Most prestigious degrees? (1 Viewer)

[Simorgh]

I know prestige doesn't matter one bit, as degrees are basically the same across all Universities. I understand any degree from whatever University whether its prestigious or not is completely irrelevant to getting a job. I get many other things: like social life, location, quality of teaching, extra-curricular and other things matter more than prestige. I definitely would put prestige way down my pecking order.

For the sake of wondering, which degrees at what Universities would you consider prestigious with a good reputation in our society? Also what degrees do you think are most likely to get you a high income and best job security later on?

 

[BandSixFix]

BACHELOR OF MEDICAL SCIENCE AND DOCTOR OF MEDICINE at USYD

 

[Paradoxica]

I know prestige doesn't matter one bit, as degrees are basically the same across all Universities. I understand any degree from whatever University whether its prestigious or not is completely irrelevant to getting a job. I get many other things: like social life, location, quality of teaching, extra-curricular and other things matter more than prestige. I definitely would put prestige way down my pecking order.

For the sake of wondering, which degrees at what Universities would you consider prestigious with a good reputation in our society? Also what degrees do you think are most likely to get you a high income and best job security later on?

The Ivies, Oxbridge, and a few scattered European and American universities.

 

[Simorgh]

The Ivies, Oxbridge, and a few scattered European and American universities.

Those are overseas and defs have a lot of prestige. What about degrees at Universities in preferably NSW or elsewhere in Australia?

 

[RecklessRick]

I know prestige doesn't matter one bit, as degrees are basically the same across all Universities. I understand any degree from whatever University whether its prestigious or not is completely irrelevant to getting a job. I get many other things: like social life, location, quality of teaching, extra-curricular and other things matter more than prestige. I definitely would put prestige way down my pecking order.

For the sake of wondering, which degrees at what Universities would you consider prestigious with a good reputation in our society? Also what degrees do you think are most likely to get you a high income and best job security later on?

For universities: USyd or UNSW, and especially the former in terms of prestige.
For degrees: Law and Medicine (an oversupply of graduates for law has been detrimental for the prestige of law, but this has been counteracted slightly by a positive shift in societal perceptions of lawyers caused by the rise of humanitarian law and the like). Degrees which are difficult for those outside the field to comprehend like engineering and pure maths are also very prestigious. I've always had the impression that architecture is prestigious as well, but I'm not really sure why that is. Commerce and economics not so much, particularly due to the relative lack of importance society grants to 'money movers' and the misconceptions of politicization surrounding much of economics.

 

[RecklessRick]

The Ivies, Oxbridge, and a few scattered European and American universities.

To add: Stanford, MIT, Caltech, UC Berkeley, the larger colleges in the University of London, the Sorbonne, Vienna, Trinity in Dublin, St. Andrew's, ETH Zurich. Those are probably the biggest international ones I can think of off the top of my head.

 

[si2136]

Oxford, Stanford, MIT, Cambridge, London, UNSW Commerce, USYD Law, Medicine.

 

[etxpy]

Oxford, Stanford, MIT, Cambridge, London, UNSW Commerce, USYD Law, Medicine.

Haha nope

 

[obliviousninja]

WSU B. Commerce (Co-op)

 

[Ununoctium]

If I was an employer or in HR, I would never hire a person based on the "prestige" of the university. EVER.

If you went to TAFE, have the qualifications, qualities and experience I need, you're hired.
If you went to UNSW/USYD, do not have the qualifications, qualities and experience I need, you're not hired.

There is no point dawdling about prestige and debating about whether Law and Medicine at UNSW or USYD is more prestigious than the other. To quote OP: "social life, location, quality of teaching, extra-curricular and other things matter more than prestige".

EDIT: Also prestige is extremely relative and relies on assumptions, perceptions and, well, in many cases, ignorance.

 

[RecklessRick]

If I was an employer or in HR, I would never hire a person based on the "prestige" of the university. EVER.

If you went to TAFE, have the qualifications, qualities and experience I need, you're hired.
If you went to UNSW/USYD, do not have the qualifications, qualities and experience I need, you're not hired.

There is no point dawdling about prestige and debating about whether Law and Medicine at UNSW or USYD is more prestigious than the other. To quote OP: "social life, location, quality of teaching, extra-curricular and other things matter more than prestige".

EDIT: Also prestige is extremely relative and relies on assumptions, perceptions and, well, in many cases, ignorance.

Whilst I agree with you (along with probably everyone else in this thread including the OP), I think it is also interesting to assess what our society deems to be prestigious. There's no reason to totally dismiss the thread as you are doing.

 

[Kaido]

If I was an employer or in HR, I would never hire a person based on the "prestige" of the university. EVER.

