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?

Nobody is interested in your kids!!

I worked for Accenture, then Arthur Andersen/Andersen Consulting in the late 80s/early 90s!

You are full of bull!!

I have to disagree. I'd want anyone giving me a tattoo to be trained in techniques and health and safety relevant to that job. It doesn't require a degree but I have degrees and I wouldn't want anyone to suffer a tattoo from me. I have no real artistic talent for that sort of thing so the result would be most disappointing.

2 of our three kids never went to uni and the one that did is earning less than the two that did not. Thy left school at 16 ... and started from the bottom ...... recent years employers have paid most of their fees in computer-related degrees and I won't say how much they earn but they are now in the top 5% of earners

So they two you have wanged on about not even having degrees do in fact have degrees, that directly enabled them to move up into a higher tax bracket? I'm clearly just a thick drama graduate because it almost sounds like you're making this shit up as you go. Perhaps studying writing and story structure might have benefited you.

That’s the point the op is making . My friend is a tattooist with a shop visited by lots of famous people and extremely well off and doesn’t even have A levels

which includes Business Studies which was on your list of wasted degrees! I did Business and wouldn’t have been able to apply for my job without it so wasn’t wasted for me

I didn't go to university and left home at 18. Where I live, a house share is affordable for lower earners, even a studio flat is.

If you want a job in the arts at any level, the main thing you need is a degree. Something like 80% of arts workers have a degree, and this roses to more like 95% for senior roles according to recent research. I imagine it would be difficult to break into politics etc, academia etc without a degree. So yes you are talking crap.

Nooo. I didn’t realise that. I thought they’d brought in legislation that banned it. They definitely reduced for a period (think it was about 3-5 years in). What a ridiculous situation. Is it as widespread still?

You don't know as much about this topic as you think you do.
Many senior politicians study PPE (Politics, philosophy, economics).
Some of the most successful people I know studied Business Studies. Most good universities have a business school and you can specialise in finance, marketing, management etc. I have friends who now work in management consultancy and banking and have done very well in their careers.
As for the Arts if you don't value them then it's you who is missing out. Don't be so condescending in future because you're actually making yourself look stupid without realising it.

Arts?
My daughter has a music degree and is a secondary school music teacher.
My eldest son has a History Masters degree… and try as he might cannot get into any History based role(which he loves). He is working though…for a well known bar/restaurant chain.

My son-in-law has a Business degree and has a good job in the NHS.

Why on earth do you feel these are not valuable?

What a snobby thread! Maybe there are people out there who leave school and still don’t fully know what they want to do with their lives so do a general degree so it leaves them with broader options when they graduate?

Most people go to uni to get a better job but these days it does not always workout like that.

Again, you have no evidence that this is true. It's just your opinion.

And the ISE report you shared doesn't back up your claims at all.

So business studies is in the top ten most employable degrees (stats provided by yourself), but in your OP you said that was a subject that you consider to be a BS degree?

Between 60-80% of graduate jobs don't specify a particular subject. Just because graduates aren't going into a job that's directly related to their degree doesn't mean their degree is worthless.

As for the 'they'd be better off doing an apprenticeship'.... like that's the answer to everything.
Firstly, degree apprenticeships are incredibly competitive. More so than many degree programmes.
Secondly, an apprenticeship trains you to do a specific job. That means you need to have a clear idea as to what you want to do for a career and demonstrate that as part of the recruitment process. A degree gives you far more options and is a better route for someone who is undecided.

Yeah a degree in fashion design opening the door to a successful (and creatively fulfilling) career in the fashion industry where wealthy people spend ££££s on designer clothes. A degree in politics leading to a career advising those in power. Etc etc.

Whatever next!

Value of the creative industries to the UK economy - £109bn annually. We are world leaders

(value of orthodontistry more along the lines of £250m according to the NHs. Far less halitosis and bleeding gums involved in running a fashion brand or music publisher or theatre company, too)

Doesn’t need a degree though. I’d bet that most tattooists don’t have a degree. My friends daughter is doing an apprenticeship at a tattooist as she doesn’t want to go to uni.

I have a BS degree. It is history. It is a great traditional degree but doesn’t really lead to a specific job outside of academia / teaching.

I look at my friends I did the BS degree with. Solicitor, sports journalist, business development, high level insurance underwriters etc

We are all doing fine with our BS degrees. All financially stable and more importantly. Happy.

I actually think what the OP describes is a common thought process. Maybe in the short term some courses give a more immediate ‘return’ on your ‘investment’ (of time and money). I certainly grew up in a family that valued not just education but making a savvy choice for a career that would I would have good prospects in after uni.
However as time goes on I get more and more miserable in my chosen occupation, and fantasise about another life where I could have done something more creative/arts based as it would have made me perhaps happier ?( I wouldn’t know where to start to make a change and I have no qualifications or work experience in anything else, what’s more I have no aspirations to go and retrain as I have other life ambitions such as family).
I think you do have to follow where your passions/ ability is, some areas it’s more straightforward to employment and other areas not, but it doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

I do think the days of just getting a degree and being treated well by the job market because you are a graduate are long gone.

History is a really well respected degree.
Employers love the skills that history graduates developed during their studies.

True I guess but it is probably also true about other degrees that teach similar skills.

Just wow. You may have a 'worthy' degree but you are an idiot.

True I guess but it is probably also true about other degrees that teach similar skills.

Absolutely, but history often gets a specific mention. History graduates make excellent accountants apparently!

I don’t have a supposed ‘BS degree’ and I am no wealthier than my friends who did the arts and politics. I’ve worked my way up through the ranks and I needed a degree to be a registered professional in my field. However, I don’t think it’s the be all and end all. I’m fortunate to have a decent income as I’m in management. It’s nothing enormous though. That said, I am passionate about what I do and I enjoy it, so it balances out.

I want my children to do what makes them happy, fulfilled, educated and keeps them employed. I have achieved that, despite not being one of those 6 figure salary earners that a not insignificant minority of MN claim to be!