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 work in academia so multiple qualifications are common.
I started off in psychology but have moved on and now actually work with mainly Engineers and Computer Scientists via an MBA and a few other bits and pieces. It’s all useful though!

Working lives are so long now that it will become more common. If you have a career spanning 50+ years then retraining is to be expected.

My father recently did a new postgrad in his 70’s (he still works through choice).

I probably should name change for this... bit sod it.
I’ve written 2 people’s MBAs but don’t have one myself. Bearing in mind I don’t do the course - it will be based on someone’s very dodgy writing.

What I’m trying to say is - some people are good at writing and analysing some people are not. It’s not really a signifier of intelligence

DH has three degrees. A BSc and PhD in his field, and an MBA that he was made to do by his boss. The MBA hasn't opened any doors for him as his science degrees are very specialised, and DH is well known as an expert in his field.

Other than DH I don't know anyone else with more than two degrees.

There are some very clever mumsnetters on this thread.

Since my fantasy retirement is to earn at least one completely unnecessary degree, I tend to think of people with multiple degrees as driven and interesting.

I know a lot of people with multiple degrees. I am somewhat lagging at the back with a measly two! I would say only one of them is work shy and suffering from a delayed adolescence, the rest are all ambitious, intelligent people who have sought out opportunities to better themselves professionally and personally.

I'd be curious about the subjects they chose and what motivated them.

I have a BSc and BA (completely different fields), a postgrad (another field), and I'm starting another BA (another field) this year. I've never had a proper job (and I don't want one), but I run a small business. I just love studying and I'm interested in all different kinds of subjects. I'm not from a wealthy background - I've been on benefits as a disabled single mum when doing one of my degrees, and received scholarships for the postgrad and my current BA. If the government continue allowing student loans for second degrees in STEM subjects, I might try one of those after finishing this BA...

If I win the lottery I’m going to go back and read Eng Lit full time. I tossed a coin with my u/g and often imagine how life might have been different.
My postgrads have all been part time whilst in full time employment, although they were fully funded. Working and studying is bloody tough!

I am doing a hobby second degree at 47 as I fancied a change of pace after 25 years working in finance.
It's law, so probably useful even if I have no desire to be a lawyer , but I enjoy it regardless. Better than spending 2 years playing golf I suppose.

@Gobelinoisawitchescat

Lol, what is it a signifier of then, below average intelligence? You sound very jealous

I think that they must really enjoy learning but I don't think it makes them smarter than a person with one set of degree and masters. I also think that some of the learning may be a waste if they can't use it careerwise and those years were sort of wasted if they do need to be a wage slave. However, if they are well off and love learning then great.

It depends on what they are in - all in the same area and showing clear progression is good but if they have several unrelated degrees I wonder why they hadn't stuck to a more defined path. It's OK to have a degree in one subject as a graduate and then change direction later on but not to do it repeatedly.

I have two degrees. BA(honours) and then did masters course without completing a dissertation so got Postgraduate diploma (which I'm told is equivalent to a degree without honours).

It allows me when working in this role to be registered with a professional body.

One was funded through SFE and I'm paying back through my wage, MA (with PGDip qual) was through NHS bursary.

I hated study so def wasn't fun but it got me to my eventual career aim so was worth it!

Interesting. People on here talking as bout multiple ' degree level qualifications'. Do you mean professional courses considered equivalent to a bachelor's or masters degree level?
Post doc fair enough, which would take you to 3 or 4, but just doing a bachelor's in 9 unrelated subjects, why bother?

My mum has loads. A degree and a masters and several post grad diplomas. But all in the same general field, each giving her a different specialism. I think she's awesome, in the original sense of the word.

Delayed adolescence and a reluctance to grow up usually

Ha! Definitely true in my case I love learning and hate working (in the traditional sense) so I keep collecting qualifications alongside doing a bit of freelance work as and when I fancy.

Before I retired I was a teacher.

I got a BA, worked for a bit. Maggie made me redundant and so I did a PGCE and became a technology teacher.

Towards the end of my career, during a performance management interview, my reviewer suggested that it might be a good idea to do an MEd.

I wasn’t struck on that idea, it would have cost me, not been that much use in the winter of my career either to me or pupils.

I said that a plumbing qualification would be more use to me. (Which it would have been - and to the school as I was the departments de facto odd job man when not teaching.)

Sadly I wasn’t taken up on my request!

DH and I both have a Bachelor’s and a Master’s. We both worked for several years before going back for our Master’s degrees so it definitely wasn’t delayed adolescence, plus we’re still
paying off student loans! For DH, it signified a change in career direction, plus the chance to study at a prestigious university. For me, it was about further learning and boosting my CV with a graduate degree from a very prestigious university.

I’d like to do another one, because I enjoy learning. So would DH, I think he fancies getting a Ph.D. when he’s retired.🤣

I have 3 degrees though no Ph.D. Most of my friends have 2, though I have one friend with 5. All of us started with a first undergraduate degree in a STEM subject. Generally, any degrees gained after 25 we worked while doing them.

It depends what they do, doesn't it? I know loads of academics, so multiple degrees is normal. In some prifessions, it's normal to have to take extra qualifications for progression. Some people change careers to a different field. I work in IT, where it's not uncommon for women to be more formally qualified than their male peers, and also are much more likely to have had a more varied and interesting career path than just IT at school, IT at uni, IT at work and never had any broader horizons.

Mostly, I'd be interested in what they've done and where, because I like knowing what makes people tick.

I'm curious - the people saying they would view it as people avoiding work/too much spare time/lots of money - do you also think that of research scientists where a PhD, often preceded by a masters, is a career requirement?

What is a hobby degree?
Is it one covering a subject like Knitting or Model Making or Jigsaws or something like that?

5 degrees here. Undergrad, masters then PhD in one field in my 20s., 15 years in that role. Then retrained, had to go back and do a foundation undergrad then a grad to be in my new role (which I fucking hate).

Deffo not avoiding growing up or work... it was a hard hard hard grind to retrain in my 40s.

@Megan2018

I work in academia so multiple qualifications are common. I started off in psychology but have moved on and now actually work with mainly Engineers and Computer Scientists via an MBA and a few other bits and pieces. It’s all useful though!

Working lives are so long now that it will become more common. If you have a career spanning 50+ years then retraining is to be expected.

My father recently did a new postgrad in his 70’s (he still works through choice).

I expect your father's studies and work are a contributory factor to his health - good for him!