Should students study subjects they love or a degree that will get them a job?

[bevelino]

My dd's will be applying for courses for 2018 and have asked me whether they should study subjects they love or a degree that will lead to a job? I am unsure what to advise. What do mumsnetters think?

In regards to teaching it's much better to do the subject you plan on teaching and then a pgce rather than a degree in education:

Teachers should love what they are teaching.

Definetly what they love!

AndromedaPerseus i don't think we disagree

i said if they have a good degree from a good uni they'll be ok

not get any old degree!

Thank you to everyone who have taken time to reply. My dds are looking forward to applying for university courses in subjects that they love. At least two of my dds hope to study modern foreign language degrees which they hope will help them become teachers. All 4 dds have asked me to thank mumsnetters for all your helpful advice.

Not sure if you are still reading, OP, but my summing-up would be as follows:

only a degree you have actually passed counts as a qualification (so that is one good reason to do a degree you think you'd enjoy)

there is no such think as a fool-proof degree- I know people who are struggling to find work with excellent post-grad qualifications in STEM subjects

even a very sensible degree choice will require a degree of pro-activeness on career seeking front

pro-active students willing to think out of the box often do very well even with degrees that on the face of it look like complete dead-ends

and your dds' plan sounds like a good one

Cory thank you for your wise comments.

Vote for both here too! Good to have an eye on what career you might want to work towards but for something you love. Life's too short to spend it in a job you don't enjoy (dh had a breakdown due to horrible job and then changed his view of our son's ambition to be a ballet dancer!).

DD is a vet student - yes, good job prospects but if she didn't love it she'd never get through it as it's so hard.

Excellent post from LRD.

I believe students should study what they love.

In saying that, it is not true to say that subject is unimportant when applying for graduate positions. My advice to any student would be to do an undergraduate degree in an area they love and then choose a postgraduate qualification with a view to getting a job.

My local gym is staffed mainly by students from the local university.

It is a uni that is near the bottom of the league tables and some of the courses these students are studying made me wonder whether any of them took or were given advice when choosing a course.

It's all well and good saying do something you enjoy but when tuition fees are £9k a year for the privilege and it isnt even a solid subject at a good uni then it seems like debt for the sake of it.