ARmy Rumour SErvice

Originally Posted by CaptainPlume

Similar where I work. All the G4S staff seem to be Eastern European, the chicks are all very fit indeed, and I would be prepared to wager that many have at least a first degree even though they're pushing trolleys & delivering post.

Jobs that appear to be beneath our indigenous youth population, graduate or not.

Degree counts for jack nowadays, unless it's for a core subject (Math, Physics, etc), and the city will swallow up those graduates. Experience now is key again, due to the propagation of pseudo degrees from places that should never have been called Universities.

Originally Posted by WolvoExPunk

Get rid of the sociology, Posh & Becks studies and other Mickey Mouse degrees and get some proper science, maths, engineering and medicine courses in.

you know they do still teach these

To be honest, leveller, with a Desmond in Classics from a Redbrick (poor result because of being idle & also spending too much time with the TA, on the sportsfield & down the pub) I think myself very lucky to have had some of the opportunities I did. I wouldn't be looked at today for these jobs.

Thank goodness for my military background - it allowed me to ride out the last banking/market crash by mobilising then getting a four-year chunk of FTRS.

Originally Posted by leveller

Jobs that appear to be beneath our indigenous youth population, graduate or not.

Degree counts for jack nowadays, unless it's for a core subject (Math, Physics, etc), and the city will swallow up those graduates. Experience now is key again, due to the propagation of pseudo degrees from places that should never have been called Universities.

i wouldnt say a degree doesnt mean anything its just that now you're expected to have one

Still love the thread title. It reminds me of Robbaeus's "Education Oppertunities" one...

Originally Posted by 2/51

I never got a degree as in my line of work (e-learning and multimedia/3d animation), they did not exist when I left school! I did a 3 year technical apprenticeship in Technical Illustration with a major oil firm once I have left the Army and got a job straight away. When computers first started to be used I moved into multimedia and the 3d animation side of things and either taught myself through hard work, or shared info with fellow animators. I managed to get a job lecturing in the subject at college and uni.

However, some 20 something years later I have been turned down for a couple of jobs, the reason being, I don't have a degree. I have been told to "just get a degree in something like Business Studies", and that will tick the box. So, with 20 years expereince they dont want to know, but a degree in an unrelated subject is fine.

I believe degrees have been devalued by business with many companies looking for that bit of paper thinking that 3-4 years "study" proves something. Having taught at Degree level and knowing that 3 days a week, with a total of 15 hours tuition does not equate to 5 days a week, 40 hours work for a paying client that has much higher expectations than a college or a Uni has.

Yes, I have a chip on my shoulder and I do resent having to pay a fortune to get a degree to prove I can do the job I have been doing for 20 years.

Why not buy one ?

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

you know they do still teach these

Yes but to get arrses onto seats they offer "other" more interesting courses.

RAF mucker just left the RAF careers office after 3 years . Getting in loads of interested folk in with qualifications in Media Studies and strangely enough - "Forensic Sciences" ( After all there is a CIS in every town now!. Newcasle CIS, London CIS, etc) TV ruling peoples perceptions of what to do as for employment.

What about those who are not made for an academic career and who are more useful with tools in their hands than a pen? Do you still have a proper apprenticeship programme in the UK for trades, so that somebody without an academic degree has some paper to show that he has learned a trade?
We have the dual system, where apprentices get hired by companies and receive their practical on-the-job training there (and get paid a pocket money) while every three weeks they spend two weeks at a government vocational school learning the theoretical side of their trades, the curriculum is set up by cooperation of the school authorities and the chamber off commerce (or chamber of trades, depending on which profession it is) representing the companies. The chamber of trades or commerce will also take the exams and issue the journeyman certificate. Typically apprenticeships last from 3 1/2 to 4 years.
After another 7 years of experience as a journeyman and, after doing some additional schooling, the journeyman can pass his "master of the trade" exams and e.g. can call himself master plumber. This allows him to train apprentices himself or to open his own business in safety relevant trades. In Germany a master of a trade is just as respected as somebody with a PhD.