Here’s one for you. A young lad I work with is having a conversation yesterday with the team twonk, a guy in his mid twenties, bit of a pillock, openly tries to demean other people in the team especially the guy he was talking to. While trying hard to make the first guy out to be an idiot he proclaims loudly “ha, you will never get a decent job because you don’t have a degree!!” – basically just to get a rise out of the guy.

Funny thing is we’re all doing the same job, but half of us didn’t go to university.

So, has not having a degree ever held you back? Or is their an inherent cache of having a degree that people think is a key to the kingdom?

I wouldn’t be doing this job if I didnt have one.

However, I probably wouldn’t go and get a degree now with the current fees structure.

I’ve seen plenty of job adverts that ‘require’ a degree. Mind you, I’ve seen plenty of ads that require lots of things. Junior helpdesk, paying £15k, must have MSCE. I’m sure half the time HR make things up off the top of their head.

I don’t believe so. I earn more than several of my mates who have degrees, i earn double my wife who has one.

and depends if the only measure of success is salary level….

It’s all about Drive.

Got Ryan Gosling’s Face drive? Degree not necessary.

Yes and no. Left the UK last year having worked up from £10k jobs and massive hours to 40k and desk job. A degree closed some routes hard work opened others. A degree gets you in hard work gets you further.

Jam bo – Of course it is, why else would you work?.

I’d hint at the contrary, can think of lots of folks who have done better precisely because they didn’t have a degree and banged in experience instead. The problem is the whole degree thing has been devalued so unless it’s a quality degree it makes no difference and all you’ve done is wasted three years of your life and gotten into debt.

Degrees can help get you going on a career so if you choose not to do one best to make sure you can see a path to what you want to do. I hope that the changes to funding of degrees helps focus people’s mind’s so that those that won’t really benefit from doing one don’t waste their time. So many people drop out anyway and many who get one really aren’t that bright. As for me, well I’m in the unexciting IT world, once you’ve got the skills a degree is irrelevant for most positions but getting into it in the 1st place would have been a lot harder without a degree.

and depends if the only measure of success is salary level….

Agreed. No point in a degree and a big salary if you hate your life is there?

Jam bo – Of course it is, why else would you work?.

Only you can answer that. But there’s more to it than money.

Nope, not really.
For reference, I hold a board level report position in a FTSE100 company and I do not have a degree.

Hard work and a good attitude will get you a lot further than any qualification.

Of course, being as sneaky as hell and backstabbing for all you are worth will get you further.

HTH.

I got to where I am quicker and get paid more because I have a degree. It’s entirely unrelated to what I do, but all my friends without degrees haven’t progressed to the same level and get paid far less. They’ll get there in the end though!

So yes and no.

I’ve got 2 degrees and I earn bugger all so no. I do have quite a nice life though. 🙂

PeterPoddy – Member
and depends if the only measure of success is salary level….
Agreed. No point in a degree and a big salary if you hate your life is there?

POSTED 35 SECONDS AGO # REPORT-POST

Only if your job sets the tone for your entire life? Why let that happen?.

I hold a board level report position in a FTSE100 company

Genuine question, what’s a board level report position?

Only if your job sets the tone for your entire life? Why let that happen?.

Agreed. And I don’t. Ohhh believe me I don’t!!

How would I know? Without a parallel life to compare it to, I have no idea!

what’s a board level report position?

Secretary 😉

PA, if you don’t mind. 😉

My boss sits on the board.

In some ( quite a lot) of companies it is becoming a minimum requirement, its been increasingly common for a whilet. I don’t think it’s affected me a great deal so far, but I expect it to in the future when I next go job hunting.

I don’t think its necessary in my industry (IT), and I haven’t seen a great deal of difference between those with and without degrees in their ability.

However I would advise anyone currently in education now, to get one if they can, I think it would limit their opportunities not to have one.

Unfortunately I also think the degree system is completely **** up, the focus that has been placed on increasing higher education numbers for the past 15-20 years should have been on lifelong learning.

Nope – definitely not held me back.

Interestingly we were talking about it at the weekend – one of the lads who rides with us is an MOD engineering apprentice. He’s 20 and carries himself in a far more mature way and has a much better attitude than the 20 something graduates I have met in the last few years when interviewing.

I strongly believe it’s worth us implementing a much stronger “apprenticeship” system – not just in traditional apprenticeship type fields, but also in the worlds of sales, accountancy, design etc, where real life practical experience and shadowing someone is far more beneficial than sitting in a lecture theatre listening to some out of date teaching from an academic who has never had any real experience in the field they are teaching for.

Ultimately, we should be educating to enable people to do a job, rather than (all too often) for vanity purposes.

Only if your job sets the tone for your entire life? Why let that happen?.

Lots of people do though don’t they. I have a mate who’s a lawyer and it seems to him there is no option but to work really long hours (doing something quite stressful). Hard not to let that take over your life.

Ultimately, we should be educating to enable people to do a job, rather than (all too often) for vanity purposes.

Hmm, while I get your point, I think it’s a bit dangerous/a shame to completely reject the idea of knowledge for knowledge’s sake.

Only if your job sets the tone for your entire life? Why let that happen?.

It’s easier to not let your job set the tone for your life, if you have the ability and education to make choices and control the path of your career to a larger extent.

Jam bo – Of course it is, why else would you work?

Bloody hell, really?

Maybe for you, but there are folk who work for love not money! And many more who strike a balance between the two.

