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Degrees

DeletedUser

Is the value of a degree decreasing?

It is getting to the time where I am actually looking at my 'life plans', obviously I am still young and these will change, but I need to decide soon, do i go to university?

The british government decided that it wanted everyone to get a degree and so the number of people getting degrees has risen drastically.

It is no longer a case of 'oh you have a degree and the other guy doesn't... you're hired!', now its a case of 'Oh, you have a degree from cambridge! The other guy has one from the university of South End (made up i think.. :p)... You're hired!'.

Either you have a degree from one of the 'red-brick' universities or don't bother really...

I have to decide, do i do my gap-year and then do my degree, go onto do whatever job it is I want to do (or at least, hope i get that job..) or do i not... do I try to do something a bit more entrepreneurial and hope that now, experience is more important then a degree in certain jobs.

I know that I am making it seem as if i want advice, but that isn't it... I have actually already make up my mind and am simply using myself as an example to better explain my argument.

So, what d'ya think?
Are degrees now new worthless unless from a top-class uni, or has nothing changed from a few years ago?
 

DeletedUser3

your comparison is wrong. Since you're debating degree or no degree, it's "oh you have a degree and he doesn't, you're hired."

Regardless, you should pursue a higher education for yourself, for what it does for your self-esteem, self-worth, and most importantly, mental development.
 

DeletedUser

I think they play the same role they always have. I have been on both sides of the table from wanting to be hired, to now hiring. All I know about you is what you tell me. Of course how much of that is true? A degree tells me a lot about you. It tells me you stick to something and are not a quitter. It tells me that if you need to eat soup from a cup for years, work and go to school to do better you will. Your grades will tell me a lot as well. It really does not matter if your degree applies to the position or not. It tells me a lot more about you then if you did not have one. Get the degree!
 

DeletedUser

Man its all about presentation if you want a job its mostly about presentation and what kind of job you are looking for.
Have you ever heard the line You Are Overqualified.! or some BS that is usally for people with all the right educatrion and degrees
but dont present them selfs in they interview the right way or just dont have the right kind of character the job requires.
i think employers look for leadership qualities,over a high over priced education but then again it all depends on what kind of job you will be looking for.and if yoyu meet they set requirements .
Most employers will hire a Leader with a G.E.D over a noob/overqualified person with a colledge degree
 
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DeletedUser

That is true what about when all things being equal come into play? In an economy where there are thousands who are applying for the same job, you will not just have a good leader with a GED vs a noob with a collage degree. You are going to have a good leader with a GED vs a Good leader with a masters degree. Who is getting the job?

Yes you are correct in the job being offered as well. If it is a person to stock selves overnight.... well then yes, the guy with the masters is going to leave as soon as something better comes along. On the same token, do I really care about how good a leader he is. All I am really concerned about is do they have a heartbeat? Yes, well then they are hired.

It just seems to me that if there are people who prefer a person with a degree. There are people who will hire you just cuz you went to the same school they did. You would want as many angles going for you as you can. Reducing them does not seem the right thing to do, no matter what your education level is.
 

DeletedUser34

Here is something that nobody has brought up....compensation. A person without a degree can expect to get paid far less than a person with a degree. Even if the person without one has YEARS of experience the graduate has. I have had many jobs where I had to tell my boss HR laws because she was ignorant as a ......something. And yet she got the big bucks and I punched a time card.
 

DeletedUser

First of all I agree with all of you,you should get degree,and all this about presenting yourself at interview and compensation that Domino mentioned.
But if we are talking in global and taking in consideration many countries,having degree or not and from what university it is can be important or maybe irrelevant.
For example my country,where corruption is still very high,around 50-60 % of ppl are hired because they pay 4000-5000 to get the job euros or they have some relatives in high positions,etc.
And a school system is a such mess,on most universities when we get a degree we don't know what title do we have(always there are some laws that they have to correct or bring new).
EU want from us to higher our standards,to accept international standards and our politicians say:''oh okay we will do that''
and they do a half of job,maybe not even a half and they say that we have European standards.
And again there is a lot of corruption there too,a lot of ppl who simply buy their degree,professors are doing what they are want etc.
But I still think that getting a degree is very important(earn it,not pay for it) if for nothing then for yourself like Hellstrom said.
Maybe it is little of topic and maybe not that important to the most of you,but just wanted write my opinion.
 

DeletedUser

I think they play the same role they always have. I have been on both sides of the table from wanting to be hired, to now hiring. All I know about you is what you tell me. Of course how much of that is true? A degree tells me a lot about you. It tells me you stick to something and are not a quitter. It tells me that if you need to eat soup from a cup for years, work and go to school to do better you will. Your grades will tell me a lot as well. It really does not matter if your degree applies to the position or not. It tells me a lot more about you then if you did not have one. Get the degree!
I couldn't disagree more with your opening statement that degrees play the same role they always have. It wasn't that long ago when the majority of citizens in developed nations didn't have a tertiary education, but since there has been a universal push in developed nations to promote tertiary education it is no longer such a discriminator. To be less formal, every man and his dog has a degree; it has become an expectation rather than an elite asset. So in response to the original post, one could conversely argue that a tertiary education could be in fact overvalued, given ever increasing numbers of people are making the investment. True, it's no longer held in such high esteem qualitatively, but quantitatively it's as widely recognised as ever.
 
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DeletedUser1009

I have an indifferent opinion of degrees. I'll tell you why. I'm 45 yrs old and retired. I never went to college. As a young kid, I always had a job of some sort. Mowing lawns, delivering newspapers, washing cars, raking leaves and shovelling snow. My parents forced me to save every dime and taught me to look at money as something you want to grow. I graduated High School and turned down an academic scholorship to a State college. I worked like a dog as an electrician with my father. At 18 I bought a small studio condominium(about the size of a hotel room)for cash and put it up for rent. Three months later I bought another with financial help from my Uncle and a month later another one. By the time I was 23 years old, I had 25 rentals. I lived like a pauper, bought cheap cars and dated women with simple tastes. My father died when I was 24 and all of a sudden I was faced with helping care for my Mom and mentally disabled brother. the residential rentals were sold as a block to an investment company and I rolled the money into 5 local commercial properties and ended up with a mortgage payment of close to 12K/month over 15 years. Rents did not quite cover that and maintainence. Fortunately, I had married a smart, understanding gal with a decent job, had excellent occupancy and worked as an electrician through the largest building boom that the USA has ever seen.


I still live below my income level. We never had children, if we did I'd still be working. College is not necessary, but you'd better be ready to put in 12+hours a day working and have some luck as well. Whatever route you decide to go, the best advice I can give you is to go to the the business owners around you and ask for advice. We have a group called Rotary here in the States. I believe they are worldwide. They meet regularly and work towards the advancement of goodwill, peace and education. Typically, it's a group of seasoned businessmen/businessowners. No better place to go find out what to do- or more importantly what not to do- than from those who have experience in life.
 
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