to think my degree is as good as anyone elses?

[SecretSlattern]

I started off in 2004 doing a NVQ 3 in Early Years Care and Education, 3 months after having DD. I qualified 9 months later, with 2 level 3 qualifications and worked for a bit in day nurseries, pre-schools and after school clubs before studying a Foundation Degree in Early Years Childcare and Education.

At the start of the second year of my FD, I discovered I was pg with DS but continued on anyway and had him 2 weeks before the end of the course. I graduated from Uni in 2008, six weeks after having DS.

I finally went back to finish the last year of my BA (hons) in Early Childhood Studies. I now have 2 DCs, one of which is constantly in and out of hospital, and have now discovered I am pg with DC3. The timing is pretty shit, but there you go. DC3 is due in May, the same month that I am due to finish my degree (although will still have to write my dissertation, which I have done before so am confident I can do it again).

However, when telling a friend of mine what I was up to (hadn't spoken in a while), she sniffed, pulled a face and basically said it wouldn't matter if I didn't finish my degree because it isn't a proper degree anyway. "What can you do with a degree in kids?" was the question I was asked.

I actually intend to go on in the future and do a PGCE in primary, specialising in early years. AIBU to think that just because my degree is "in kids" it doesn't make it any less of a degree? I still go to uni, still have to do a mahoosive amount of work, same as any other undergrad.

CaptainDarcy, Russell Group - top 20 universities in the UK see www.russellgroup.ac.uk/.

LRD - well clearly I'm not even any bloody good as a bullshitter, then! I started an English degree and my brain melted to the point where I had to drop out after a term. I just had absolutely no idea what the fuck was going on in any of the texts I was expected to read.
Horses for courses, I guess (handy 5-word summary of the entire thread, IMHO )

hehe Fairy - that sounds like me in S6 when I optimistically decided to do Higher Maths (I was at school in Scotland)......and as I already had the highers I needed to get into University and was sitting a few others that year decided to quit at the October half term as I didn't have a bloody clue what she was going on about

Awassailing - but it's good that it's looking scary, right? It means you're not wasting your time: it is intellectually rigorous and you are being challenged, and that's a good thing.

[Ah, it's so easy to say once you've actually gone through the bloody wringer yourself!]

Fairycake - am astonished if you expect me to understand one single word wot you said.

Daniel Dennett, for example: who in thunder is he??? (No, on second thoughts, please do not answer that!)

Awassailing - get some bloody backbone and be proud of yourself!!

love and kisses to all

(Slinks back to slimy morass of trivial thread from which she he arose)

noooooooooooo there's 6 humongous wall (double sided) charts with various "Acts" on, and it's all full of legal jargon and shite.

Actull I lie, I haven't actually looked at the first two blocks.........I've looked at the pile of papers that comprises the first 2 blocks but not looked at, it did have a quick flip through the "reader" the other day, and that was scary enough

Awassailing - ah, that brings back memories of the time I decided that I was going to be a doctor (after watching way too much ER on daytime tv) and enrolled in further education college to do fast track A-levels in biology and chemistry.

OUCH.

worst thing is I'm going to have to actually get my finger out my arse and learn have to reference the OU stuff (and probably Harvard referencing on top) for this course, being level 1 we were let off a little bit for screwing that up.........but even on the ones I did I had to sit their for hours trying to figure out what I was doing

Oh God. That sounds terrifying... Are you doing law?!

oh I was SOOOOOOOOOO glad that at the school I went to none of the "proper" sciences were compulsory - so I dropped the whole flipping lot at the end of S2

no - you'd think so looking at the wall charts - I'm doing "Working with Families and Children".

And there was me thinking it would be right up my street as I ............ermm want to work with families and children once I have my degree

fairycake - and there was me thinking I was the only one who watched ER and thought that! Though, I am now slightly less keen since my lovely childhood sweetheart is getting well into his doctor's degree! It really changes your perspective when you know someone who does one of these supposedly benchmark-of-superior-intelligence degrees!

AWassiling - the more you say, the more similar you sound to friends doing the courses cited on this thread as 'best', such as Oxford PPE. I'm having a sneaking suspicion the real difference is that you're too polite to blow your own trumpet.

Wow, that degree sounds really interesting. I don't think I could do it because I couldn't keep a cool head, but I think it sounds like a really interesting career path.

And presumably it will involve some legal knowledge, surely? Whether it does or not, I take my hat off to you, because I couldn't do something like that. If I feel strongly about anything, I tend to get really worked up and lose the plot. I'd love to work in mental health advocacy, for instance, but I don't think I could handle the frustration.

Are you potentially going to be working with severely dysfunctional families? If so, what kind of preparation do you get for the impact it will have on you?

-To clarify, AWass, I meant you sounded similarly interested in your studies and intelligent as the people I mentioned.

Certainly didn't meant to imply you sounded like them, or (worse), that it's a good idea to sound like them!

LRD - ah, best of luck to your DP! Knowing a medic really does radically alter your perspective, doesn't it?

I always kind of idolised medicine as a profession, but now I have several friends who are doctors, and although the majority of them are very happy, 2 of them (one is a locum GP, one is a consultant psychiatrist) are fairly unhapy in their careers.

I find it quite alarming, because for God's sake, nobody ends up a bloody psychiatrist by accident! But I guess that it's also reassuring in a way, because it does demonstrate that there is no objectively "right" career path that is guaranteed to bring fulfillment.

Which makes me feel a bit better about having no bloody clue about what to do for the rest of my wretched life...

well I was hoping to do the Social Work degree, but when you have to be working in social care (in some form or other) to be able to do it, and your employer has to register you on it. I wasn't working (still aren't) when I started so opted for the Health and Social Care degree.

