Get A First Class Degree

A of media coverage is given to the question of whether a degree has lost its value in both in terms of standards and the number of students taking courses. My own view is that a degree has more value than ever before, and that standards have not slipped, rather they have evolved in line with social economic and technological changes.

Today having a degree has become a basic requirement, made mandatory by most employers for quite basic roles. Consequently many more students go into higher education, and it is true that a degree will not give you the competitive advantage it would have thirty years ago.

Because of this it is necessary to get a first class degree if you are to distinguish yourself from the crowd. Beyond that you should consider a Masters degree, particularly if you are steering yourself toward a specific career, to which you first degree does not lend itself.

In terms of standards I think comparisons between today’s education system and that of thirty years ago are misleading.

A simple example would be some notebooks I saw in a museum a while back. I was amazed at how neat the handwriting was compared to my own, which is terrible At that point I immediately thought how standards have slipped!

Taking time to think about it, I realised that I rarely write by hand, I can touch type at a good speed and so good handwriting is of little value to me. If handwriting were important to me I would have practiced that instead of learning to touch type.

Similarly, my fathers mathematics was / is better than my own. Again, good mathematics are of less value to me than they were to my fathers generation, I have a calculator

Now I know there is no substitute for having good mathematical ability, but getting away with a calculator allows me to spend time learning other things my father knows little or nothing about.

There are many new degree subjects available today, computer science for example, which simply did not exist thirty years ago.

Priorities have changed, industry has changed, the economy has changed and so have the skills required to be successful.

I don’t think standards have necessarily slipped, they have changed. Changed for the better in some areas, for the worse in others, but ultimately are more appropriate for today’s environment.

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