Is A Degree Worth It?

If you think a university degree is going to get you a job just because you have got one then you might be very gullible. The BBC report today that the Graduate Jobs Market Is Tough Competition. I have problem with the whole idea of a 'graduate jobs market' because it suggests that it is somehow separate and different from any other form of employment. A job is a job is a job.



 An investment in a higher education is simply a personal investment that is about developing your intellectual capability. There are of course 'practical' elements to most courses, but the point of higher education is to develop the way you think about the world, problems and yourself.  This might have a tendency to set you apart when applying for a job but it can never guarantee a job. It might make you more employable but it will never get you employed. You can also create a mistaken sense of superiority (hubris) by thinking that there are 'graduate jobs' and other jobs. There are plenty of good forms of employment that demand every day practical knowledge. A higher education provides a capability for conceptual thinking and of sure many courses include lots of applied work too.

The fundamental point is that assuming you stand more chance of getting a job because you have a degree is misleading. Sure the big corporates sift applicants for their corporate 'soldier' jobs by 2:1 status. If ever there was an example of like recruiting like by like there it is. Of course many Public Service roles filter applicants by educational level,  to develop an academic career you need academic qualifications, and vocational professions demand higher education qualification is a necessary part of the professional career.  This I suppose is what is meant by the 'graduate job market'. But think small medium sized enterprises (where many graduates go job hunting) and they'll foreground 'you' and background your certificates.

For holders of more general social science based degrees its easy to be duped into thinking that we should 'love' our work (and the the employer will love us back). Nonsense. A job is primarily to earn a living. Now that said if you have a university degree, they can't take it away from you. Use it to your advantage. The priority is to get into paid work first, then use your education and that income stream as a platform for change. And if you land a corporate job? beguiled with promises of bonuses and fast track managerial careers? and corporate cultures that emulate the some of the excessive behaviours of The Apprentice then keep this blog in your bookmarks and come back when your 35 and tell me all about it.

Oh yes, and natural science degrees are different. Aren't they? If you do choose to go to a university then it is wise to find out more about them, hopefully this free Best University Guide will put you on the right track. If recently graduated, then how about using all that intellectual horse power to start your own business. Now that would be standing out from the crowd!

Is A Degree Worth Anything In A Recession?

The simple fact is that possessing an undergraduate degree is less of a differentiator than it was in the past because more people have them. So you might think that a swimming certificate might be of more value to you when you are thrown into the employment deep end.

The UK government are throwing a lifebelt of sorts with their Internship idea, although like a real life belt this can only be a temporary life saver.

Recession doesn't mean that all jobs will evaporate, what it means is that employers will become more selective, and that means as always that the better candidate will be selected. Now, depending on the job that doesn't necessarily mean the best grade, but when large corporates are processing thousands of potential candidates grades are an obvious 'coarse screen'.

Don't be gullible and think that possessing a degree provides any right to employment. It is an indication of a general undergraduate level of education. Whilst this might lead to a degree (sic) of independent learning capability, critical, analytical and synthesising skills, these are only a small part of the 'know how ' that is needed to operate convincingly in a fierce commercial environment. Despite 'work experience' having a degree will not provide you with the skills that only experience can bring.

The problem with internships is that they suggest that somebody can 'continue their learning' whilst on the job. Do not for one minute think that this means a continuation of the benign and supportive learning university environment. More so in a recession the people expected to guide you will be full on concerned with keeping their jobs and not baby sitting a new graduate.

So in an interview be clear about what you can 'do' for the organisation and don't spew out platitudes such as 'good team working', 'enthusiasm', 'leadership', 'problem solving ability', 'presentation skills'. Just like a degree these are now just the table stakes for being allowed to play the employment game. What difference can you specifically make to outputs and key performance indicators of the company or department? Do you have any contacts that your prospective employer can use? Do you have research or information they can use? Can you bring customers or suppliers to your employer? Can you facilitate access to specialist know how?

Any business studies graduates out there need to wake up! Do you seriously think that your employers haven't heard about SWOT, PEST, Five Forces, Missions, Values, Slippage, Belbin, Myers Briggs, Forming Storming Norming and Performing, Suitability Feasibility and Acceptability, and the myriad of other managerial concepts covered in standard business tomes.

Its not what you know but who you know. These might just be the difference between sink or swim.

Read More:
advantages and disadvantages of a university degree
rush for university places
Degrees maintain job market value June 2009

Choosing a University Resource:
Choosing A British University

Advantages and disadvantages of a university degree?

Choosing A British University

What qualifies me to offer an opinion here? Well, I hope you feel the following quick resume entitles me to a least an informed voice on the subject:

1. I've done a variety of unskilled and semi-skilled jobs, from petrol station attendant, postman, factory operative - food industry, factory operative- light manufacturing, office clerk.

2. I've done a variety of middle management jobs, from games design team coordinator, marketing executive, marketing manager, sales and marketing manager

3. I've held main board positions and share holding directorships, and participated in a multi million pound management buyout as one of team of 5 people.

4. I have a private consulting business

5. I have a bachelors degree in International Relations and Modern History

6. I have a master of business administration degree

7. I have a post graduate qualification in adult learning and teaching

8. I am presently under-taking doctoral research into managerial mind sets and individual and organisational strategy making

9. I have undertaken rudimentary training in NLP & transactional analysis

10. I am presently a full-time academic in a leading UK university, educating undergraduate and masters students, together with a variety of pastoral and subject group management roles.

