Particulary interested in people's opinions of the two Sheffield Universitys. Did you feel you had taken a big step towards employment in your chosen profession by getting a degree at either of them?

I am about to graduate from SHU and i'm pleased with the course as it has given me a lot of knowledge that can actually be applied to the jobs I want. Plus it included a year long placement in industry that backs up the knowedge with real experiene.

In my opinion this has prepared me for employment much more than if I had done a traditional 3 year academic degree. At somewhere like Sheff Uni or any traditional uni.

My placement at SHU was so useful that all attempts (so far) to do anything any different to what I did there have been futile :hihi:

Anybody need a CAD operator BTW? :)

I would think it would be of some advantage. However, the real world does not necessarily agree with that scenario

My time at uni was the best time of my life and most certainly did NOT set me up for employment! If it had I'd be disappointed with myself... :clap:

I did a Mathematics degree at Sheffield University and got a fairly good result (2:1). However this prepared me for employment in no way at all. From gaining a degree I found myself no more employable than I was after my a-levels, just £13,000 in debt. The department didn't prepare you for employment full stop or provide you with key skills such as learning how to give a presentation.

I can say I am excellent at learning proofs for exams though ;)

Originally posted by Pajon
I would think it would be of some advantage. However, the real world does not necessarily agree with that scenario
Evidence?

Originally posted by Briano
My time at uni was the best time of my life and most certainly did NOT set me up for employment! If it had I'd be disappointed with myself... :clap:

A lot of people seem to go to Uni JUST for a good time these days. I really don't understand that? Why not just go and get an office job somewhere and have a good time without ending up in debt?

There really isn't any benefit to uni if you aren't doing something that will help you in the future.

Originally posted by march
A lot of people seem to go to Uni JUST for a good time these days. I really don't understand that? Why not just go and get an office job somewhere and have a good time without ending up in debt?

There really isn't any benefit to uni if you aren't doing something that will help you in the future.


Doh! :rolleyes: Where else can you get the energy from to party all night if you don't sleep all day! :heyhey:

I graduated from SHU two years ago having studied a sandwich degree in Computer Networking. My placement year in industry was invaluable when it came to applying for jobs. There are so many jobs that require you to have experience. Coming from a sandwich degree you automatically have it.

I found a good job within three months of graduating.

I do think uni helps you get a job, but degrees are more and more common so IMO they mean less and less but there is still a need to have one to get a job.

Going to uni is good for you in terms of life experiences. Even the Unis accept that studying is not the sole reason to go to uni as they both encourage the social side of university life. If studying is all you get from your university days then thats a shame. Its a good way to meet new friends, meet people from all over the uk and to loaf about for large periods of time watching daytime tv.

I came out with a large debt and i pay my repayments every month, it comes straight out of my pay packet so i dont miss it.

Nowadays I think work experience is more important the degree you do (depending on the career you are after), that whys i dont undertand all THE uni Vs Hallam nonsense.

The courses at Hallam are a lot more vocational and therefore more relevant IMO, i applied and was accepted by both but the Hallam course seemed to offer a lot more in terms of work experience.

Uni is integral in terms of me getting a job. I'm going to be a solicitor and without a degree, you'll never become one!

Originally posted by the fonz
I do think uni helps you get a job, but degrees are more and more common so IMO they mean less and less but there is still a need to have one to get a job.

Going to uni is good for you in terms of life experiences. Even the Unis accept that studying is not the sole reason to go to uni as they both encourage the social side of university life. If studying is all you get from your university days then thats a shame. Its a good way to meet new friends, meet people from all over the uk and to loaf about for large periods of time watching daytime tv.

I came out with a large debt and i pay my repayments every month, it comes straight out of my pay packet so i dont miss it.

Nowadays I think work experience is more important the degree you do (depending on the career you are after), that whys i dont undertand all THE uni Vs Hallam nonsense.

The courses at Hallam are a lot more vocational and therefore more relevant IMO, i applied and was accepted by both but the Hallam course seemed to offer a lot more in terms of work experience.

Some valid points. I agree that you should get more from uni than just what you learn, but you can get life experience without spending 3-4 years getting in to more and more debt. Learning should always be the main aim, otherwise why not get part time work, get your own place and go out all you want?

The one vs the other "nonsense" comes from many people still having the opinion that traditional univeristies are best.

Originally posted by march
The one vs the other "nonsense" comes from many people still having the opinion that traditional univeristies are best.
It's a statement about the fragility of the elitest system, coupled with a 'head in the sand' attitude :D

Originally posted by march
A lot of people seem to go to Uni JUST for a good time these days. I really don't understand that? Why not just go and get an office job somewhere and have a good time without ending up in debt?
There really isn't any benefit to uni if you aren't doing something that will help you in the future.
Well, university is much more fun than an office job ;)
Course there needs to be a balance, but I think it works both ways. If someone goes through uni and only has a degree to show for three years of life, then I think there must have been a lot of time wasted somewhere. If that makes sense.

(I think the university rivalry thing is a bit of a myth)

I'm just at the end of my 1st year doing Communication Studies. I want to work in the music business somewhere, doing PR or something at a record company, and although the course is relevant in someways, which is obviously why I'm doing it, I have the feeling to get into this area, it's just luck and experience - I'm under the impression (I don't know where from) that people who do the kind of job I want to do, don't necessarily have qualifications. So at the moment, I've got an exam next week which I'm finding really hard to get motivated for, because I'm thinking that the course will probably get me no further on to what I want to do, or if it does, it'll be something similar, but not in the industry I want. I'm going through days where I feel like packing it in a not bothering because I feel like it's not going to make a difference. But I bring myself back by thinking, at least I might be a step closer if I do it and I can say I have a university qualification.

