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?

Yes we don't care (IT company) what degrees grads have, as long as its a 2:1. Most of the technical lot have Computer Science, Maths, Software Engineering or science degrees. Most of the sales and account people have degrees in Business, Business Management, Geography or Law. (Business Studies isn't really a thing anynore OP). Guess which lot make the most money? Guess which lot have the most interesting jobs? Guess which lot can get a job pretty much in any industry? Guess which lot have the most job stability?

All horses for courses and anecdata, you weird AI royalist bot!

In coucils, they offer to pay for your degree and at the same time you get paid for work and almost guaranteed the now job once you have qualified

Oh bless, you really believe that don't you! You poor naive thing.

"policits," really makes me lol

However, from what you said, I'm happy for you and IMO, you are in the minority that end up up with a job like that.

What I'm trying to say is there are many other degrees around that stand a much better chance of a good job when compared to the degrees in my OP and Media studies.

You do know that most people don't have a family shop/business?!!

Stars consistently show that university graduates have higher lifetime earnings than people who work their way up.

Stats

In coucils, they offer to pay for your degree and at the same time you get paid for work and almost guaranteed the now job once you have qualified

I work for a LA - they very rarely do - they mainly offer fast track in areas such as social work - you need a degree to do it - they did trial an apprenticeship once in SW but never did it again.

They do offer higher level apprenticeships - about 6 a year, but not degree .

What I'm trying to say is there are many other degrees around that stand a much better chance of a good job when compared to the degrees in my OP and Media studies.

And what posters are trying to tell you, is that you are wrong and very very outdated in your thinking. Graduate employment data does not support what you are saying.

I agree to a great extent and also agree to a lesser extent that my views may be "outdated" but do still apply

The reason Graduate employment data does not support what you are saying

Is because England is acting like a developing nations. EG, you need a degree
to operate a till, almost any clerical job that is going inc phone sales.

No you missed my point. They need the degree to progress. My degree doesn't actually relate to my role but I know I'm fast tracked as I have excelled and have a degree. There are others who won't, they can't move up with me as I have a degree and they don't. And I did a degree that took me into an aligned role, hated it but because I have 'any' degree I got my new role. Take a look at jobs online at the moment and see how many of those jobs you are talking about that give those prospects, there are not many at all. It's actually really short sighted that you don't know this about the job market and how job prospects actually work yet you are advising your nephews to aimlessly search for jobs that pay for your degree (be realistic). You are overlooking the transferrable skills that come with most degrees and opens up prospects to loads of jobs.

But you slagged off business studies and it's in the top 10 of the data you supplied above

You missed my point. Not everyone has the same capacity and I know of a few people who wasted their time at uni, get an almost worthless degree and now in debts because of uni and no job

If everyone was like me or you, everyone would be in work, their own property/s etc and money in the bank, but that is not real life

@DistinguishedSocialCommentator you would not want a job in finance if you studied media studies, but you could easily get one.
There is such a thing as education for the enrichment of your life? Or maybe therapists and school and college lecturers are completely a waste of oxygen, according to you? Yet you value them if they teach someone how to be a plutocratic financier?

Business studies is a wide ranging and most of the degrees are useless

Tell me, how would business studies help you get a pilots job

Being from a South Asian background, I recognise this mentality and am so glad that many of us have left it behind. Back in my day we were told medicine, accountancy, law or engineering because this is where the money is. This unhealthy need to be the best, most powerful or the richest stamped out the poets, artists and dreamers so I’m glad that more people from my background are choosing to find their voices in other fields.

There is no set career path in many of the degrees mentioned by OP but there is freedom to create, enjoy and explore and take risks amongst like minded peers. So the point of pursuing these degrees is because they want to and because they have the freedom to follow their hearts.

OP have you ever thought that the joke is on you because whilst you and your family are mocking others, they are actually living their best lives? Following their hearts, taking risks- do you ever do that? That their today is too amazing to give a shit about tomorrow. Have you ever felt that?

You know, OP, not everything is about getting a high flying job. Sometimes it's about learning, developing skills, having experiences. Plus there's nothing wrong with any of the degrees you mentioned. You can absolutely get decent jobs with those. Be quiet.

Tell me, how would business studies help you get a pilots job

Through a scheme via Virgin, TUI or BA - which doesn't require a specific degree? You don;t even NEED a degree

Pilot Cadet Programme • TUI Careers UK (tuigroup.com)

What I'm trying to say is there are many other degrees around that stand a much better chance of a good job when compared to the degrees in my OP and Media studies.

Do you any actual evidence for this beyond your opinion and your family/friends? Only this is my actual job - one which I got thanks to my 'useless degree' - and the graduate outcomes data doesn't support what you're saying.

Did you know one of the UKs biggest skills gap is in fine arts?

That the creative industries is worth more than aerospace and automotive industries combined, and 25% of its workforce comes from arts and humanities graduates?

That media studies is one of the most employable degrees? And business studies one of the best paid?

Happy to provide you with the data but I suspect you won't accept you might be wrong.

Is because England is acting like a developing nations. EG, you need a degree
to operate a till, almost any clerical job that is going inc phone sales.

No. It's because the UK (England is a nation, not the country) is a highly developed country, predominantly service led rather than manufacturing. Developing nations tend to have lower higher education participation rates and economies that are more reliant on physical production.

Well this thread has given me a good laugh. I don't believe a word of it. But this is just getting so ridiculous now:

"Business studies is a wide ranging and most of the degrees are useless

Tell me, how would business studies help you get a pilots job"

How does training to be a pilot help you be a dentist? How does wasting years of your life studying to be a doctor help you if you want to be an astrophysicist? How does a dentist degree help you become a set designer?

None of this makes any sense at all OP. But crack on. I'm enjoying it anyway.

Oh dear god, you are clueless!

I know of a few people who wasted their time at uni, get an almost worthless degree and now in debts because of uni and no job

Their lack of job is a them thing though, it's not because of their 'worthless' degree. Their university peers will mostly have got decent jobs. Maybe they're arrogant arseholes that no one wants to employ? 🤷‍♀️

@DistinguishedSocialCommentator

Business studies is a wide ranging and most of the degrees are useless

Tell me, how would business studies help you get a pilots job

If someone wanted to be a pilot, they would choose a different educational path altogether. However, that doesn't mean business studies is "useless". In fact, the general application of the theory and skills in business studies is widely applicable in most positions.

What a ridiculous thread.

I did a “proper professional degree”. My sibling studied drama and theatre studies. I’m sure you’d call that a BS degree, but they now earn 3 x or more what I do working for a tech company, living in California.

Tell me, how would business studies help you get a pilots job

Why would someone who wanted to be a pilot go to uni rather than pilot training? Pilot isn't a graduate level job....