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March 29, 2024, 04:57:00 pm

Author Topic: Is bachelor of arts a waste of a degree? or worth it?  (Read 28160 times)  Share 

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slothpomba

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Re: Is bachelor of arts a waste of a degree? or worth it?
« Reply #15 on: September 29, 2012, 04:18:58 pm »
+1
and it seems to be generally looked down upon, and seen as more of a broad degree for baristas/prelawyers/creative white kids

Even if this were true (and it isn't)...so what? Who gives a toss what other people think about it. There's no use not doing something you want to do because of what other people think, its your life, you only get one, no do-overs, so, you better do what you want.

  and people with no specialisation or anything

I'm not sure what your idea of a specialisation is but in Arts you have a major (politics, international studies, german, philosophy, history, whatever) just like you do in science (physics, math, chemistry, biology, physiology, etc).

You still focus on an area in your field. Something like philosophy or politics is still an incredibly deep body of study.

so is it really worth getting? ive heard of companies hiring cross discipline from commerce to science to engineering etc. but never arts. so im just curious as to the value you see in it

Uni isn't a job factory or a vocational school, if you really want something thats directly applicable to a job (even though there seems to be a bit of a stigma too it around here) TAFE is what you're looking for or a professional degree at uni (eg. dentistry, nursing, medicine).

This thread is another good one to read - Merits of an Arts Degree?

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EvangelionZeta

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Re: Is bachelor of arts a waste of a degree? or worth it?
« Reply #16 on: September 29, 2012, 05:19:08 pm »
+1
Any merit in doing a combined honours year at UoM for an English & Theatre/Politics and International Studies major. The appeal of writing a thesis and doing academic research is huge to me for a breadth of reasons but it'd be good to have some quantifiable benefits too.

Definitely - my personal belief (obviously a bit biased) is that English combined with a more "applied" Arts major is the best course of action, as English trains you to write and communicate very well, and is thus a really strong supplement to basically...everything. 
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charmanderp

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Re: Is bachelor of arts a waste of a degree? or worth it?
« Reply #17 on: September 29, 2012, 05:36:33 pm »
0
So how could an honours year with those two majors differentiate me from straight Arts graduates?
University of Melbourne - Bachelor of Arts majoring in English, Economics and International Studies (2013 onwards)

pk-607

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Re: Is bachelor of arts a waste of a degree? or worth it?
« Reply #18 on: September 29, 2012, 05:57:09 pm »
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Just a side note about B.A. La Trobe has a "Work Ready B.A" program and I'm curious about this and want some info on anyone who have done it before. Is it worth it?
Thanks

MJRomeo81

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Re: Is bachelor of arts a waste of a degree? or worth it?
« Reply #19 on: September 29, 2012, 06:54:49 pm »
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Just a side note about B.A. La Trobe has a "Work Ready B.A" program and I'm curious about this and want some info on anyone who have done it before. Is it worth it?
Thanks

Feel free to look at the La Trobe handbook for additional information but to be honest, La Trobe has suffered numerous subject/staff cuts in the arts faculty recently.
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pk-607

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Re: Is bachelor of arts a waste of a degree? or worth it?
« Reply #20 on: September 29, 2012, 10:12:52 pm »
0
Just a side note about B.A. La Trobe has a "Work Ready B.A" program and I'm curious about this and want some info on anyone who have done it before. Is it worth it?
Thanks

Feel free to look at the La Trobe handbook for additional information but to be honest, La Trobe has suffered numerous subject/staff cuts in the arts faculty recently.

But I heard that the cut only apply to religion and Indonesian subjects which are not really relevant to me :)
« Last Edit: September 29, 2012, 10:14:38 pm by pk-607 »

EvangelionZeta

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Re: Is bachelor of arts a waste of a degree? or worth it?
« Reply #21 on: September 29, 2012, 10:17:10 pm »
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So how could an honours year with those two majors differentiate me from straight Arts graduates?

