Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Hi all,
Vanilla are planning an update to the site on April 24th (next Wednesday). It is a major PHP8 update which is expected to boost performance across the site. The site will be down from 7pm and it is expected to take about an hour to complete. We appreciate your patience during the update.
Thanks all.

What are the most useless/useful college degrees?

Options
  • 13-11-2019 11:39pm
    #1
    Pmacv1
    Registered Users Posts: 179 ✭✭


    Here's my list:

    1. Gender Studies
    2. English
    3. Classics
    4. Theology/Philosophy
    5. Sociology

    Honourable mention to Politics

    Most useful:

    1. Medicine
    2. Computer Science
    3. Physics/Chemistry
    4. Engineering
    5. Nursing


«13456

Comments

  • Options
    #2
    Better Than Christ
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,135 ✭✭✭Better Than Christ


    If you're the sort of incurious philistine who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing, and has probably never read a book in his life, it's inevitable that you'll view the humanities as being worthless.

    This is even more stupid than your other stupid threads.


  • Options
    #3
    ILoveYourVibes
    Registered Users Posts: 15,176 ✭✭✭✭ILoveYourVibes


    Pmacv1 wrote: »
    Here's my list:

    1. Gender Studies
    2. English
    3. Classics
    4. Theology/Philosophy
    5. Sociology

    Honourable mention to Politics

    Most useful:

    1. Medicine
    2. Computer Science
    3. Physics/Chemistry
    4. Engineering
    5. Nursing


    Good list. I totally agree. except for one thing.

    Take out the first five and you get a population that votes for trump every single time ...and we all die.


  • Options
    #4
    Pmacv1
    Registered Users Posts: 179 ✭✭Pmacv1


    Better Than Christ wrote: »
    If you're the sort of incurious philistine who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing, and has probably never read a book in his life, it's inevitable that you'll view the humanities as being worthless.

    This is even more stupid than your other stupid threads.

    Ah stop, I only meant that there useless in the way that they produce nothing of any value!


  • Options
    #5
    Pmacv1
    Registered Users Posts: 179 ✭✭Pmacv1


    ILoveYourVibes wrote: »
    Good list. I totally agree. except for one thing.

    Take out the first five and you get a population that votes for trump every single time ...and we all die.

    How do you work that one out? Most of the places in the US that are bastions for the sciences are deep blue states?


  • Options
    #6
    ILoveYourVibes
    Registered Users Posts: 15,176 ✭✭✭✭ILoveYourVibes


    Pmacv1 wrote: »
    Ah stop, I only meant that there useless in the way that they produce nothing of any value!


    You do realize philosophy gave you logic. Philosophy is the grandparent of all the sciences. Every single science came once from philosophy



  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #7
    Better Than Christ
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,135 ✭✭✭Better Than Christ


    Pmacv1 wrote: »
    Ah stop, I only meant that there useless in the way that they produce nothing of any value!

    I presume you're referring to monetary value. Intellectual value not being worth anything in your tiny, narrow little mind.


  • Options
    #8
    Pawwed Rig
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 22,293 CMod ✭✭✭✭Pawwed Rig


    Surprised that computer science is so high on the list. Is that your qualification OP?

    I think theology/philosophy would be interesting to do but your back to interesting v useful.
    I would put economics in there somewhere on the useful side. Anthropology could go in on the useless side


  • Options
    #9
    Pmacv1
    Registered Users Posts: 179 ✭✭Pmacv1


    Better Than Christ wrote: »
    I presume you're referring to monetary value. Intellectual value not being worth anything in your tiny, narrow little mind.

    Nope I'm referring to research and achievements which have improved our lives beyond the wildest imaginations of those living 50 years ago, and continue to improve constantly.


  • Options
    #10
    ILoveYourVibes
    Registered Users Posts: 15,176 ✭✭✭✭ILoveYourVibes


    Pmacv1 wrote: »
    How do you work that one out? Most of the places in the US that are bastions for the sciences are deep blue states?


    They are also bastions of philosophy sociology and gender studies. But its only those courses that the right is trying to debunk and replace with 'religion'.