Not really tbh. Most jobs I’ve applied for (electrical engineering) ask for as Degree but with years of experience behind me and a general lack of electrical experienced applicants I’ve usually found work ok. I have been knocked from a few consultancies however as they like their Grads (looks good on the business cards!). If your chosen career is flooded with post graduates though then I guess you will be over looked without the required quals.

yes and no, some places yes, some places no

We have an office twonk with very similar attitude here, while going through CVs to short list a contractor his first criteria was
no degree = in the bin

We had a big falling out over it. I don’t have a degree, and he does (a 2-2 from a old poly uni). He’s good at his job as am I, we had two in the team at the time who also had degrees but were frankly Carp! and he would openly admit that, and that I was way better than them too.
He still wouldn’t change his opinion, no degree = Bin.
Our boss firmly put him in his place though thankfully.
There are good degrees and bad degrees, there a people with them that are great and not so great….
The piece of paper on it’s own! doesn’t carry that much weight with me

Sometime you’ll meet these people and some times you’ll meet people which recognise a good job and hard work.

I do still see jobs advertised which I know I can do which say must have a degree, then I see others that don’t. It bugs me a but but not that much.

I do earn more than several of my friends with ’em but a lot less than my 2/3 highest earning mates which do. I’d probably top myself if I had their jobs with the demands they have and hours they work.

but I would like my son to get a good degree but I wont push him if it turns out to not be his thing (only 14 week old at the mo)

To the OP.

It depends on the business that employs you. A large blue chip will usually have a fast track promotion structure. Promotion is still available without a degree but it’s much harder to attain and you will reach a glass ceiling which you will not rise past. Unless you go back to further education to attain a degree.

In a small business, no as it’s more down to personal performance rather than what you did when you were in your late teens. But the degree helps prospective employers set a threshold for entry although intelligence does not equate to common sense, personality or charisma.

As many have mentioned it doesnt really matter, depending on what you want to do. Not many lawyers or docrors dont have degrees I suppose 😆
I was just about to go and study Politics at Glasgow Uni 20 years ago when my band got a recording deal so I binned that to become a rock star….that obviously worked out thats why I’m sitting in my huge LA mansion as I type this…
Seriously though, that fell to bits as bands so often do, through knowing the right people I ended up managing a very successful independent wine shop for 12 years, the experience and knowledge I got from that has got me far more opportunities than a degree would have.
A lot is who you know too though, I now work as a consultant for a global outdoors brand, (yeah I do get loads of free kit 😆 , but consultancy so could all go t*ts up at a moments notice! ) and that was just knowing the right people at the right time.
Anyway who wants tied down to 1 career by too vocational a degree, that would be boring. I’m on my third and dont see this being my last.

People with degrees succeed in life, people without degrees succeed in life (however ‘succeed’ is defined). Some people with degrees make the most of what they learnt, others don’t. Some people without degrees have the drive to do well without them, others mope about playing the blame game.

People make the difference and how they play the hand that they have been dealt or chose IMO. Degrees are only one part of that overall deck of cards.

Left school with 8 o’levels. Had wanted to go on to ‘A’s’. No idea if I’d have gone on to uni.
Dad all but told me i’d not be doing ‘A’s’ – i had to get out and work for a living!

Has it held me back – nope – seem to have managed to fluff my way through.
Left full time employment on 2008 to start my business. I left 2 months before the world fell on it’s arse.
It’s tough, we’re a good few £’K off being covering the salary I used to earn but, never been happier…

Would a degree have changed any of the above – I’ll never know 🙂

edit – answering the actual OP question! Nope. Don’t think it’s held me back. Not at all..

I wouldn’t be doing this job if I didnt have one.

However, I probably wouldn’t go and get a degree now with the current fees structure.

+1. Although I maybe could’ve got a lesser job and worked up to what I’m doing now, but it wouldn’t have been as fun as 3 years at uni.

It’s easier to not let your job set the tone for your life, if you have the ability and education to make choices and control the path of your career to a larger extent.

But never confuse education with wisdom…. 🙂

Depends on your field and to some extent whether you want to work for anyone else.

I’ve just dropped out of my part time final year to re-take full time next year as I want to keep my options open. However, adventure education (facilitation in adventure sports like MTB, climbing etc) doesn’t strictly require a degree 😆

Ironically I may be holding myself back by doing a degree! I could have achieved a whole lot in the past 3-4 years without spending that cashish but would need to be taking the independent/self employed route.

It didn’t hold me back, but It also didn’t open the doors I wanted it too! I went back to uni to retrain, I’m just about to graduate and realise my dream 🙂

And never confuse wisdom know what your talking about.

I kind of think that most people with the drive to get through a british school with decent grades (not me) and get onto a decent degree course have the drive to succeed without one as well. I think people who just coast through a university course will rely almost entirely on the degree to get a job in their area?

Could be wrong but I believe if you put your mind to something and you approach it with the right attitude, you can do it.

Got a 2:2 from an ex poly, it got me my first job. Hard work kept me my job when redundancies were made. It then got me my second job through someone I knew, now working for a good company where I feel appreciated and my hard work has been noticed and rewarded.

Looking to do a graduate diploma then onto a masters as I feel that I have matured a lot since university and will work harder at it, not having a msc or post graduate has held me back in some areas just because I lack the piece of paper.

Counter question; ever known someone with a degree who think’s it’s held them back?

Depends.

I did OK without one. However, I’m now doing a MSc and wish I’d got a first degree when I had the chance. I don’t regret doing anything I’ve done, but wonder how it would have been different if I’d studied.

I’d always recommend anyone who can do a degree get studying.