Are you doing a "Mickey Mouse" Degree?

Ever been asked why you’re not doing a "real" degree?

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“That’s not a real degree!”; “BAs are Mickey Mouse subjects…”; “Do you want fries with that?”- all jibes a significant proportion of the student population have been subjected to at one time or another.

But why? Why is there such an emphasis on the job you’ll get at the end of your three year course? What ever happened to just studying what you love?

Before commencing my study for a BA in English Literature and Creative Writing, I considered what I was doing a significant undertaking when it comes to academia. However, since starting my degree, I struggle to think of a single positive remark which has been made on my choice of course- especially with regards to employment prospects.

But why does a degree have to be vocational? Isn’t it a sad state of affairs when learning for its own sake is seen as a waste of time? It seems, amongst my peers at least, the only degrees immune from this level of scorn are law, medicine and accounting- with everything else being labelled as useless.

Perhaps it ought to come as no surprise that when unemployment is at its highest in 17 years, job prospects are at the forefront of students’ minds. But is this fear of a wasted £9,000 (and soon £27,000) giving learning for interest and enjoyment alone a bad reputation it doesn’t deserve?

In the recent University Memes’ fad, rivalries between Universities in the same region (UEA and Essex being a key example) manifested themselves in what was, for the most part, a harmless and amusing fashion. However, a recurring theme in this inter-uni ‘banter’ (generally occurring between original universities and polytechnics in the same city) was the employability of students studying at certain institutions.

During the course of this trend, a number of scornful jibes were made on the part of universities which felt themselves to have a greater stake in the jobs market. This was often the subject of great amusement- particularly for us UEA students. But realistically, there simply are not enough fast food worker vacancies to accommodate every student who has been told their future inevitably lies in this field. These kind of remarks highlight the fear in a large proportion of students that they would’ve been better off cutting out the middle man altogether and just heading straight out into the world of work- like so many of their peers.

Clearly many people feel that degrees from newer universities, or in subjects such as Film, Media or even English Literature, are a waste of time. But surely the many transferable study and research skills required by most degrees make them worthwhile for students- even if their chosen course doesn’t funnel them into an obvious career path?