  • Options
    #11
    ILoveYourVibes
    Registered Users Posts: 15,176 ✭✭✭✭ILoveYourVibes


    Pmacv1 wrote: »
    Nope I'm referring to research and achievements which have improved our lives beyond the wildest imaginations of those living 50 years ago, and continue to improve constantly.
    Without philosophy ..you wouldn't have science at all.

    And if you had studied history you would know that.

    In fact science was once called 'natural philosophy'.


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #12
    Pmacv1
    Registered Users Posts: 179 ✭✭Pmacv1


    Pawwed Rig wrote: »
    Surprised that computer science is so high on the list. Is that your qualification OP?

    I think theology/philosophy would be interesting to do but your back to interesting v useful.
    I would put economics in there somewhere on the useful side. Anthropology could go in on the useless side

    Well the next big step is using algorithms to detect health defects earlier, so yeah it's vitally important and it's inevitable it'll take the top spot.

    Sociology beat out anthropology by a hair.


  • Options
    #13
    ILoveYourVibes
    Registered Users Posts: 15,176 ✭✭✭✭ILoveYourVibes


    Better Than Christ wrote: »
    I presume you're referring to monetary value. Intellectual value not being worth anything in your tiny, narrow little mind.
    You can make money from philosophy. But like everything ..you just have to know how to sell it.


  • Options
    #14
    Pmacv1
    Registered Users Posts: 179 ✭✭Pmacv1


    ILoveYourVibes wrote: »
    Without philosophy ..you wouldn't have science at all.

    And if you had studied history you would know that.

    In fact science was once called 'natural philosophy'.

    Great, it's not overly useful now though is it? Don't get me wrong, it's fascinating to study, but only in very exceptional cases does it now provide any value.


  • Options
    #15
    jk23
    Closed Accounts Posts: 877 ✭✭✭jk23


    If it gets you in to a job or on to another course towards your career it's a good degree..


  • Options
    #16
    Twister2
    Closed Accounts Posts: 182 ✭✭Twister2


    I would put maths up there but you need higher than basic degree


  • Options
    #17
    ILoveYourVibes
    Registered Users Posts: 15,176 ✭✭✭✭ILoveYourVibes


    Pmacv1 wrote: »
    Great, it's not overly useful now though is it? Don't get me wrong, it's fascinating to study, but only in very exceptional cases does it now provide any value.
    Wrong. Astrophysics.


  • Options
    #18
    Pmacv1
    Registered Users Posts: 179 ✭✭Pmacv1


    Twister2 wrote: »
    I would put maths up there but you need higher than basic degree

    That's why I left it out. It acts more as a precursor to a more specialised field.


  • Options
    #19
    ILoveYourVibes
    Registered Users Posts: 15,176 ✭✭✭✭ILoveYourVibes


    Twister2 wrote: »
    I would put maths up there but you need higher than basic degree
    Any maths you have is going to help you.


  • Options
    #20
    glack
    Registered Users Posts: 692 ✭✭✭glack


    Not sure how any of your most useful 5 would get there without a few people with education degrees. Even doctors needed teachers...


  • Options
    #21
    EmmetSpiceland
    Registered Users Posts: 10,527 ✭✭✭✭EmmetSpiceland


    Pmacv1 wrote: »
    Great, it's not overly useful now though is it? Don't get me wrong, it's fascinating to study, but only in very exceptional cases does it now provide any value.

    Would be great to go and study film, philosophy, ancient history or English literature when you’re a “mature” student well into your 60s.

    Advising a teenager to go down that path is just crazy.

    The tide is turning…



  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #22
    JohnnyFlash
    Registered Users Posts: 7,055 ✭✭✭JohnnyFlash


    ILoveYourVibes wrote: »
    Good list. I totally agree. except for one thing.

    Take out the first five and you get a population that votes for trump every single time ...and we all die.

    https://tenor.com/Lkfh.gif


  • Options
    #23
    Pmacv1
    Registered Users Posts: 179 ✭✭Pmacv1


    glack wrote: »
    Not sure how any of your most useful 5 would get there with a few people with education degrees. Even doctors needed teachers...

