To ask what you would think about someone that had masters degrees from both Oxford and Cambridge?

[Zorbing]

That's the question!

Its not me, obvs. But I am wondering what assumptions, if any, you might make about someone like this (justified or otherwise).

Would you think they were highly intelligent / had a strong work ethic? Or just lucky and privileged?

Would you think that they're probably a bit of a dickhead?

Its a woman incidentally, not sure if that makes a difference.

Why would you conceivably think them a dickhead?!

There are various reasons you might reasonable take two masters degrees, the mist on unwind if one was taught and one was by research, and it was part of career manoeuvre into research from another subject. Something like that?

If you do need or want a second Masters Oxbridge is the right place to go and get one if you’re skint but clever. They have so much in the way of bursary funds etc.

the most obvious is^

Blooming autocorrect.

Agree with much of the stuff that's been said recently:

• It can take two years to get two MAs, which means if they're done in a row after a 3 year undergrad, you're talking about someone who studied until the ripe old age of 23.

• Even if it was in their 20s, why in the world does anyone think that 2 years is an unacceptable amount of time to take out.

• You can often get funding from faculties, meaning that an excellent student could pay almost nothing for an MA.

• The anti-intellectualism and sheer kneejerk insecurity in this thread is remarkable.

It can take two years to get two MAs, which means if they're done in a row after a 3 year undergrad, you're talking about someone who studied until the ripe old age of 23

Which is nothing, really. Medicine and pharmacy are both 6 years+ degrees. I would imagine someone with two masters degrees isn't going to be in a minimum wage job, and will easily make up for a couple of "missed years" of wages.

I would be inclined to think they didn't want to get a paid job in the real world. You can be highly intelligent and have a strong work ethic without being a lifelong student!

@Mandalay246

I would be inclined to think they didn't want to get a paid job in the real world. You can be highly intelligent and have a strong work ethic without being a lifelong student!

They are often working at the same time as doing a Masters, same for PhD.

I would assume they were clever. I'd be somewhat surprised - why didn't they go for a PhD? But maybe that could be explained by a big separation in time and subject matter, or by one being teaching-based and the other research-based.

@FlyingBattie

It can take two years to get two MAs, which means if they're done in a row after a 3 year undergrad, you're talking about someone who studied until the ripe old age of 23

Which is nothing, really. Medicine and pharmacy are both 6 years+ degrees. I would imagine someone with two masters degrees isn't going to be in a minimum wage job, and will easily make up for a couple of "missed years" of wages.

Exactly!

@Mandalay246

I would be inclined to think they didn't want to get a paid job in the real world. You can be highly intelligent and have a strong work ethic without being a lifelong student!

This

I’d think good for them and how clever they were . I know someone who did NatSci at Cambs followed by Medicine at Oxford so perhaps for some it’s an issue of either not getting their first choice at 18 or indeed having a clear career plan ( hardly unexpected ) at 18 .

I’d wonder why they’d spent so much time studying and not got a real job.

I can't even ...

Depends on the field and circumstances. In many jobs masters degree is the absolute basic and doing a second masters gives you the edge to get a job.

Studying while working is the normal here. Not doing it would rule you out.

I have very academic colleagues, not working in academia.

I'd think they were workshy. You don't need 2. Get a job after 1.

@polkadotclip

Depends on the field and circumstances. In many jobs masters degree is the absolute basic and doing a second masters gives you the edge to get a job.

Studying while working is the normal here. Not doing it would rule you out.

I have very academic colleagues, not working in academia.

This.

I'd be wondering what would-be employer is up to canvassing the views of internet randoms for a job they haven't described.

OP, you are beyond unprofessional.

Or possibly a journalist.

@echt

I'd be wondering what would-be employer is up to canvassing the views of internet randoms for a job they haven't described.

OP, you are beyond unprofessional.

Or possibly a journalist.

This.

I would think they were very intelligent and hard working. I would not make any assumptions about money or personality. It sounds like there were some jealous and catty people giving negative opinions.

I'd wonder what discipline they are both in and wonder why they chose to do both and not go on to PhD, so perhaps not sure what they want to do in life.

I would honestly think -

I don’t have enough information to judge or make assumptions about this person.

That they didn't want to get a job.

... which is why this thread is all about them applying for a job

It would really depend on the context.

If I were thinking about them in terms of having an academic career, I'd expect they were a talented person working in a field where Oxford and Cambridge offered the best courses (not all of them!). But eg an Mst in Classics at Oxford and then a PhD at Cambridge - quite impressive and probably a good foundation for an academic career. Possibly the same for medicine also? I don't know as much about medicine.

If they were trying to get started in a career that wasn't academia then I might think that yes, they should maybe focus on getting practical work experience rather than several high-profile masters.

If they just dropped into conversation at a party or something that they had masters degrees from both, I might think they were pretentious.

I would think “Good for her!” Possibly, I might wonder if early in her adult life, she want sure about her real vocational interests and direction, but I’d find it weird to make a negative judgement about that. It would be the sort of thing I’d maybe want to explore in interview. But it would also depend on what she’d done after those two Masters degrees, and the kind of work narrative her CV told me.

I would certainly not judge this in any negative light whatsoever - unless there seemed to be evidence of subsequent uncertainty or jumping from area to area, that was more than the norm for the profession/industry you’re in.

But I expect I’m in a minority - there’s an awful lot of reverse snobbery and downright philistinism about education in this country. Which is very sad.

In the USA or various other European countries, it’s not unusual for people to have multiple postgraduate degrees. I’ve met Germans with 2 PhDs.

I can't believe how judgmental this thread is.

I have an undergraduate degree from Cambridge and a master's and a postgrad diploma from two other universities. In the field I used to work in, it was really common for people to have three or more degree level qualifications. What judgments would you like to make about me?

I bet if it was a man the replies would be different (in a good way)

Oh and work paid for the master's and I funded the diploma from a redundancy payout. In case that helps.