The ‘useless’ degree
17/05/2012 # 07:00 # Impressions - my diary # 8 Comments
Under the strain of the economic times, with a second recession looming over our heads and recited as a warning for us to behave, save, budget and look to the growing fields and industries to absorb the influx of the newly unemployed, the questions and doubts of what to study – and if what we have chosen to study will result in employment – are ever-pressing.
Students are anxiously directed to study in the fields of engineering, law, commerce and finance, believing that with these fields they will ultimately find employment with a decent pay cheque, using this as their mantra to get them through their years of study. Are the results obscured then or are the golden children of the nation truly employed and earning high salaries, while we sit in the background as the black sheep?
Coming from the workplace and moving into an institution of higher learning, I can say with surety that this is not the case. While there do seem to be more jobs available in the above-mentioned fields, availabilities are limited in number, leaving the rest that have graduated in these fields with little opportunities elsewhere to go. While these fields are taken more seriously, and have a stricter regiment in studying, accompanied by harsher time tables, many graduates are unable to function and integrate outside of these communities. An engineer who fails to find employment is unlikely to integrate sufficiently into a ‘mundane’ environment. Hence, the stereotype of the engineer who is unable to hold a conversation outside of his field of study emerges.
This is where the ‘useless’ degree serves a better purpose. Through studying a BA in the Humanities, the most valuable thing you learn is how to learn. This may seem strange but BA students are not fed, prepped and prized like the golden children. Rather, it is a matter of sink or swim, with the students having to navigate and find the answers, often on their own. Due to the more relaxed routine and time-table, they have to implement self-discipline and time-management. It is these traits that serve the BA student better than other professions, allowing them to choose a job that – even if they have not been trained for as such – they will be able to adapt to and ultimately find the solutions to most problems, albeit often using google, wiki-pedia and social networks to their advantage, thus exploiting the tools that they have access to. The key to surviving in the current economic climate is to be adaptable and perhaps a bit entrepreneurial which the BA graduate encompasses. It is with this in mind that I would hire a BA student over other degrees, as just as the BA student needs to be adaptable in the current economic climate, so do businesses and their employees if they are to survive.
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Truly inspired. Proud to be a BA student!
exactly, i have also suffered at the hands of “other degree affiliates. being a BA scholar myself i really do understand and take note all the difficulties that come with being criticized for wasting my time studying towards something that the opinionated engineering students find useless and wasteful. Proud to be a BA scholar and can’t wait to open doors with my degree!!!
This is exactly why I chose this degree, because of its flexibility and I am truly happy with the way it has shaped me. I have never been so open-minded as I am now and I continue to learn everyday…
There is a similar article by Prof Jansen Van Vuuren of the Free State University. B.A is one of the best degrees available as it teaches one so many different skills and subjects like sociology, psychology, communications etc, things that we use one a day to day basis. Im proud to be B.A student where I can “hold a conversation outside of my field”. Great article Erin!
Great article Mc Luckie!
It’s reassuring to know that our ‘Bugger All’ degree doesn’t mean bugger all after all!Quite frankly, I think it’s just as tough as any other degree. Essay writing’s a tough skill to perfect and master, and your article is proof of the invaluable skills a BA has to offer!
This article just reminded me of an article I read on Destiny Magazine last night by Thami Ngubeni entitled
“Your Calling’ where she said that, “your dream job therefore isn’t the one that brings you the most money or status: it is the one that introduces you to yourself and makes you fall in love with, take pride in and celebrate all of who you are.”
I think as BA students we can all relate to the idea of “the useless degree” as each of us at some point in our lives have come across someone who thinks that our degree is simply a waste of time. I know I went through that with my family as I had to convince them that I would go somewhere with this degree. Still not convinced however I managed to force my way into it and I am proud to be studying a BA degree and it has truly exceeded my expectations. It made me a thinking individual.
I totally agree with you Aviwe, studyinjg a BA may be viewed as ‘useless’ but for us it is a degree with a number of unlimited opportunities. It is not fixed, but flexible, and from my personal perspective, the fact that I am studying a BA has already challenged me in a lot of ways. In a sense that, BA subjects are challenging on their own, and not just a walk on the green grass, but I have been given a platform to link all my course subjects together in a way that will make me have interest yet still learn from them. POWER TO BA STUDENTS!
What are about those who do not have degrees but get similar jobs as those who have BA AND SO ON. Is it a matter of having a better iq or barin or the urge and passion to excel