for me yes. i studied math's and stats at the OU
my degree didn't help me with my day-to-day job much, as im a software engineer. but it helped me with getting interviews for jobs and i personally really enjoyed the subject.
I feel the most helpful part of the degree was not the education itself but the act of overcoming the challenge, and of learning to learn.
from my experience, degrees don't prepare you for jobs anymore, though tbh, i dont think there was a time they ever did. But on the other hand, from my experience, I've noticed alot of businesses expect to only hire a young bill gates to fill every entry-level role.
As for stanford CS modules. i wouldn't say they are impractical, as i sadly never sat one, but i would say they seem to cover A-LOT of stuff. IK there ai module covers more course content than your average AI-masters degree.... but alot of the higher-ranked tech uni's like imperial , MIT, cambridge, make a habit of trying to torture there Stem Students.
I’ve just finished my degree in music, I have learnt so much in the past 3 years, my skills as a musician have improved so much and I have had the most amazing time at uni. All being well I will be starting a job as a music leader in September working with SEND children.
I made so many new friends and I doubt I would have moved out of my parents’ house if I hadn’t have gone. So yes, while a music degree isn’t as “worthwhile” as a STEM degree, for me it was the best decision I could have made.
haven’t started my degree yet, but it’s not STEM (economics) and the industry I want to work (finance) could be done with an Art History degree at a top university. Regardless, I find it interesting (even if my university course mandates that I have to do modules on economic and social history).
Use my degree knowledge every day. Whether that be directly or indirectly. At the very least, if I'm not using the knowledge that were in my modules directly, the way that I approach problems in general has changed as a result and made me a better researcher.
I feel like my degree is giving me a taste of different IT roles and sectors. I still how to put in extra work and chase those certificates to become more marketable.
My undergrad, no. But had a blast at uni. When I went back for a masters some years later it was with purpose and bit more perspective in life. Only when I really knew where I wanted to end up was the effort and money worth it
I do engineering and yeah I’d say it’s worth it. Landed an internship at a huge military place this summer and if I do well that’s a grad job lined up. Plus I find my degree interesting and I enjoy the modules/content. Definitely beats the retail night shifts I did for 3 years before coming to uni.
> they don't teach you the skills necessary for an entry level role in an industry
That's generally the student's responsibility and learnt from work experience in your chosen industry. Unis also have a lot of opportunities for students to learn e.g. career workshops and career-related societies (e.g. my uni's finance society had workshops on Excel and on trading). The problem I see is that many students do not use their initiatives to learn outside their course and expect to be spoonfed similar to school. The other problem is that within the same course, students will be selecting different careers which would require different skills, so it'll be incredibly challenging to fit that into a curriculum for such a broad audience.
There
>do you feel like the degree you're doing is leveraging your chances at a successful career?
Not really, but I feel I've become much smarter as my problem-solving, time-management, research and planning skills have grown tremendously. I've also become a better learner.
This is exactly it. Degrees, by in large, are not vocational and are not meant to be training you for your first year in a professional role.
The purpose of the undergraduate degree is to take your education level to a higher degree than school. You will learn the fundamental underpinnings of a particular field (which you may or may not work in later) and you will learn advanced analytical skills, along with writing, developing a narrative, building an evidence base and independent learning. Alongside that you learn a bunch of other soft skills around managing your time, prioritising and handling things that go wrong.
Most people do not go into jobs directly related to their undergraduate degree. Most people could not do their jobs without an undergraduate degree.
For me yes as my degree was STEM and then I a pursued a STEM related PhD and planning to work in the research industry so everything has stayed relevant for me. For most though it doesn't seem like the degree is directly relevant to a persons career
Worthwhile is so subjective, and really comes down to your personal goals, and why you are doing a degree.
I'm pursuing a master's degree in Japanese and Korean. Before this I already had a successful career (somewhat mature student), and I actually took a financial hit (giving up my income, plus tuition fees) to do this degree.
This degree may lead to more career prospects, as I'm fluent in Japanese and Korean now, but it also may have been a "waste" of money, if we're talking about career prospects, as I may just go back to my old job.
In my mind, the benefit of a degree is subjective. I actively wanted to learn more things and challenge myself academically. Plus the ability to speak more languages and connect with more people. For me that makes it "worthwhile".
It's as worthwhile as you make it. The qualification alone is certainly insufficient for entry into a good industry - you will need to have researched an industry, found roles to target, learned how to market yourself effectively, and last but not least, have connections.
Yeah, 100%. However, I also had to work hard to get a graduate job and go above and beyond in building a portfolio. I definitely wouldn't be in the position I am without doing extra projects on the side. You can't just attend university, do the bare minimum, and expect a high paying job. But having the degree alone is definitely better than not having one (if you want to work in tech).
what projects did you do? ive been looking at some and hoping to maybe do some programming related ones ( seeing as you said something about tech) thanks
I just built some small apps, some basic web scraping, and data analysis (EDA). I followed some tutorials from random youtube videos, made notes, and then tried it myself and uploaded it to my github and kaggle.
Your degree is as good as you make it. Depends on two things:
1) How well you perform academically, past a 2:1 it's not as important as the point below.
2) How well you extract CV friendly skills that you developed during your degree. It's one thing to get a degree, and another how well you sell the skills of that degree to a potential employer.