I don't actually know if the uni will help find jobs when I come to graduate, but if they do, that's another reason I feel I should stay on - I'll have a better chance of doing what I want to do if they have contacts in specific areas.

Originally posted by SilentStatic
Well, university is much more fun than an office job ;)
Course there needs to be a balance, but I think it works both ways. If someone goes through uni and only has a degree to show for three years of life, then I think there must have been a lot of time wasted somewhere. If that makes sense.

It does make sense, I agree with what you say. I would never say you should just study at University. However if you just want fun then there is no need go to Uni though.

I wouldn't say I have lived the sterotypical student life as I stayed at home and commuted 60 miles every day for 2 years. Then I rented a house with my girlfriend for a year before buying a place while in my final year. This has meant I haven't gone out as much as a student should but I have my own house and no debt, well apart from the mortgage :D Plus I have done stuff I have wanted to and buying and looking after your own house gives you a lot of experience.

I studied Psychology at Bristol University, there was no way I wanted to move into a psychology-related career at the end of it and in fact I ended up doing various office jobs for about 5 years after before moving into computer programming. So uni didn't directly prepare me for employment, but I learnt a great many things which have served me well, and have contributed to my employment, in subsequent years.

I don't think University education per se prepared me for work, but I think moving away from home and taking responsibility for myself definitely did.

I find a lot of people at work who have never really lived that independently tend to be quite timid when it comes to making decisions and speaking their mind about things in the workplace.

My degree in archaeology at THE uni should technically have prepared me for a job within archaeology at the end of it. However, as far as I'm concerned the compulsory 5 weeks of fieldwork and extra 28 days independent (and somehow related) work do not prepare you for much of a job (despite the fact that you are more likely to be employed if you have a sheffield degree then any other university - in archaeology anyway;) )
Personally I made myself go out and get as much work experience as i could before and during my degree (and still occasionally volunteer for things now) and in the end thats what has got me the jobs i've had since.
From what i've heard, SHU does seem to prepare people more for the real world than THE uni but i think that come from the backgrounds of both universites (THE uni being academic and SHU being a Poly).

Originally posted by Yodameister
I don't think University education per se prepared me for work, but I think moving away from home and taking responsibility for myself definitely did.

I find a lot of people at work who have never really lived that independently tend to be quite timid when it comes to making decisions and speaking their mind about things in the workplace.
I agree 100%. Uni helps in that it's a structured move away from home, it gives you a bit of independence while keeping various support structures. It's a lot harder to do that if you're going straight into work. I know that most of the people I grew up with who went to University have done very well, and are scattered all over the place, but many who went straight into work are still living in the same area and I get an impression of "hanging on to the apron strings" (probably to a large extent this is because where I grew up is one of the most expensive places in the country to live, and there is no way for a person to strike out on their own there without a lot of parental support).

I didn't go to a Sheffield uni, but I can still comment in general.

Without my degree I wouldn't even have been offered an interview for the job I took, and I expect I would most likely be working in a different industry on a lower salary if I hadn't gone to uni.

Am at SHU on my placement year atm, and for the summer we have to do a report on our "professional and key skills". where we have 2 find a job advert that we would apply for after we finish, research the company, then analyse our career objectives and key skills.

So the uni is intending to help us for after we finish the degree and try find a job for real.

I am now 35 and studied electronics at hallam when it was sheff poly. This course was demanding and thorough, I learned a great deal about myself, my placement in heavy industry gave me an insight into working life and employment, but I had previously had a superb experience at stannington college gaining an OND in electrical/electronics, and practical skills at EITB where I learned practical skills in most engineering sectors and got a TR21, and a six months placement working in industry too. This 2 years stretch of education was intensive, we were doing 48 hour weeks with one night at college to 8 pm.
My education was always designed to make me as employable as possible, and that was always my intention. I was born as an engineer though, I was taking things apart as a toddler and getting books about how things work when I was a child at the library.

To summerise, University (poly) did prepare me for employment, although I never had much trouble getting work all my life as I have always been confident and good at interviews. Doing the University years, raised my status such that I can hold down a job with more status, better salary and put myself about in better circles. My life is much easier & rewarding than it would have been if I would have left education earlier. My job is really great and I have lots of freedom, which I enjoy immensley.

The pattern of my life seems to pan out like doing lots of really hard work at first, and then all the rewards come later. I worked really hard at my education and now 14 years later I spend my life doing stuff that I love. I play music in 2 different bands, have lots of foreign hols, house.. car.. radio interviews ...

not in any way shape or form. Set me up for life though

Having been through uni at several different stages in my life - undergrad, postgrad(1), postgrad (2), employee, I would refer to something someone told me a long time ago...

A first degree suggests you can be led...
A masters degree suggests you can be directed...
A doctorate suggests that you can lead yourself...

So I guess the preparation for life scenario depends on the degree.

Some are vocational - you don't (often) train to be a doctor, architect, to end up being an accountant..., however, the life training that a degree can give is valuable for the less vocational degrees - e.g. english lit., history etc. Not many of these graduates actually get jobs in their degree field unless it is in teaching: - which in itself is valuable.

So to return to the initial question...

The first degree is now becoming so common, that it is being devalued, however it still has value, especially if you can show application of your experiance, the second degree is now beoming the norm and, as these are generally unclassified they show no distinction, so the discriminator is experience, and the doctorate is generally (IMHO) a period of self indulgence as very few people ever do anything remotely related to their chosen field of study.


comments please...