Do you think ‘take what you enjoy doing’ as a degree is good advice?

[Timetakesacigarette]

At school, dd was encouraged to take what she enjoyed and is subsequently part way through a Chemistry degree at a very good uni (but not Oxbridge). She’s struggling to get internships/work experience but her friends who took maths/computer science or finance are faring better (a lot didn’t get the top grades she achieved). She could have taken medicine (but her heart wasn’t in it).
I feel guilty as I wasn’t clued up about Stem and was happy to go along with what she/the school wanted. My friend pushed her son to do maths (even though he wasn’t keen) and he’s is now a high flyer earning very well.

I’m hoping it all pans out in the end but the grad market seems difficult now. She will need to earn a decent amount as we can’t support her financially very well in the future.

She has a couple of friends on degree apprenticeships. They’re not enjoying it all that much but at least they’re earning well for their age and will have the experience and a degree at the end.

I think 'take what you enjoy' is perfectly good advice for a degree.

I think where we fall down, is that most teenagers and many parents/teachers have no idea what jobs are out there and what qualifications would be needed to get them. That's where there needs to be more of a conversation and more work done by the student to figure out how to get from the degree to the sort of job (and lifestyle) they want.

This is an absolute kick in the teeth to students who've chosen something in the mistaken belief it leads to a certain job/kind of job - I don't think it's so much the case now, but about a decade ago there was an absolute craze for degrees with 'forensics' in the title, which students did because they imagined they'd all become hot-shot crime solving scientists, without realising that it wasn't like that at all.

I would think she has quite a lot of decent options with Chemistry, but she may have to really put the work in to discover what kind of job she actually wants and how to go after it.

I understand the “do what you enjoy” train of thought but I actually think “do what you’re good at” makes more sense. Often the two will overlap but I think being able to flex and progress is important for a profession and often that’s easier if being adept is the basis for that rather than enjoying a particular thing

This. Unless you are from a wealthy family and the BOMAD are stepping in, we shouldn't encourage 'leisure' degrees, especially for girls.

I work in STEM and we've just seen loads of mechanical engineers and IT workers laid off.

I used to work in land surveying & geology and our best graduate employees were always Science grads (all science types not just geology!)

If she's good at managing huge piles of data she'll be perfect for surveying. ☺️ (topography, not house valuations!)

I think its half good advice. but you need the other half of does it open lots of doors or just one or two doors or no doors you couldn't open other ways.

My sons about to go off and do a non stem, non vocational degree. It doesnt lead directly to a job but the graduate level employment stats for that course look fine enough. It feels a gamble but he has a job now and doesnt mind if he just stays in that job but with a degree. He wants the learning to broaden his mind and the potential to do something related to the degree after, but accepts its not guaranteed.

The decisions you make in your first degree are not always relevent for your ongoing career. I went to uni simply to get a degree. I was already qualified in a profession and wanted to improve my qualifications and return. I was really attracted to sociology but settled for psychology (although I didnt even have O level maths). In the event I realised before the end of the 1st year that I was a born academic and I was never going back to my former profession. I got a good degree then pivoted into human computer interaction to become an academic. If it was today I would have gone into AI research.

For many professions now the first degree does not really matter. However even for peple like me who got a 1st the graduate market is tough. Many companies have cut their grad intake programs (thank you Rachedl from accounts) because of poorly thought out rises in NI and minimum wage. Then there is the impact of AI which is cutting out many low level management and admin jobs.

Any young graduate now would be wise to pivot into an AI masters because that is where the future lies. You do not have t be a computer scientist. AI is a vast multi disciplinery field.

I’m sure there will be a need for Chemistry graduates, STEM is required by all sorts of companies. If Maths wasn’t her thing she’d be miserable doing it.

If I had my time over again, I'd read Chemistry. It's absolutely fascinating.

...but her friends who took maths/computer science or finance are faring better (a lot didn’t get the top grades she achieved).
So what.

She could have taken medicine (but her heart wasn’t in it).
There is NO point in studying medicine if your heart isn't in it.

It sounds like YOU wanted her to be a doctor and look down on those who are not as good at getting top grades in A-levels.

Margaret Thatcher was a chemistry graduate and look where she ended up! Not being ironic here - regardless of her political reputation she was still a towering intellect.

Totally agree with doing what you enjoy. I have a chemistry degree but realised I hated it and it wasn’t for me. I have never actually used it and now wish I had done agree I actually enjoyed because it wouldn’t have impacted what I ended up doing. Going to Uni was a fantastic learning experience but not in the academic sense. I would never advise a child of mine to stay at home and not go to Uni because living away is part of the experience.

As a careers adviser, what subjects do you enjoy, would always be a question I would ask if a person was struggling with next steps. Any stem subject should set you up well for the future. My friends daughter is a well paid well respected chemical engineer doing something I would have no hope of understanding! She did chemistry at uni and then got onto a graduate programme with a chemical engineering company. It's quite a male dominated industry but she loves it.

I would think she has quite a lot of decent options with Chemistry, but she may have to really put the work in to discover what kind of job she actually wants and how to go after it.

Excellent advice from @SarahAndQuack And to add: students need to be proactive. I am constantly a bit shocked at how little students engage with Careers services. Our dedicated careers adviser (she deals with about 4 Humanities departments) advises that students need to be thinking about this in their first year. They need to be doing placements and internships from first year onwards. And that they also need to learn how to position their skills. For example, having a part-time job in a shop or a cafe during their degree is mostly about demonstrating time-keeping, team work, understanding the discipline of working.