11. I design and build modules for undergraduate and post graduate degrees

12. I design and build degree courses for bachelor and masters degrees

13 I am involved in a wide range of knowledge transfer consultancy projects for large public and private organisations

14. I have two sons neither of whom have any current interest in higher education, both are happy and succesful

15. I have family and friends whose sons and daughters are presently undergraduates in a variety of UK universities


When I left university I ended up in the gaming business, in a company that was dominated by Production, Electronic, Hardware and Software engineers. I vividly remembering being asked by one of the managers "So, tell me, what possible use is a degree in history in a business like this"

Being young and naive I stumbled for an answer and was troubled for many years afterwards by the question. Today I would answer in a flash that "It helps prevent me from asking dumb-assed questions like that!"

Many people who have not experienced any form of higher education operate from the assumption that it is a straight continuation of previous 'taught' experience, and this holds true for a significant number of new under-graduates who pop out of the 'forced' high school level system expecting 'Sir' or 'Mam' or 'Miss' to give them all of the answers. It is interesting to observe that culturally many Chinese and Middle Eastern undergraduate students who come to study in Western universities are presently very deferential to the 'lecturer' and take a while to feel comfortable with 'questioning' what they are introduced to. Like all students the graduate process of developing a self directed critical learning faculty comes as a challenge.

A crucial advantage of university degree is that it is a 'transformational' process that changes the way a person undertakes learning (by becoming more self-directed), changes the way a person manages and manipulates information, and changes the adaptability of the individual in the face of problematic and ambiguous situations.

Now, of course, the counterbalance to this is that 'theoretical' understanding has to be set against real world experience. Otherwise we have the disadvantage of obtaining a degree, which is the sometimes mistaken belief of its owner that they are extremely smart and infallible. In worse cases it can emerge as an un-justified patronising and arrogant attitude.

It is interesting that people focus on the pros and cons of the degree qualification, seeing it as a 'thing', a piece of paper. Of course the certificate is an indicator of a standard and recognition of the effort and hard work. However a more helpful way of seeing it is if you think about the the pros and cons of going through the DEGREE PROCESS. The certificate itself is not going to get the job - you are, with your attitude, humility, diligence, enthusiasm, team working skills, problem solving skills, and self -management skills.

Nowadays a first degree is becoming simply the 'table stake' to be in the game. The opportunity to be employed not the 'right' to a job. In the UK system this takes the learner from 'level 4' learning to 'level 6'. Masters qualifications at 'level 7' are becoming differentiators, and no doubt Phds and DBA's will in the future at 'level 8'. The educational philosophy that underpins the transformation process can be checked out by looking at the work of Bloom and Perry and Mezirow


One down side to advancing your higher education is the need to become more specialised, and that can often lead to becoming part of a very tiny minority. There is also the danger that you lose your common touch, i.e. the ability to communicate thoughts and ideas effectively in approachable and understandable language, and to be concerned with matters that connect to the everyday. That's not to argue for dumbing down, or not exploring the fine semantics of say, epistemological philosophy. Just to say do it with your eyes wide open and realise that your 'subject' might not rock anyone elses boat.


Ultimately the process of a degree ought to be set in the context of your life overall. What role does it play in making your life happier and better? If you think its a passport (despite the stats) to a higher salary then think again. YOU earn the salary, roles and position not the piece of paper, albeit it helps with the 'first cut' For 3 years+ disadvantages are, deadline driven lifestyle, mentally challenging and demanding, and a continual exposure to the prospect of failure. Are you happy to put yourself in that space? If you do and you get through then that in itself is character building and worthy of merit.


My eldest son has taken a different path, bright lad indeed, not an 'academic' atom in his body (at the moment) He's just qualified as a junior electrician, he's got no student loan debt, he is learning other trades too, he's a great plasterer, kitchen fitter and OK plumber. Crucially he is happy!

For me higher education has been well, shall we say...an education. I feel my world view is broader, I feel I can discuss issues without feeling lost even if they aren't 'my subject' and I know it sounds corny, but as each new learning experience opens a door ( bit like The Matrix) you see hundreds of new doors beyond that one. This has taught me realise that the prospect of 'knowing all the answers' is a very remote prospect indeed, and to be very wary of people who claim they do.

For me that's what is really interesting is the question.. so what is it that causes a person to stop opening the doors? Think of the Managing Director who claims to 'know' his business, or the person who can't see a way out of the situation they are in. Curiosity is perhaps one of the most genetically/ memetically important aspects of the human being.

Generically I would suggest that having a degree indicates that you have developed a capacity to ask questions rather than regurgitate answers, you will also have at your disposal conceptual frameworks that can help you make sense of the world more readily than someone who doesn't, you will also have the ability to marshall and move ideas and information around. None of these things are excluded from someone who doesn't have a degree, its just that like my son he is a better and safer electrician than me because he is qualified. Would you claim to be a genetic engineer by looking at the mould in your fridge? , or perhaps claim some knowledge about quantum mechanics by looking at your savings balance :)

Finally I would invite you think in terms of University AND Life rather than anything mutually exclusive. I would see a bachelors degree as the start of the journey not the end. I would do it because you're interested and it feels right for you, not because you feel you ought, or you like wearing square hats and a cape, or you expect it to make you 'special'in the eyes of anyone else but your mum and dad.

And finally, if I was to offer what I feel (at this moment) is THE lesson to be gained from a university education it would be this:

The capability of moving from The Simplistic, through the Complex, to the Simplified is a capability that underpins, creativeness, innovation, leadership, and facilitation of understanding. This process has to be experienced to be understood.
RR - BA (Hons), MBA, pgce :)(see its what you thought about what I've written that matters and nothing to do with those letters after my name isn't it!)

Other posts relating to graduate entry to The University of Life can be found here:
Is a Degree Worth Anything in a Recession
Advantages of a Masters Degree
Shopping for a Degree?
Plagiarism is simply Cheating
How To Choose A British University

Will I earn more?
Lifetime Earning Value 2009 A degree is worth £100,000 in the UK