learning to make something isn't the same as studying it at an academic level, and often when people talking of "Mickey Mouse degrees", they have no idea of what the courses might involve. As mentioned upthread, it's not easy to get a course accredited for a degree.

(I'd expect Mickey Mouse to come up in courses on animation, film, cultural history, among others.)

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

Depends whether or not they're in the same discipline. If so the trajectory from bachelor to master's to PhD is pretty standard. But a higher degree isn't a talisman you carry unchallenged through life. You're only as good as your last publication.

I REALLY don't 'get' doing two PhDs, and have known people who have done this. Provided you're in the same broad subject area (arts and humanities or science etc) why not just develop a new area of research and write a book?

Multiple first degrees in different subjects are not necessarily a worthwhile investment: it's more productive to build up at PG level. But one day (even if it's after I retire) I would very much love to do a degree in fine art. And not for any other reason than that I love drawing and painting and would like to develop this skill to a recognised level.

I have two degrees and a post-grad diploma but they are all in/related to the same subject and you can't be a solicitor (or couldn't then, you can do an apprenticeship now with A levels) without a bachelors' degree and a post graduate diploma.

Similar to teachers, although there are other options for people to become teachers, too.

Depending on the qualifications, brainy fucker or workshy bum or both?

[quote CandyLeBonBon]@GreyishDays thanks for that - is it better than CiteThisForMe??? [/quote]
Oh don’t know that one@CandyLeBonBon. It’s awesome though. You need to sync the app and the website, but that is the only annoyance. And it’s free.

Once worked with someone like this - she was complaining about not finding the right degree course in a fairly esoteric subject. I asked why she didn't just research and study the subject, why did she need a degree? She looked at me as if I was the one that was completely bonkers.

I came to the conclusion that she thought degrees were a grown up equivalent of collecting brownie badges.
I find this sort of attitude to be weird.

If someone wants to study a subject and learn from experts in their field then that's what they want to do. Higher study isn't the same as reading a few books and spending some time on Google. If I was discussing looking for a course and someone said 'why don't you just read' then I'd find their attitude quite disparaging, which is shown further by the comment about brownie badges.

I think highly of them and think they must be very clever. I desperately want to be like them but I'm too thick.

But LolaSmiles, not all of us want to take exams, write essays, or write dissertations in subjects we want to learn something about. I enjoy learning for the sake of finding out something new, but I don't enjoy studying for exams, so I can see EveryDayIsADuvetDay's point of view entirely.

I watch documentaries, attend webinars and visit museums because I am interested, but I don't want to necessarily get a piece of paper at the end of it.

"I have two degrees and a post-grad diploma "

Me too, but they're all quite useless.

"you can't be a solicitor (or couldn't then, you can do an apprenticeship now with A levels) without a bachelors' degree and a post graduate diploma."

Apparently not so long ago you could do 'your articles' and not need a degree. That's what I was told anyway.

@MayIJustAsk

I think highly of them and think they must be very clever. I desperately want to be like them but I'm too thick.

No sure if you're saying that tongue in cheek, but why put yourself down like that and put uxb a disparaging label onto yourself as "being thick". Ive known people who genuinely did leave school with no exam passes and went on to study nursing, teaching etc through higher ed. and it has changed their life chances.

Studying may not be something you want to spend your time doing, fine but to say it's because you're thick is very sad.

uxb = such

Once worked with someone like this - she was complaining about not finding the right degree course in a fairly esoteric subject. I asked why she didn't just research and study the subject, why did she need a degree? She looked at me as if I was the one that was completely bonkers.

I came to the conclusion that she thought degrees were a grown up equivalent of collecting brownie badges.

This is one of the most depressing things I've read on this thread.

I have worked with too many people who have a couple of masters in my job speciality who can't actually do the job.

@Ginfordinner

But LolaSmiles, not all of us want to take exams, write essays, or write dissertations in subjects we want to learn something about. I enjoy learning for the sake of finding out something new, but I don't enjoy studying for exams, so I can see EveryDayIsADuvetDay's point of view entirely.

I watch documentaries, attend webinars and visit museums because I am interested, but I don't want to necessarily get a piece of paper at the end of it.

And that's fine. Nobody is saying you have to do a degree but you need accept that it is different to doing your own research and reading around the subject.

Watching documentaries and visiting galleries or museums is in no way comparable to studying a subject at degree level. It just isn't and is insulting to academics, students and graduates to suggest it is.

As for the Brownie Badge comment ... well that's just beyond ridiculous.

But LolaSmiles, not all of us want to take exams, write essays, or write dissertations in subjects we want to learn something about. I enjoy learning for the sake of finding out something new, but I don't enjoy studying for exams, so I can see EveryDayIsADuvetDay's point of view entirely.

I watch documentaries, attend webinars and visit museums because I am interested, but I don't want to necessarily get a piece of paper at the end of it.

Good for you, but as I've said studying a higher degree isn't the same as reading and watching documentaries.

You seem to have the idea that your learning is pure and noble learning but anyone studying a higher degree is only learning for a 'piece of paper'.

SueEllenMishke You're right it is insulting.
Although it's funny to know that the years I spent doing a research degree are considered to be just a piece of paper and could have been easily been achieved by watching some documentaries and going to museums.

@OhTheRoses

I have worked with too many people who have a couple of masters in my job speciality who can't actually do the job.

And sadly I have worked with many who fail to see or understand the value of continuous learning. I wouldn’t take on anyone who couldn’t demonstrate a curiosity and desire to seek out answers, who felt they had the knowledge and didn’t need anything more. Nobody wants stagnant staff.

Although it's funny to know that the years I spent doing a research degree are considered to be just a piece of paper and could have been easily been achieved by watching some documentaries and going to museums.

Exactly.... why does my university bother paying me to teach when everyone can just do it by themselves 🤷🏼‍♀️

As a university student you have access to more information - text books are hideously expensive and journals are often behind a paywall but as a student you get access to these as part of your tuition fees. There's a chance you'll be taught be people who are contributing knowledge to the sector and are writing the books and journals. You get to debate ideas with academics and other students, you learn how to research and think critically and develop informed arguments......
but yeah, watching a documentary is just as good.