If you went to TAFE, have the qualifications, qualities and experience I need, you're hired.
If you went to UNSW/USYD, do not have the qualifications, qualities and experience I need, you're not hired.

There is no point dawdling about prestige and debating about whether Law and Medicine at UNSW or USYD is more prestigious than the other. To quote OP: "social life, location, quality of teaching, extra-curricular and other things matter more than prestige".

EDIT: Also prestige is extremely relative and relies on assumptions, perceptions and, well, in many cases, ignorance.

Now consider this case: A person in UNSW/USYD with the the qualifications, qualities and experience you need vs someone from TAFE with the qualifications, qualities and experience you need. Assuming they both did extremely well in the interview process, and you only had one position left. Which would you choose?

 

[Ununoctium]

Now consider this case: A person in UNSW/USYD with the the qualifications, qualities and experience you need vs someone from TAFE with the qualifications, qualities and experience you need. Assuming they both did extremely well in the interview process, and you only had one position left. Which would you choose?

I'd assess which candidate exceeded the employment criteria, evaluate which candidate would work best in the atmosphere of the workplace, which candidate would work best in the area they are seeking employment, and so on.

If you are making the unfair assumption that both candidates are absolutely equal in every regard, then I would seek a second opinion from HR or a relevant person, and, if this method fails to produce a result, then I would possibly develop some form of new assessment that would differentiate the two candidates, such as a call back 'stress' interview.

Never would I make such a significant judgment on the basis of an individual's alma mater.

 

[enoilgam]

Now consider this case: A person in UNSW/USYD with the the qualifications, qualities and experience you need vs someone from TAFE with the qualifications, qualities and experience you need. Assuming they both did extremely well in the interview process, and you only had one position left. Which would you choose?

I always get these type "scenarios" and honestly, they are just totally unrealistic. Two candidates never perform "equally well" in an interview, there are always subtle differences which an experienced HR professional and hiring manager should be able to discern for the purpose of making a decision.

 

[Kaido]

I'd assess which candidate exceeded the employment criteria, evaluate which candidate would work best in the atmosphere of the workplace, which candidate would work best in the area they are seeking employment, and so on.

If you are making the unfair assumption that both candidates are absolutely equal in every regard, then I would seek a second opinion from HR or a relevant person, and, if this method fails to produce a result, then I would possibly develop some form of new assessment that would differentiate the two candidates, such as a call back 'stress' interview.

Never would I make such a significant judgment on the basis of an individual's alma mater.

Yes, I am solely basing this on prestige - hence making every attribute of both individuals equal.
If you are operating a business, the reputation of your business is of value to your customers (and hence your business). One of the factors that contribute to this reputation is the prestige of your employee's alma mater. Would you want a group of staff that were TAFE graduates, or a group that came from UNWS/USYD. In most cases, the latter would be more appealing to consumers (remember that your judgement of these individual's capabilities is NOT the same judgement imposed by ordinary consumers).

 

[enoilgam]

Yes, I am solely basing this on prestige - hence making every attribute of both individuals equal.
If you are operating a business, the reputation of your business is of value to your customers (and hence your business). One of the factors that contribute to this reputation is the prestige of your employee's alma mater. Would you want a group of staff that were TAFE graduates, or a group that came from UNWS/USYD. In most cases, the latter would be more appealing to consumers (remember that your judgement of these individual's capabilities is NOT the same judgement imposed by ordinary consumers).

First of all, customers rarely know or inquire about the qualifications of an organisation's staff. Secondly, within industry, it's certainly been my observations that degrees are no longer as valued as they once were. Excluding professions where degrees are mandatory (i.e. Law, Accounting, Engineering etc), there are many instances where businesses will consider a TAFE graduate over a Uni graduate if they have the better skill/experience set.

 

[enoilgam]

For the sake of wondering, which degrees at what Universities would you consider prestigious with a good reputation in our society? Also what degrees do you think are most likely to get you a high income and best job security later on?

To actually answer the OP, I dont think there is a specific degree that is most likely to gain high income and job security. The key to having a high income and job security is down to the whole package. You need to know what you want out of your career and from there, what you need to do to get there. University is just one component of this - a lot of it comes down to choosing the right job opportunities, maybe engaging in some additional training and development and maximising and tailoring your strengths to your desired path. Employers look for the whole package - they dont just look for a degree from USyd, or experience working with X company. They want someone who has an all round good fit for the role and industry.

 

[T-R-O-L-O-L]

medicine and law automatically come to mind

 

[Paradoxica]

medicine and law automatically come to mind

If someone came up to me in real life and said that they were doing either of those and acted all the way up there about it I would break out laughing in a snide, mocking, manner.

 

[Kaido]

If someone came up to me in real life and said that they were doing either of those and acted all the way up there about it I would break out laughing in a snide, mocking, manner.

Whys that?