A difficult question (What are university degrees worth these days?)

Member Name: jennikitten

Product:	What are university degrees worth these days?
Date:	01/03/09 (218 review reads)
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I graduated last summer, and when I was looking for a job I found that employers had mixed feelings as far as my degree was concerned.

I was looking for a job in something vaguely related to my degree course (English) which probably helped, and I had nterviews for things like technical authors, web related writing stuff in general, proof reading and copywriting.

Some employers were interested in finding out what kind of things I'd covered in my degree, how the course was divided, what I'd written about. One even wanted a copy of an essay I'd written. However, others didn't even mention the fact that it said on my CV I had a degree. I don't know whether that was because they just wanted the candidate to have a degree in general (showing dedication, own motivation, organisation and ability to meet deadlines - basically just the assumed skills of a degree), or whether they simply didn't care.

However, overall in every single interview and application, employers and recruiters and agencies were all far more interested in the work experience I had and the details of my previous jobs than they were in my degree. The experience was relevant, and that probably played a part, but some places were even more interested in my volunteer work than in my degree. I have a lot of friends who have graduated and are still unable to find jobs - partly because of the recession, but also partly because of lack of good experience. There are many companies that have graduate recruitment schemes, but unless you're on the ball very early and have it all planned out they are generally quite difficult to get on. It's also hard knowing what you want to do and which direction to take after university, so these might not be suitable for most people anyway.

My conclusion is that degrees are stepping stones to other places, whether that's a first job, a teacher training course, or an indication of a certain skill set. A lot depends on where your degree is from and how well you did when looking at them in general, and this makes a lot of difference as to whether it's a 'good' or 'bad' thing. A degree is not the key to finding a good job, being promoted more quickly, earning more money etc., except as how it helps to contribute to the overall picture of you.

I do believe that a bad degree is worse than no degree at all, because it tells potential employers or other education establishments that you tried and failed. Someone who has spent the last three years gaining a good amount of work experience may be perceived as equally intelligent but not having had the opportunity to go to university, and would be in a stronger position.

Overall, I think the question posed for this topic is too vague because it depends on the context too much. The university, the course, the grade, the reasons for using or needing a degree, the individual employers etc. all change and vary so much. At the end of the day you can only see it in terms of whether it is worth something to you. And in my case, it definitely is.

Summary: Degrees aren't for everyone