“Had a degree from the University of Life“

He was of course referring to the fact that whilst he did not have a degree he had a lot of life / work experience, which he believed was worth more.

To a point I have to agree with him, a degree is after all only a bit of paper, it does not ‘prove’ you can do anything useful in the ‘real world’ (I hate that term, just how many worlds are there, besides the real one?).

And he is right in that there is no substitute for hands on experience, and so, a degree from the ‘University of Life’ is certainly of great value (this person was successful, having a good job etc).
What I think this person missed was the fact that it is even better to have both, i.e. a degree and good life/ work experience, and that studying for a degree is, in itself good experience as, in order to do well you need to be self motivated, disciplined etc.

Also there is the question of transferability of work experience. Although the person who made the statement regarding the University of Life was in a good job, his skills were not transferable outside the organisation he was working in. I think that in spite of his strong experience he would find it difficult to find a similar role elsewhere without the paperwork (a 2:1 or 1s class degree) employers (often wrongly in my opinion) insist upon.

“The study of 500 employers found that, when hiring graduates, almost half were looking for relevant work experience, a good work ethic and a degree subject relevant to the job…

However, only one in four employers was interested in the class of degree, while even fewer were worried about a university’s reputation…

Anusha Everson, director for graduate employment at Hertfordshire, said: “It’s clear that gaining real-life work experience as part of your course, or on your own initiative, is an absolutely key requirement for students getting ready to go to university this September…

Those students yet to decide which university to go to, or who find themselves in clearing, would be well advised to look for courses which combine relevant subjects with opportunity to gain first-hand, practical experience.”

This is good advice, employers do look for experience. Many students find themselves in the catch 22 of needing experience to get a job, but without getting a job they are unable to get experience. To a point this can be overcome by taking courses which combine work experience, however, much of the work given to students on work placements are small menial projects, not necessarily the high value experience they really need. That said, any work experience is better than none.

The issue I have with this article is the statement that:

“only one in four employers is interested in the class of the degree”

Go and read some job advertisements (monster jobs is a good UK site) and you will see that a high proportion of employers stipulate a 2:1 or a 1st class degree as a minimum requirement, and I am sure almost all would consider degree results when choosing between closely matched candidates.

If you read the article in full, there is a list of things employers look for, however many of the items on the list would probably not be apparent on a students application form, for example ” Easygoing, cheerful attitude” or “Natural Leadership”. This implies these are interview / assessment criteria. I would argue that without a good degree you are far less likely to even get an interview. Students with a 2:2 or a third class degree will find it far harder to pass the paper sift. Again, this is why so many employers stipulate a 2:1 or a first class degree as minimum requirements, many do not even bother to interviewing students with poor results.

The bottom line is that most employers select candidates on a points based system. A certain number of points will be awarded for each attribute they are looking for. If a 2:1 or a first class degree is on their list then you will get points for it, but those points alone will not get you the job.
Another important point to remember is that in the process of getting a first class degree you are likely to learn more than a student who only achieves a 2:2. This additional knowledge and experience, gained on your degree course will (if your degree is relevant to the post you are applying for) allow you to talk authoritatively during job interviews, raise your confidence, and ultimately lead to better (interview) performance.

Conversely, if you go into a job interview with a poor degree it is likely you will be in possession of less knowledge, and feeling less confident (knowing you are already at a disadvantage).

My advice, don’t be fooled by such articles into thinking it does not matter what grade you achieve at University, it matters greatly, and will remain on your C.V. for the rest of your career!