Well it just means you're better at the particular skills those two majors grant you (rigorous reading skills, analytic thinking, research, excellent writing) than most BA graduates.  :p
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charmanderp

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Re: Is bachelor of arts a waste of a degree? or worth it?
« Reply #22 on: September 29, 2012, 10:37:37 pm »
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In terms of employment though, would it put me ahead of other candidates with otherwise identical tertiary qualifications? Not that that really matters to me, just curious.
University of Melbourne - Bachelor of Arts majoring in English, Economics and International Studies (2013 onwards)

Eriny

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Re: Is bachelor of arts a waste of a degree? or worth it?
« Reply #23 on: September 29, 2012, 10:38:56 pm »
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Just a side note about B.A. La Trobe has a "Work Ready B.A" program and I'm curious about this and want some info on anyone who have done it before. Is it worth it?
Thanks
Just had a look at the website. It seems like it's just a marketing strategy to me. Every university offers career workshops and guidance, exchanges, extra-curricular activities, work experience/internships (depending on your degree/major), and obviously the development of soft skills like communication skills and so on. I don't see how this would make you more 'work ready' than any other BA supplemented with a mix of activities outside of study. And besides, if you're really worried about being able to cope in the workforce get a part-time job or something. The workplace isn't some alien planet, anyone can function well if they have some common sense.

EvangelionZeta

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Re: Is bachelor of arts a waste of a degree? or worth it?
« Reply #24 on: September 29, 2012, 10:50:41 pm »
+3
In terms of employment though, would it put me ahead of other candidates with otherwise identical tertiary qualifications? Not that that really matters to me, just curious.

Would have those two honours years put you ahead of people who are identical minus them?  Obviously :p  Not sure what you're asking here bro :p
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charmanderp

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Re: Is bachelor of arts a waste of a degree? or worth it?
« Reply #25 on: September 29, 2012, 11:02:47 pm »
0
Haha yeah I'm just a little bit confused because it's hard to tell exactly what kind of jobs would be available if you majored in English/Politics and how honours could augment the opportunities available. But yeah not a particularly bright question :P
University of Melbourne - Bachelor of Arts majoring in English, Economics and International Studies (2013 onwards)

pi

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Re: Is bachelor of arts a waste of a degree? or worth it?
« Reply #26 on: September 30, 2012, 02:15:28 am »
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Haha yeah I'm just a little bit confused because it's hard to tell exactly what kind of jobs would be available if you majored in English/Politics and how honours could augment the opportunities available. But yeah not a particularly bright question :P

Well what kind of careers interest you? :)

paulsterio

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Re: Is bachelor of arts a waste of a degree? or worth it?
« Reply #27 on: September 30, 2012, 12:55:13 pm »
+1
Whether doing a degree is a waste of time or not depends on a multitude of factors, including why you are doing the degree, what you actually want to work in later on and what you want out of your time at university in general.

My opinion is that any degree can technically be a waste of time. If you go into degree A and you get nothing out of that particular degree or you don't get what you want, then you are wasting your time, it's as simple as that. I agree, professional type degrees are generally seen (by students) as more useful because they tend to direct students down a more clear cut career path, but again, if you don't actually intend to make the most of the degree, then that's wasting time too.

I think only you can answer whether you think Arts is for you or not. If you truly have an interest in whatever major you intend to choose, then that's good, you're persuing an interest and you'll enjoy your degree and you'll be able to use it as a stepping stone to get you into further studies or employment.

If you don't really have an interest in Arts and have the intention of doing it just because it's easy to get into, just because you think it's a bludge or for no real reason in particular, then you won't really enjoy it and you won't find it worthwhile, you'll probably be scraping passes and credits through most of your degree and you'll end up with a piece of paper that won't mean much to you and you would have blown a few years of your life and tens of thousands of dollars. The same can be said for any degree, even say, Medicine, if you don't truly have an interest, don't truly want to become a doctor and you're doing it for the wrong reasons, you'll find it as a waste of time too.

A bit of a read, but tl;dr, it's worth your time if you think it is, not worth your time if you don't think it is, it's up to you and what you want.

charmanderp

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Re: Is bachelor of arts a waste of a degree? or worth it?
« Reply #28 on: September 30, 2012, 03:28:56 pm »
0
Haha yeah I'm just a little bit confused because it's hard to tell exactly what kind of jobs would be available if you majored in English/Politics and how honours could augment the opportunities available. But yeah not a particularly bright question :P

Well what kind of careers interest you? :)
That's kind of why I'm doing Arts, I have no idea :P I'm just good at English so I figured taking those skills to the next level would be the best and most prudent course of action for someone who'd want a career that could utilise analytical, writing and creative thinking abilities.
University of Melbourne - Bachelor of Arts majoring in English, Economics and International Studies (2013 onwards)

Kanon

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Re: Is bachelor of arts a waste of a degree? or worth it?
« Reply #29 on: September 30, 2012, 03:39:22 pm »
+8
Education is never a waste
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