YES, YES, and YES AGAIN! (Is your degree worth the paper that it's written on?)

Name: sue.51

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Product:	Is your degree worth the paper that it's written on?
Date:	16.06.01 (105 review reads)
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Advantages: makes you feel proud, Can help you get interviews if you sell yourself properly

Disadvantages: When you get it you feel like you can conquer the world.

Calling all graduates- be proud of what you have, it WILL help you achieve something in life, that is IF YOU USE IT PROPERLY.

SORRY THIS IS SO LONG - BUT I HOPE IT WILL BE USEFUL TO SOMEONE - I LEARNT THE HARD WAY

WHAT SUBJECT?
If you have a specialism and excel in a particular subject area, then study it, whether it is Engineering, Theology, Marine Biology, Maths, History, or, (dare I say it), Business Studies, work hard and more importantly enjoy.

GRADUATION
This, for many people, and their families, it is the proudest day of your life, it certainly was mine (twice - first HND then Degree). The feelings afterwards however, will somewhat deflate you, when you are nursing your crisp new certificate and your hangover (of course you must have a drink - this is the start of the next step of your life) - or is it?

APPLYING FOR JOBS
DO NOT WAIT UNTIL YOU GET YOUR RESULT BEFORE APPLYING FOR JOBS - If you do you will be competing with an awful lot of graduates with similar skills and qualifications to you.

My degree finished in June, I had secured a management job with a salary to die for by early April. Gosh you are lucky my friends told me! Was I? - I started applying for jobs in February, I bought every paper, I spent evenings when I wasn't studying pouring over the internet, the local papers, the national papers, I spent a fortune on stamps, I visited the job centre daily, I registered with every employment agency within an 80 mile radius of my home, was I prepared to travel, of course I b****y well was, as a single mother I had a family to support didn't I. Well 100 applications and 3 interviews later (thats 3% return and an awful lot of stamps) I had my job, I didn't even have time for the hangover to settle from finishing my exams, boy was I thrown in the deep end, I worked 60/70 hours a week, I listened, I learned, I travelled, my daughter forgot what I looked like, my new partner threatened t
o dump me (luckily we are still together), but I had doubled my salary in two years, I wasn't going to throw this away without a fight.

DID I GET THE JOB BECAUSE OF MY DEGREE?
Well yes (and no).

I certainly got the interview because of my pending degree and reference from my tutor, I got the job because of my performance at interview, my success at the psychometric testing, illustrating my commitment to hard work (I held down three part-time jobs during my studies out of necessity not choice), my previous work experience, a well presented CV and my ability over the course of three interviews to woo my future employers. (No I am not brilliant - note again the 3% return rate and the two failed interviews previously, from which I learnt much and asked for feedback on why I failed)

WHAT DID I DO WHEN I FIRST GOT THERE?
Besides working every hour God sent, I naively thought I knew everything, WRONG AGAIN! - I knew nothing and suffered for it, I used to go home and cry at night, I knew about business but couldn't manage people.

I ended up having a weekly open forum where I used to invite my staff to tell me what they thought of me (not for the thin skinned, but it worked and boy did I learn from it).

WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT TO GET FROM A 1ST DEGREE?
Well, if you try early and hard enough, you will get a job, although don't necessarily expect it be earth shattering and highly financially rewarding. Be prepared to take a lower salary, but check out the opportunities that come with the position, but DO NOT think you are better than others, you may well be, but be prepared to eat much humble pie, respect your colleagues experience, ask them questions (they like this), really listen to them, be interested in what they have to say (if you can get away with it, don't mention your degree, if they ask mention it in passing, but do not dwell on it). On the same vein, do not undersell yourself. If you have wo
rked before studying, tell them about it, ask your careers adviser at college for advice, check out professional CV web-sites for help on how to sell yourself on paper (although don't pay for it without checking out the alternatives first-they don't come cheap).

TEMPING
If you don't have any work experience, think about the skills you do have:
* Can you answer a telephone? - you can operate a switchboard, or work in customer services.
* Did you type your assignments in college? - than you can operate a computer and have good keyboard skills
* Did you work in bar whilst in college? - Then you can deal with customers and the public, and are probably trustworthy.
* Did you work as a lifeguard? - then you probably are dedicated, committed and have at least basic first aid skills
* Were you a student rep? - then you are obviously good at speaking in public and dealing with people - what about sales? There are many good trainee sales jobs around that pay basic salaries (around £15K plus car and expense account)

BUSINESS STUDIES
I did Business Studies, because for a number of years I had worked in accounting, secretarial and production control roles, primarily as a temp, and felt I had something to offer. I am now studying for an MBA, and my class is full of Engineers, Doctors, Accountants, plus those with History, English and Theology degrees, recognising the usfulness of a busines qualification and the rewards it can bring. I was useless at school, primarily through rebellion and boredom coupled with a hatred of exams, I landed on something I was interested in and the rest is history.

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I could talk about this subject for ever, and now as a recruiter (and still a student -part-time and in spirit) feel I have a something to offer.

Your degree will benefit you if you use it properly, the world doesn't owe anyone a living, you have to work hard, and show your commitment,
couple this with a degree and it will benefit you (that is not to say that people without degrees cannot offer and get the same - but often they have to work doubly hard to prove themselves, unless they are lucky enough to have an employer who can look past whats written on paper). I found this out the hard way, a degree just makes it that little bit easier to compete.

If you are really struggling, why not check out a career in teaching, you don't have to pay course fees, for certain subjects you can get a grant of £6000, plus access to student loans, plus a payment of up to £4,000 after your first completed year in the industry.

=================================
To anyone out there who thinks a degree is easy, it is NOT, I have seen people work hard and fail, it is heartbreaking, I scraped through my MBA exams this year and also failed one because my despite having worked for it, my partner was, at that point in time, in the operating theatre having a cancerous growth removed, so evidently my mind was elsewhere, but getting my results gave me a poignant reminder of how much time and effort I put in for both my HND and Degree and how many Saturdays and evenings I spent in the library pouring over books and journals.

SO ALL YOU STUDENTS AND WOULD BE STUDENTS, ENJOY IT, WORK HARD AND RECOGNISE IT FOR WHAT IT IS - GOOD LUCK
SUE

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