AIBU to feel that some parents just want their children at Uni even if its a BS degree

[DistinguishedSocialCommentator]

Hello
I come from a background/culture where education is seen as very important and going to a university is a must (My parents came to England in 1962)

Yes, more and more jobs are seeking degrees and often even when not necessary. There are many professions where you must have a degree to join the course training

However, what I and my family call BS degrees, to name but a few

Arts
Studio Fine arts
Arth History
Business studies
Exercise Science
Fashion

I cant see what jobs they will get as there must be other routes, less intensive and extensive to get the job they want

When I've talked about mickey-mouse degrees at parties etc and not be aware that some parents children or they may have studied them, they start to defend the indefensible.
The biggest bS degree is 'Politics' - WTH!! Sadly, we know a few people whose children have done that and ended up running the family shop/business - total waste of a degree

There are other degrees just as crappy - they should be banned IMO

AIBU to think these degrees are a waste of time and often do not aid the person into a job in that field?

DistinguisheSocialCommentator My friend lectured in Media Studies ,some of her students went on to BBC and the telegraph ,One became a Weather presenter in the south!

My eldest is just about to start uni. Reading Media, not academic, but really university is just an extension of school. It will teach her independent living, independent study and get the piece of paper that so many jobs want, especially internationally. Also, you know, she enjoys it!

That's rich coming from you. You recently started (another) bonkers thread on how doctors should be banned from striking, be happy with low pay and suggesting measures being put in place to prevent them leaving the UK. How does that ridiculously distorted view of the profession equate with a mass of job opportunities?

I do agree. I went to Central Saint Martins as did my mother and very few of my peers are on salaries above 30K despite working in industry for years now, it is horrifically underpaid as an industry despite taking what is considered the 'best' education. There are some who did very well, but they are in the minority.

You and your family sound like a bunch of stuck up snobs. You are an idiot.

Vast majority of teachers have arts degrees. Would you think that schools should abolish the vast majority of the subjects they teach?

I did arts, majored in Economics + Geography and then went onto to professional exams as an accountant.

Few friends became teachers.
One something in IT - Computer science
One did applied math's and is an actuary after professional exams

There are other degrees just as crappy - they should be banned IMO

AIBU to think these degrees are a waste of time and often do not aid the person into a job in that field?

Tell me you know nothing about the UK graduate labour market without telling me you know nothing about the UK graduate labour market......

Point provene, ie the types of degrees I mention rarely lead to a job in that field IMO

Over 60% ( some data suggests closer to 80%) of graduate employers don't request a particular degree subject.......this isn't the 'gotcha' you think it is......

You're getting flamed, but YANBU. Uni degrees are a 'nice-to-have' for most, but unless you're going into a career where it's directly relevant and impacts your hireability, a degree is not a necessity and time spent actually working and earning money and experience can be more beneficial in the long run. I think the value of degrees is (generally speaking) a very outdated concept now, but people are slow to catch on.

"Thank you. However, its the way I and most of my family feel as well as people we know

Would you care to put a number on "plenty", please?"

@DistinguishedSocialCommentator would you care to put a number on "people we know"...

This poster is 11/10 nuts.

You could call a lot of degrees “BS”. What about an engineering graduate going and working as an accountant? Does that make the engineering degree BS?

If people want to go to university, they can. It’s a great experience, even if the degree doesn’t lead directly into a career.

I’m not sure why this worries you op.

I think the value of degrees is (generally speaking) a very outdated concept now, but people are slow to catch on.

So are employers.

@DistinguishedSocialCommentator

The biggest bS degree is 'Politics' - WTH!! Sadly, we know a few people whose children have done that and ended up running the family shop/business - total waste of a degree

There are other degrees just as crappy - they should be banned IMO

AIBU to think these degrees are a waste of time and often do not aid the person into a job in that field?

My first degree was in Politics. My Masters degree, in a different subject, IS my professional qualification. Without it I would be a paraprofessional and limited in my career progression. However, the organisation that I work for with my professional qualification operates in the field of public policy and social science research. I need both the professional skills I gained from my Masters degree and the subject knowledge gained in my first degree to be successful in my role.

I think you'll find that a large proportion of the people currently running the UK studied politics at university. Whether or not they are doing a good job is another debate but you cannot deny that their degree has absolutely led them into a successful career.

It's ok pals, it's arch instigator @DistinguishedSocialCommentator again. You'll see them pop up frequently talking utter shit.

For about 15-20 years now (since they introduced tuition fees and could make oodles of money on student loan interest???) there's been societal pressure for school leavers to go to university. I suspect this pressure is more about making money from student accommodation and student loans interest etc than the desire to have a well-educated population. It also keeps unemployment figures lower perhaps.
A lot of the newer degrees used to be apprenticeship and college courses, often on day release from work. Some were always offered in the old polytechnics. And others have been introduced as society evolved, in the same way as some older subjects have gradually fallen out of favour.
We still need a wide range of subjects across arts and stem because it's the graduate level skills that contribute to work once graduates are employed.
We do need to be marketing all post-16 and post-18 options as being equally valued and valid choices. The problem is going to be that for children whose parents were first generation to go to university, those parents are likely to still be viewing uni as 'the best/most acceptable' route.

In the US, saying someone has a “BS” degree means they have a Bachelor of Science.

I think all degrees have the potential to lead to profitable jobs, some with better odds than others. I’d rather have someone expand their talents in a field they love than slog their way through a “sensible” degree because someone talked them into it.

What were you hoping to accomplish in starting this thread?

Well this capitalism mindset really shows in this judgy opinion.
Ideally education should be an experience where individuals become well rounded and endeavour their vocation. and calling.
Nowadays it's a business decision to make more money and show off status. Very shallow approach to life.
While money is important to pay the bills, it should be a means to live, not the final scope.
This is why society is degrading in some collective aspects.
We should do better and have more respect for what brings meaning in our lives.

The value in doing a degree is not just in getting a job at the end of it. To think otherwise is incredibly close minded. HTH.

@DistinguishedSocialCommentator

Could you clarify the confusion please? You have talked about values that were instilled in you "at university" and also about having left education at 18.

Are you
a) a child prodigy
b) not truthful on Mumsnet threads and have difficulty remembering what you've said about yourself from one thread to another?

It wouldn't but then .....

...... how would Medicine, Dentistry or Nursing (your 'proper' degrees) help with getting a pilot's job? Guess you could whip up a new set of veneers while the plane was on autopilot. Maybe 🤔🤷

Anyway, university is more than just the subject you study 😊

A family member recently sold a piece of work for 100k. Not bad considering they have one of your BS degrees in fine art.

Does anyone remember the T-rexing around Asda thread from years ago? This one is similarly wonderful, illogical and chaotic. So funny.

Totally agree, the OP's list isn't one I would have produced, but there are some waste of space degrees, I have before mentioned my boss's anger when his son wanted to do Golf Course Design, something that would lend itself ideally to an apprenticeship. I would always encourage young people to go down the apprenticeship route unless they are wanting something that totally needed a degree course.

Exactly that.

As several have said and I mentioned many councils pay for apprenticeships and degrees and what happens is, you are earning whilst learning and not throwing away a mass of money what could potentially be a worthless degree.

The plumbers that come to do repairs to our proties, families, the plumbers in their mid 40's with a sensible head are loaded. Most learned the trade with family and then often got qualified as Gas Safe to work on CH