Why I Chose A Degree That I’d Never Use
Picking a degree dependent on the accessibility of future prospects rather than personal interest
I graduated with a law degree in 2016. Did I ever actually consider a career in Law? Hell no. The perception of simply ‘a degree is a degree’, has become a prominent thought in the minds of students in today's society. It’s no longer about having a genuine interest in studying a particular subject for three years but about the relevance and status it holds. The more ‘intellectual’ the degree, generally having a direct correlation to the broadness of job prospects.
Of course, I was intrigued and passionate about law. Of course, every online personality test came back with the same results; ENTP: The Debater (Extraverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Perceiving). Of course, I always started discourse at family gatherings for the hell of it. Of course, at times I found myself standing in opposition to the view I held just to represent a less argued perspective. I am a lawyer type; academic and confident. However, at the tender age of 17, I wasn’t prepared nor did I want to commit to a focused job stream. It wasn’t a degree I chose to do because of its presumed straight path to a pupillage or firm. “Barrister or solicitor?” — they’d ask. Neither thanks. It was simply a degree I chose due to two deciding factors. A) I could handle it intellectually and B) I thought it’d open the most doors possible for my latter (and presumably wiser) self to pick and choose from.
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” — Albert Einstein
17, is a rather young to determine the direction of the rest of your life. All that was certain to me was picking something considered intellectually ‘concrete’. This is what my high schooler brain believed to be paramount over everything else. I enjoyed Drama just as much as I did English and Maths but to take the studies further never even crossed my mind. To be specialised in something considered ‘airy-fairy’ to most, didn’t seem worth it. Well, here I am all those years later doing a Masters in Theatre. It perhaps would’ve been worth investing in my interests back then after all. Choosing the most solid and reassuring option was safe and I guess that was good enough reasoning for a young adolescent.
Arguably, this is neither good nor bad. It isn’t wrong to assume that subjects like medicine and law will most commonly get us further in an interview process. The assumptive nature of connotations is only human. We cannot blame the poor interviewers. However, if there is even the smallest of inklings of an interest in a particular career, surely we should encourage younger generations to follow in that direction. Whether it be from parents or course tutors, the advice we give those applying to universities needs to change. As Albert Einstein wrote, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” There is plenty of room in the world for everyone to have their own designated fields of interests.
I don’t regret doing a law degree. I am very much grateful to have it on my CV now. However, perhaps if I were to do the undergraudate drama degree that most of my peers during my current Theatre Masters did, I’d have saved myself five years. I have worked myself up to be in a certain position within the film and theatre industry now but this could’ve been the reality of my early twenties. Nothing is certain of course but it’s a thought worth considering. Money and seniority at a job is also arguably more uncapped than ever. It is much more valuable to have a degree in something that you’re passionate about and therefore you visibly thrive in than a dusty diploma labelled with a subject you never wish to experience professionally. In that of which you thrive in, you will continue to progress whilst in the latter despite your entry salary perhaps being higher, you will most likely find yourself at a standstill. Nobody should represent an unhappy lump of wasted human potential.
Going into the post covid-19 job market, I am now having to re-learn how to market myself with the tools I have. The mass unemployment means my competition won’t be anything but fierce. Backing the skills and qualifications I already posess will be paramount. And so in a way yes, I am stuck with law but finding an exciting way to interpret the use of it makes me anything but stuck. Students should be encouraged to be more adventurous and fearless in their pursuits of further education. Encouraged to stride with full confidence in the direction of their choosing. To implement the idea of a back up being a necessity is already ruining the subconscious beliefs in ones self, of a young mind.