Being good at pottery in a Fine Arts degree may not be the thing that employers seek. But what they will be impressed with is learning a complex manual skill, which also requires real world physics & maths calculations (so your pot doesn't explode in the kiln), and working as part of a team, doing both creative and technical work (in art school, getting on with the technicians is crucial).

I teach research methods, and I always say to students that they won't get a job for how much they know about basket weaving in Russia in the Middle Ages, but knowing how to find out about basket weaving in Russia in the Middle Ages, and how to assess and sift relevant & authoritative sources on basket weaving in Russia in the Middle Ages.

Angela Merkel (German Chancellor) was also a (physical) chemist. The analytical skills serve you well in all walks of life.

I’m wary of generic ‘take what you enjoy’ advice.

My daughter’s school took that line with both A level choices and degree subject choices, saying that universities/employers weren’t interested in the subject. While that is true in some cases it certainly isn’t universal. My daughter knew what degree course she wanted and the specific requirements so the advice didn’t cause her any issues, but it added confusion for others.

As many others have said chemistry is a very solid choice, whether she wants to pursue a lab career or look at broader options.

Three years into a uni course, there's no point having regrets about subject choice. A Chemistry degree gives lots of useful transferable skills and can link to a whole range of job opportunities. She is in a better position to get a job than many other graduates without STEM degrees, but it's a tough world out there at the moment.
I agree with previous posters in that she really need to stand out in stage 2 interviews- after all, it is likely that all the applicants who get to stage 2 will look equally good on paper in terms of degree qualifications. Paper qualifications alone are not enough.
What they are looking for is a personality within that graduate pool who will be a " good fit" for their team.
Tell your daughter to take the advice given by other posters and ask the university careers service for practice interviews. She should ask them for an honest appraisal of she comes across and act on advice given.
Widen the job search to all sorts of industries, she may need to apply for loads before she lands a job.Unfortunately, lots of companies are making people redundant, so your daughter will have to compete with some applicants who already have practical experience in the world of work. She needs to really research the role she is applying for, know what the mission statement of the company is and show awareness and enthusiasm for their corporate goals. She really has to sell herself as being aware, flexible and knowledgeable about what they might be looking for rather than adopting a " one size fits all" approach.

Got to work on soft skills and build experience- voluntary or paid.

Make the most of what the careers service can offer her- she’s paying for it! Mock interviews, psychometric tests, mock assessment centres- and is she active in chemistry soc events/ opportunities? Stem subjects generally have more industry links etc.

The report you can download from this link gives an overview of success rates on internship applications (as reported to this service). It gives some data to how tough it is - 100 applications/offer. Your DD is not alone.

The trackers this company compiles are quite handy for methodically making applications.

I am however, going to go slightly against the grain and suggest fewer applications more rigorously prepared for. If you spread yourself too thinly you won’t be well prepared.

https://the-trackr.com/blog/summer-internship-season-report-2026/

Thanks to everyone who has contributed and for the links, much appreciated. You’ve made me feel a lot better about the choice of degree - it is a fascinating subject and has also really challenged her maths and physics skills. She is enjoying it and is on track for a first.

Hopefully, once her exams are over, she can throw herself into the applications and will also be looking for a summer job/volunteering if the internships don’t come to fruition. She has one day of shadowing lined up with an insurance group and is putting out the feelers to local accountancy firms too. She’d be very happy with a Pharma type role as well but lab work is her least favourite part of the degree.

If your daughter is inclined to do so, I'd be thinking of a further degree to take her to a specific field.

A colleague read Biochemistry at a prestigious university then did a PhD with an IT element. She got work in IT and is happy and good at her job.

Someone I know who studied what they enjoyed (Media Studies) said it had been a waste of money and time. They worked in low pay jobs but has finally got a decent job but one where a degree wasn't needed.
(I'm using they so as not specify sex. It's a close relative and don't want them to know I'm discussing them.)

If she is getting through the initial selection process but not the interview stage, then it is likely not her degree subject which is the problem. Has she asked for feedback from the interviews which haven't been successful?

You know the S in STEM stands for science? Chem is a perfectly decent stem degree. I think she probably needs more support with mock interviews if she's struggling to get further in the recruitment process. Also it's fiercely competitive finding any type of internship or placement. It's very much a numbers game and the more you apply for the bigger the chance of success.

She needs a big dose of tenacity and a very positive mindset, and to apply, apply, apply. If she wants to be successful she needs to devote just as much time to the process as she does to her degree. It'll also help as next year she'll be doing it for real for graduates roles.

My oldest is in her final year of a tech degree. She completed a year in industry last year and has secured a graduate role in the industry of her degree with a different company. I firmly believe the experience she gained in her placement year put her ahead in the graduate market.

I did economics because I thought it would help get a job.. It was not enjoyable, I didn’t study, got a 2:2 and it didn’t make any difference to my graduate job applications or career. I wish I’d just done geography like I wanted to!

There are so many engineering companies, and I have always enjoyed working with engineers because they tend to be practical people who want good results, not political and backstabbing. My happiest career times were with engineering companies and the worst were with financial services companies.

Both my DS and DIL have chemistry degrees. They both have very well paid, satisfying jobs. Chemistry is a good degree. I don’t know what you’re on about @Timetakesacigarette .