There was only one option for the Level 1 - which was Introduction to Health and Social care, it was interesting, but there were chunks of it that I really couldn't get into because it they were focussing purely on the health care. Thankfully from here on in it looks at though I'll be able to choose courses that are geared almost exclusively towards the "social" side of things, and still end up with a useful degree. And, ironically, the stuff going on in my life has helped me decide that I don't want to be a Social Worker so don't need a pure Social Work degree.

I am hoping to work with dysfunctional families and/or other vulnerable groups such as aslyum seekers. Not exactly sure yet, we'll see where the future takes me. But yes, I will almost certainly need to have some degree of legal knowledge to do the work whichever path I eventually take.

I'm "taking it easy" (haha) for the first few years, but aim to complete it all in 6yrs, so will do 2 courses together in my last 2 years.

I've spent too many years getting worked up and losing the plot (online and off) over issues to do with the area(s) I'm looking to work in, decided it was about time I put some of those frustrations to good use.

There was a bit of basic stuff covered in the course I've jsut done on the impact on carers/people working with vulnerable people. No doubt more will be covered in future courses as well, but I think most of that will come when I start actually doing some of the work (be it voluntary or paid) in the future, from whoever I'm working for. Some of that sort of stuff you just can't learn on paper.

Although having been through what I've been through in recent years (and particularly the last few months) I think I'll be able to deal with most of it.

I tell you I've met so many different health and social type workers in the last few months that in some respects it's been quite helpful to be able to talk to them and find out more about their role.

AWass, I'd be really interested to hear how it goes for you in the future. It's really fascinating trying to understand how people cope with different situations, isn't it? My mum just mentioned a lovely girl she's supposed to be teaching, who spends all her money on proper food for her daughter and doesn't have enough to eat properly herself! I only wish I knew enough about what she's entitled to ... so good that you're able to work in this area.

Fairycake - If I'm not being rude, how old are you? I would have thought that someone like you could find lots of things to do as a career, even if those things don't seem immediately obvious. (Btw, the doctor-in-training I referred to previously is my ex-partner, not my current partner, but we are so amicable, I realize I should have signposted that better!)

Awassailing - Ah, I think I've just recognised you from a thread I read ages ago. Very cool that you are thinking of getting involved in helping other families. There is a job going in my area that consists of educating medical students and other bodies about the experiences of mentally ill people. Part of me really, really wants to do it. But I also feel that it might be a bad idea because so many people conflate mental illness and stupidity/attention-seeking; and I couldn't bear to be seen that way.

So, if you have had the experiences that I suspect you have, I really admire you for being strong enough to go ahead with the degree you've chosen.

LRD - I'm 33. It all feels a bit hopeless at this stage - I've spent most of my life waitressing. It feels especially bleak because I am slightly depressed at the moment because of unsettling life circumstances (moving house; parents divorcing; relationship breakup) but I am sure it will look up soon.

you're only 3yrs older than me fairycake.

I started my first course just under a year after seperating from (d)H, in the month I moved house etc etc.

Looks like I'll be starting this second one as a single parent all over again too.

I didn't have a clue what I wanted to do before registering for the course/degree. I'd worked as a care assistant for nearly 2yrs not so many years ago and hated it, and vowed I would never go back into anything vaguely care related.

I remember sitting one September night just over a year ago going through the OU website looking at just about every course and degree they offered........and kept being drawn back to this one (which I had looked at on and off for years). So decided to hell with it and am going for it EEK.

ALFA

I think you will find it very easy to get a job in the area you want to work in. I used to work in floating support, and that required 6 months experience but did not require any qualifications; even at management level no specific qualifications were required. I had 6 months experience from volunteering in order to get a support worker role.

If you have many years as a careworker, and have done some of the credits towards a degree related to the job, and have voluntary work related to the job, you are going to be able to work into so many jobs. I had a number of colleagues who had previously been care workers before moving into support work.

Fairycake, I can see why you're a bit down atm. Sounds as if the degree sucked a bit, but I do hope you find something that works. I only asked about age because I know plenty of people who think 35 is 'old' to cement a career - and you're not even there yet.

I do hope it all looks up soon for you - would like to know how you get on.

LRD

To pretend that all degrees are equal is extremely naive but then all people aren't equal either or equivalently talented.

I would have really struggled with my sisters sociology degree (and was astounded at how hard she had to work - dossy social sciences it was not). But equally she would have struggled with some aspects of my degree.

However the utility of a degree depends entirely what you do with it. If you want to be an early years teacher then a degree in that is emminently sensible. If you don't know what you want to do a degree in a subject which interests you with a good transferrable skill set from a reputable university (preferably Oxbridge) is IMHO best.

It is sad that children today aren't being given guidance as to what degrees are marketable for future employment. So much of this is down to family connections.

However, for a few subjects there are surprising exceptions. I am aware that locally the best respected place for graduate law conversion is an ex-Poly. As an applicant though you would only know this (and that students from there are more highly saught after than those from the more traditonally prestigious university down the road)if you speak to the correct people namely the partners in law firms responsible for hiring trainees.

This is yet another example of why social mobility is reducing. Nice middle class kids get to stay in nice middle class jobs 'cos Mummy and Daddy have the connections/ knowledge to help get them there.

A sad indictment of British Society.

Oh for God's sake ... Stop it with the depressing snobbery and narrow minded judginess!

Do you mean gasman's post?

I can't see the snobbery... help me out, here?