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??

My first degree and postgrad were done full time and the rest all part time (whilst working full time). Next one will be part time whilst I work part time (ha bloody ha, if you count 40+ hours a week part time).

I wish I could do another degree and have looked into doing one on Open University. Sadly it is just so insanely expensive. It’s not something my employer would fund. I think it’s such a shame it has to cost SO much. I do read into my area of interest but I’d love to study it in a more structured way. It’s assumed people only want a degree to further their career but what if you just enjoy learning and want to do that in any spare time you have.
I don’t generalise about anyone who has lots of degrees. I think people get irritated by people doing Masters etc - I’ve heard them disparagingly called “an eternal student”. I think it’s a weird kind of jealousy and people wanting to dictate how others should live their lives.

I’ve saved for this one. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for getting in 25 years!

I’ve literally never thought about it but I guess I’d think they had a keen mind that loved learning and they possibly had money 😁 overall I’d think well done them.

I know an extreme case where it is reluctance to grow up. Nearly 40-year-old man who has been studying all his adult life, is subsidised by his low-paid pensioner-aged council-house dwelling mother, who only has to work so he can be supported. Admittedly I'm not sure that he's the kind of perpetual student who actually has multiple degrees, as I think he quite frequently fails to complete/pass them, and I doubt he was proper university material in the first place.

Obviously there are cases where multiple degrees make sense, if they all support the same path, or maybe there's been one switch of direction. But there definitely are people for whom being a full-time student, subsidised by someone, on a path to nowhere, is preferable to becoming a self-supporting adult.

I notice some of the defensive people with multiple degrees on this thread are struggling to assimilate the idea that not all cases are the same.

Obviously people working in relevant jobs while studying don't fall into the category of professional students.

Honestly envious. I managed to get a great degree before having my DD but if I had unlimited time and money I would most definitely be an eternal student. I find so many subjects intriguing and want to know more. I managed to become fluent in another language and love the feeling not just the mastery of the language but a deeper understanding of the culture, which leads onto so many other things (like all subjects do when you get in depth).

So yeah, basically envious :)

@sashh

I’ve got 3, a bachelors, masters and a postgrad certificate

I wouldn't say that was three degrees, and I also wouldn't say 'degree level' qualifications were degrees either.

I did an HNC while working full time and getting day release which was normal for that job at that time.

I didn't go to uni until I was in my 30s so it wasn't to do with delaying anything.

I've now got a degree, a Dip (HE) two teaching qualifications (one at master's level) and I have just about to start my third unit on a n OU degree.

I realised a couple of years ago that trying to work with variable but always crap health was not good for me.

Re the funding, if you already have a degree then you can be funded for a PGCE, masters, or a second UG degree in a STEM subject as long as it is part time study.

Why not? .

All of my qualifications are relevant to my job/s. The best one will be something I have been wanting to do since I started working but never had the time/money/justification to do it.

It may lead to work - if I am good enough.

@Shimy

I don't know, because I'm quite a literal person.

I wish I could do another degree and have looked into doing one on Open University. Sadly it is just so insanely expensive

You can get funding for a STEM subject. You can also study for an HNC / HBD at a college and then top up to a degree and depending what your first degree is you can transfer credits so you don't have to do the equivalent of a 3 year degree.

There are also distance learning options with other universities and some places allow you to pay module by module.

I think when a lot of people say they have multiple degrees, people think undergrad degrees, I wouldn't imagine there are many people who have a BA in French, then went back to go a BSc in Maths, then finally another few years getting a BEng in something engineery.

But it's not that unusual to do your undergrad degree, then do a further degrees as you go along.

I did my BA, worked for a bit, got a PgDip partly funded by an employer, changed jobs, did a few more degree level things in another field and got a PgCert in another field, worked for myself for however many years, just started a MSc.

I have two degrees and half way through my third. Eyeing up fourth. First one isn't related, second two and possible third are though.

It's all done around working full time plus 4DC.

I love studying, it's my hobby.

The first thing I wonder is how they afford it, unless they did it straight after their undergrad degree while they’re still living the student lifestyle (cheap, shared rented housing etc)

Once you have done your first one and have a good few years in a career and partner, mortgage, kids and nursery to pay for it all becomes very difficult.

I am late 40s and sometimes think about retraining seeing as I have 20 years of work ahead of me but I have teens heading off to uni themselves in a couple of years and are saving like mad to be able to support THEM through their uni years. We all know there won’t be the PT jobs available for them to support themselves, thanks to the pandemic.

There’s also the location of your chosen course to consider. Once you are settled down you’re stuck going to somewhere local. Fine if you’re in a uni city like me, but how do people who live fairly far from their chosen course manage it once they have a mortgage and family to consider?