    Teachings a post-grad qualification, which is why I omitted it, but I agree fundamentally.


  • Options
    #24
    IAMAMORON
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 9,078 ✭✭✭IAMAMORON


    Anything to do with Business Studies. Management degrees or theory of business are complete codswallop and worthless. Albeit the Maths you might study will give your brain a tickalong for a few years. Business degrees, and all the theory within, lack relevance and become outdated after about 3 or 4 years. That is the same amount of time it takes you to get the stupid thing.

    I would advise any whipper snapper reading this that if you want to learn about the business world to get off your arse and get involved in the business world. Degrees in business will teach you nothing, if anything you will be the laughing stock of all the senior staff at your first intern placement, which you will only achieve if you finish in the top 9% of your entire year.

    Unless you are studying to be a doctor or something frontline and relevant ,college is a waste of time, unless your studying Law or Engineering. You can learn everything you need to know in most colleges online.

    Now that I think of it you can probably study Law without going to college also.

    That is all.


  • Options
    #25
    Raconteuse
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,817 ✭✭✭Raconteuse


    ILoveYourVibes wrote: »
    Good list. I totally agree. except for one thing.

    Take out the first five and you get a population that votes for trump every single time ...and we all die.
    Wha?!


  • Options
    #26
    glack
    Registered Users Posts: 692 ✭✭✭glack


    Pmacv1 wrote: »
    Teachings a post-grad qualification, which is why I omitted it, but I agree fundamentally.

    Most primary and a significant number of secondary teachers (home ec teachers for example) have Bachelor of Education degrees. Post grad is a option but not the main one in primary.


  • Options
    #27
    ILoveYourVibes
    Registered Users Posts: 15,176 ✭✭✭✭ILoveYourVibes


    If money is your idol then very little else is useful to you because nothing else is going to provide you with as much money as you think ....

    If you want to make money ...you don't need anything else but the desire to make money and the work.

    Anything else will waste your time. Doctors don't do it for the money ...and you would be wasting your time. Its too much work for too little money.

    People have a terrible attitude towards money they think its evil to want lots of money or that its bad to want other things and value them as much as money or more.

    Money is awesome. But the path to money is to want to make money. Its not a degree.

    But you should value other things as a wise billionaire ;)

    Do you know George Soros studied philosophy? :)

    In uni he did ...and he applied karl popper's theory to capital markets. Now don't get me started on karl popper!

    But the philosopher Karl popper was actually Soros' mentor.

    I dunno if you know George Soros but he has plenty of money...also has a degree and a masters in philosophy.


  • Options
    #28
    ILoveYourVibes
    Registered Users Posts: 15,176 ✭✭✭✭ILoveYourVibes


    Raconteuse wrote: »
    Wha?!
    Without philosophy you wouldn't have democracy at all.



  • Options
    #29
    LirW
    Registered Users Posts: 4,825 ✭✭✭LirW


    While I believe that just about every degree has its right to exist and are useful for society in one way or another, there's one I'd like to nominate as worst contender: Geography.
    Not because it's boring or wishy-washy, but I believe that the overall topics are covered better by Google maps and other academic disciplines.


  • Options
    #30
    ILoveYourVibes
    Registered Users Posts: 15,176 ✭✭✭✭ILoveYourVibes


    LirW wrote: »
    While I believe that just about every degree has its right to exist and are useful for society in one way or another, there's one I'd like to nominate as worst contender: Geography.
    Not because it's boring or wishy-washy, but I believe that the overall topics are covered better by Google maps and other academic disciplines.
    GOBSMACKED.


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #31
    Twister2
    Closed Accounts Posts: 182 ✭✭Twister2


    LirW wrote: »
    While I believe that just about every degree has its right to exist and are useful for society in one way or another, there's one I'd like to nominate as worst contender: Geography.
    Not because it's boring or wishy-washy, but I believe that the overall topics are covered better by Google maps and other academic disciplines.

    What


Advertisement