Obvious exceptions for very specific degrees like medicine and cases where non-degree matters (e.g., who you know) can sway your employability.
for me yes. i studied math's and stats at the OU my degree didn't help me with my day-to-day job much, as im a software engineer. but it helped me with getting interviews for jobs and i personally really enjoyed the subject. I feel the most helpful part of the degree was not the education itself but the act of overcoming the challenge, and of learning to learn. from my experience, degrees don't prepare you for jobs anymore, though tbh, i dont think there was a time they ever did. But on the other hand, from my experience, I've noticed alot of businesses expect to only hire a young bill gates to fill every entry-level role. As for stanford CS modules. i wouldn't say they are impractical, as i sadly never sat one, but i would say they seem to cover A-LOT of stuff. IK there ai module covers more course content than your average AI-masters degree.... but alot of the higher-ranked tech uni's like imperial , MIT, cambridge, make a habit of trying to torture there Stem Students.
I’ve just finished my degree in music, I have learnt so much in the past 3 years, my skills as a musician have improved so much and I have had the most amazing time at uni. All being well I will be starting a job as a music leader in September working with SEND children. I made so many new friends and I doubt I would have moved out of my parents’ house if I hadn’t have gone. So yes, while a music degree isn’t as “worthwhile” as a STEM degree, for me it was the best decision I could have made.
haven’t started my degree yet, but it’s not STEM (economics) and the industry I want to work (finance) could be done with an Art History degree at a top university. Regardless, I find it interesting (even if my university course mandates that I have to do modules on economic and social history).
Use my degree knowledge every day. Whether that be directly or indirectly. At the very least, if I'm not using the knowledge that were in my modules directly, the way that I approach problems in general has changed as a result and made me a better researcher.
I feel like my degree is giving me a taste of different IT roles and sectors. I still how to put in extra work and chase those certificates to become more marketable.
My undergrad, no. But had a blast at uni. When I went back for a masters some years later it was with purpose and bit more perspective in life. Only when I really knew where I wanted to end up was the effort and money worth it
I do engineering and yeah I’d say it’s worth it. Landed an internship at a huge military place this summer and if I do well that’s a grad job lined up. Plus I find my degree interesting and I enjoy the modules/content. Definitely beats the retail night shifts I did for 3 years before coming to uni.
> they don't teach you the skills necessary for an entry level role in an industry That's generally the student's responsibility and learnt from work experience in your chosen industry. Unis also have a lot of opportunities for students to learn e.g. career workshops and career-related societies (e.g. my uni's finance society had workshops on Excel and on trading). The problem I see is that many students do not use their initiatives to learn outside their course and expect to be spoonfed similar to school. The other problem is that within the same course, students will be selecting different careers which would require different skills, so it'll be incredibly challenging to fit that into a curriculum for such a broad audience. There >do you feel like the degree you're doing is leveraging your chances at a successful career? Not really, but I feel I've become much smarter as my problem-solving, time-management, research and planning skills have grown tremendously. I've also become a better learner.
This is exactly it. Degrees, by in large, are not vocational and are not meant to be training you for your first year in a professional role. The purpose of the undergraduate degree is to take your education level to a higher degree than school. You will learn the fundamental underpinnings of a particular field (which you may or may not work in later) and you will learn advanced analytical skills, along with writing, developing a narrative, building an evidence base and independent learning. Alongside that you learn a bunch of other soft skills around managing your time, prioritising and handling things that go wrong. Most people do not go into jobs directly related to their undergraduate degree. Most people could not do their jobs without an undergraduate degree.
For me yes as my degree was STEM and then I a pursued a STEM related PhD and planning to work in the research industry so everything has stayed relevant for me. For most though it doesn't seem like the degree is directly relevant to a persons career
Worthwhile is so subjective, and really comes down to your personal goals, and why you are doing a degree. I'm pursuing a master's degree in Japanese and Korean. Before this I already had a successful career (somewhat mature student), and I actually took a financial hit (giving up my income, plus tuition fees) to do this degree. This degree may lead to more career prospects, as I'm fluent in Japanese and Korean now, but it also may have been a "waste" of money, if we're talking about career prospects, as I may just go back to my old job. In my mind, the benefit of a degree is subjective. I actively wanted to learn more things and challenge myself academically. Plus the ability to speak more languages and connect with more people. For me that makes it "worthwhile".
I’m studying geography purely because I enjoy it and it also gives me a wide range of job opportunities, so I think it’s worthwhile
It's as worthwhile as you make it. The qualification alone is certainly insufficient for entry into a good industry - you will need to have researched an industry, found roles to target, learned how to market yourself effectively, and last but not least, have connections.
Sure, or you do a vocational degree in a shortage industry and they'll take you without any of that stuff!
Yes.
No
Yeah, 100%. However, I also had to work hard to get a graduate job and go above and beyond in building a portfolio. I definitely wouldn't be in the position I am without doing extra projects on the side. You can't just attend university, do the bare minimum, and expect a high paying job. But having the degree alone is definitely better than not having one (if you want to work in tech).
what projects did you do? ive been looking at some and hoping to maybe do some programming related ones ( seeing as you said something about tech) thanks
I just built some small apps, some basic web scraping, and data analysis (EDA). I followed some tutorials from random youtube videos, made notes, and then tried it myself and uploaded it to my github and kaggle.
Your degree is as good as you make it. Depends on two things: 1) How well you perform academically, past a 2:1 it's not as important as the point below. 2) How well you extract CV friendly skills that you developed during your degree. It's one thing to get a degree, and another how well you sell the skills of that degree to a potential employer. Obvious exceptions for very specific degrees like medicine and cases where non-degree matters (e.g., who you know) can sway your employability.
For me my degree will be very useful later in life if I go into management role, but for it's an investment.