Not sure how many employers are willing to fund degrees these days. In public sector I would have thought it’s virtually non existent. Not sure many would even let people do a one day a week part time degree even if they pay for it themselves. there have been so many job losses and budget cuts in some sectors that some people are now doing the work of what was done by 2 people a few years back. There is no give in the system to allow someone to drop a day to go to uni - who would take on their work for that lost day?

So, with all this in the back of my head, perhaps I assume that most are quite wealthy or have a partner or parents paying for all the usual life expenses, so that they can go off and study.

My dad paid for my first degree and postgrad. My company paid for one degree and a postgrad - and a technical diploma. I paid for the next degree and my professional training. Next one is from money I had put aside (inheritance).

It depends. If I’m doing an interview, if a person has multiple degrees but no industry experience, I worry that they won’t adjust. If they have obtained the Additional qualifications whilst working, I think they must be incredibly hardworking and have a lot of interests.
I would love to do another degree or a masters but I don’t know how people find the time or can afford it.

It's all done around working full time plus 4DC.

See, in that type of situation then I start wondering how demanding the course actually is if you can fit it round that. I’m not sure all degrees are equal these days.

Also I might wonder if you have a cleaner or if your house is just a bit messy or if you’re actually superhuman and don’t need much sleep and can just do it all perfectly.

And as much as I hate to say it, I’m going to - a small part of me wonders if your children are getting all the attention they need, or if you fit all your study in after they’ve all gone to bed. And if it’s the latter, HOW are you not exhausted?

I don’t think having multiple degrees is necessarily a sign of intelligence, more a lifestyle choice, either for career advancement or career avoidance reasons.

The majority of graduates could easily undertake a masters or PhD if they had the time and money, so choose to, some don’t.

I don’t put all my qualifications on my cv - just the relevant ones.

I also wonder what people are doing to make up their pension contributions if they are spending half their life studying. Do they have a private source of income so that they can still save something towards retirement while at it?

@CurlyhairedAssassin

I also wonder what people are doing to make up their pension contributions if they are spending half their life studying. Do they have a private source of income so that they can still save something towards retirement while at it?

Apart from my UG degree I worked full time through all my qualifications

Most people I know with PhDscame from wealthy families and were supported financially throughout. I have couple of friends who are working full time and completing PhD s part time. I have far more respect for the latter.
I myself have a degree and 3 MAs all related to my career and completed MAs while working.

It's so tied up with financial privilege.

I don't assume educated people are more intelligent and this is backed up with my experiences.

What do I think? I think how the heck did they find the time?
Since I had 2 dc, only working part time, I didn't have enough time to fart. Let alone anything else.

Surely after a few, you are supposed to revel in the fruits of your labour? Take up knitting or volunteer for the PTA, or visit every European city ..... or something?

Ex colleague of mine is collecting degrees. He so far has a BN, MA, MRes and is now doing a PhD. Since the BN he has always self funded and done them p/t around work. He's very ambitious and keen. Oddly our external supervision person is very mean about him and describes him as flighty which we have argued about, how on earth is it a bad thing to want to study at a high level? If I had the money and time I would love to carry on also. I only have a BA and MA and every so often get close to making enquiries about a pt MPhil but then reality hits and I accept I can't finance or guarantee time for it.

So I think, lucky them! And so, admirable them because it is hard work.

I'm currently in the process of getting my 3rd degree (post grad). Mine are all related. I did an undergrad through the OU in Psychology, did it full time whilst working full time and paid the fees as I went. I was lucky that I got in before a fee increase so the degree cost me about 6k over the three years. Initially I had aspirations of the clinical psychology doctorate but it's very competitive so I gave that up and did and did an undergrad in MH Nursing.

A lot of people in my MH nursing cohort had a previous undergrad in another subject (commonly psychology!) so I don't see it as rare to realise your initial route is perhaps not the best one. Fees paid by NHS and had a bursary and worked bank shifts - so no student debt from that one either.

Current one is a MSc which is related to my area of work and funded by my health-board. It's part time and I get one day a week leave from work to attend uni and occasional study days.

I think, because I started uni at 23, around a full time job it's become a very normal part of my life. I've spent the majority of the last 10 years at uni, and in that time had a child, run a house, juggle with work... but I've never known it any other way and I'm very used to fitting in essays! Multiple degrees doesn't mean you have a lot of money, or a lot of debt, and I certainly don't earn a lot of money as a result either!

@TwoLeftSocksWithHoles

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

No, you should know that as far as Mumsnet is concerned a hobby is always cycling, running or golf yet is so mysterious and outing the student could never own up to it.

All my post grad qualifications have been funded and relate to my job. They represent hard slog not flaky arrested development.