degree.... yes or No?

8 replies

Hardhaton · 08/10/2013 10:10

I was just looking at the ou site. currently I am working for my husbands company as his office dogsbody, and I thought I should really understand more than maybe I do.
Anyway this got me thinking.... Does having a degree make you better than someone who doesn't?
Does life experience not matter when it comes to job interviews and the best candidate for the said job?
I'm not talking doctors and lawyers just general everyday jobs.

OP posts:

TheArticFunky · 08/10/2013 10:59

Degrees are useful but not as useful as work experience. A good work ethic and attitude are more important, you can train someone to do most jobs but its a lot harder to train someone to have the right attitude.

It's a competitive world with lots of people chasing few jobs so employers are being choosier. I saw an advert for an assistant in a sandwich shop recently and they were asking for 5 GCSEs grade A to C.

lljkk · 08/10/2013 11:04

hum ho... I think it depends so much what sector you're going into. If most the people there came in with degrees & see their degrees as essential grounding to get the job done, then they will believe in value of degrees & be skeptical how can you get on without one.

If most the folk there came thru apprenticeships or other routes, they'll be somewhat unimpressed by the bits of paper.

I've been told that enthusiasm + skills are the deciders though; sometimes skills can only come thru experience & sometimes only thru training (realistically).

Original poster

Hardhaton · 08/10/2013 11:27

I think at the moment with the jobs not being about as much ect then it probably would be important. My thoughts if I was the employer would be that I would rather had someone who wanted the job and could do the job, whether they were 18 or 80. That degree wouldn't matter to me. So if I think like that do other employers not?

OP posts:

titchy · 08/10/2013 14:42

Tbh that's far too broad a question to answer. It very much depends on what sort of job you want and in what sector. If you're happy being an assistant (shop assistant, care assistant, clerical assistant) then clearly a degree won't help (and might hinder), but in some sectors if you want to progress into management then a degree may well be what differentiates you from other candidates with the same experience. Equally in some sectors experience matters far more than having a degree. You need to look at what you want and research how to get it more thoroughly to find out the answer.

creamteas · 08/10/2013 20:59

A degree should do two things.

The first is the obviously in that it teaches about a specific subject to a higher level than secondary education.

But it also should teach a different way of thinking and engaging with the world.

It is often this element rather than subject knowledge that employers are looking for.

SunshineSuperNova · 08/10/2013 21:11

I've done OU courses and they were brilliant. They changed the way I thought about the world, and my place in it.

I'm now doing a degree at a 'brick' uni and I love it - I feel like it's expanded my horizons already. I'm 42 and about to start my second year.

Thehistorygirl · 10/10/2013 07:34

I've just finished my degree and graduated at the age of 41. I mainly did it because I loved the subject, not because I thought I was going to get a fabulous job at the end of it. I adored Uni, although if you'd asked me if I did this time last year when I was bogged down in dissertation proposals and essays that I didn't have a clue about, I'd have said the opposite! My outlook on life has totally changed and I look at everything through critical eyes now. I'm hopefully going to start a secondary PGCE next year now. My advice would be to go for it if you have a passion for your subject and the determination to make a go of it.

MarjorieAntrobus · 10/10/2013 07:55

To answer your question, OP, no of course a degree doesn't make you "better" than someone who doesn't have a degree. For many jobs it isn't necessary at all.

If you're thinking about doing an OU course and you're thinking you could "understand more" (your words) than you do then maybe it would suit you to do it. A degree gives you more than knowledge of a subject, though that's important, obviously. From the last three posters;

But it also should teach a different way of thinking and engaging with the world.

. . . changed the way I thought about the world, and my place in it. I feel like it's expanded my horizons already.

My outlook on life has totally changed and I look at everything through critical eyes now.

Flip