Are university degrees now worthless?

[JFKvsNixon 11]

Serious question...

 

Whie researching something on the internet recently, I came across a number of websites which enable student5s to download ready-made essays on any subject you care to mention. All one needs to do is change a few words, make sure you have read the essay so any questioning from your tutor will stand up to scrutiny, and hey presto - you can gain a degree without ever having to write an essay.

 

So does this completely devalue a genuine degree?

 

What happened to good old "cut and paste" when you have assignments? These youngsters today want everything easy.

[babybel 10]

There's a software for non professionals (ie students) called Raptor or Viper, something along those lines, which I submit all my work into to check there's not a sentence or theory badly researched. Luckily never got any plagiarism percentage come back apart from in bibliography book titles, which doesn't count, as the site not as advanced as turnitin I don't think.

 

It's a shame students don't have access to a turnitin check, but I figure that's under the impression some would find a way of lifting off the site.

 

I do think accusations of plagiarism can ruin the rep of a student though, happened to someone in year above me, and after the weeks of disciplinary - style meetings, was proved innocent after all. Poor sod!

[ladyacademic 10]

It's a shame students don't have access to a turnitin check, but I figure that's under the impression some would find a way of lifting off the site.

 

All students at the university I work with have access to Turnitin and are encouraged to check their work themselves before handing it in.

[babybel 10]

All students at the university I work with have access to Turnitin and are encouraged to check their work themselves before handing it in.

 

Would it be too nosy to ask which uni it is? You can PM me perhaps, I've been dying to do it officially for uni standards, but don't like to ask in case I look like a serial plagiariser!

[bobbie 10]

Degrees will always have a standing when applying for jobs, however it has to be said some students are complete nobs.

 

I graduated a few years bak and now got a good job, largley thanks to being educated above your average pleb

[LukeD 10]

Some of them are dafter, I can assure you

 

They can be eccentric but not daft. They are more with it than they appear.

[Crayfish 10]

They can be eccentric but not daft. They are more with it than they appear.

 

Most I have met have been very with it (some were also eccentric). They have to be by definition just to have the job, competition for those posts is crazy! From the perspective of an academic job seeker, at any rate.

[donuticus 10]

Degrees will always have a standing when applying for jobs, however it has to be said some students are complete nobs.

 

I graduated a few years bak and now got a good job, largley thanks to being educated above your average pleb

 

Shame you can't spell better than your average pleb eh!!!

????

[Keith Rich 10]

Some of them are dafter, I can assure you

 

What's your evidence for this statement.

[Frank Sidney 11]

I must admit that I once nicked someone elses work. My friend and I had had a couple of hard days (hic) and my essay was due in. He had already completed his, of the same title. We decided that I would re-write it and add all the things the lecturer said he'd missed and how it could be improved.

 

I did all that and got 5% less! Either the lecturer didn't know what she was doing or she was drunk when marking!

[espadrille 10]

Not worthless but you have to balance all the costs in my opinion. I left school without attending Uni at the age of 16. That was 31 years ago.

I immediately had an interview for the old NCB, afterwards became British Coal. By the time I was 19 I was earning 12,000 a year. That was 27 years ago and the wages around now for admin are no higher or not much anyway.

The way that I look at it, is if you have to have a degree for the job that you want to do, say teaching ,Doctor or architect etc, then you have no choice but to do a degree, but people who do something like an archeology degree when there are no jobs for archeologists are wasting 3/4 years of their life. They will come out of Uni with 20K of debt and have lost out on earning money for all the time they are studying.

I know that learning is not all about money but I wouldnt do a degree unless it would further develop my chances of getting work or getting more work.

[pem123 10]

, but people who do something like an archeology degree when there are no jobs for archeologists are wasting 3/4 years of their life. They will come out of Uni with 20K of debt and have lost out on earning money for all the time they are studying.

 

Not neccesarily a waste of those years at all. What if someone has a passion for archeology? What if by fulfilling that desire to do it, they are a happier and more balanced person afterwards as a result. Just because you can't measure the results in money, doesn't mean it wasn't a success