Honors...bleh

[Sketti]

So, I've been offered to get my B.A "with honors" as in, I take 12 credits of upper level classes and a s---load of work I totally uninterested in. I want to be an editor or literary agent after I graduate in december (after climbing the rungs obviously).

I'd rather not have to do this work as it is totally uninteresting and really built around the assumption that all 7 of us with the required grades will go on to a Master's and Ph.D and be College Professors or Theoreticians in the field of Literature. It's completely abstract stuff of the driest sort written by people who, because they couldn't write anything worthwhile, commented on other people's writing like they are gods (pardon the disgust).

My question is, is there any point to me torturing myself to get the danged honors thing or should I just take those twelve credits in literature classes? Do grades and special mentions and stuff matter at all to TPTB who do the hiring? Would I get a better pay, or a higher position or whatever if I can write B.A.(Hons) in English?

*sigh*

 

[Susan Boulton]

Well, my daughter did a three year course in English Studies (combined English lit/language) degree at a British University and considers her BA (Hons) worth every minute of it. I suppose it is what you are wanting from life, but she has found that most jobs she is interested in you need a degree to even get considered for an interview.

I suggest you look at the enterance qualifications for the jobs you are interested in before you decide not to do the course

 

[j d worthington]

It's becoming increasingly difficult to get a decent job in any industry without a degree... and not the minimal degree, either. The higher the degree, the more likelihood you have of being considered for a position.

As for the coursework... I wouldn't be too quick to jump to that conclusion, either. While there is an awful lot of dry work there, there have been some damned fine critics whose work itself is interesting and will help you in your abilities in editing or writing; and no few of them make quite fascinating reading, as well... There are a number of people in the field who can indeed write, and write well; they just don't write fiction (though some of them do indeed do so, and often quite well). I give you this caution because, the more open you are to the experience, the more enjoyment you get out of it, the better you are likely to do with it academically....

 

[Patrick Mahon]

Sketti,

I'm just about to advertise for someone to work for me (nothing to do with writing though), and the advert will go in the Guardian, which has a better public sector jobs section than any other UK newspaper in my opinion. As a result of advertising nationally, I would expect to get anything between 10 and 100 application forms. And I'm the one that has to decide on perhaps 5 to 10 people to invite for a first interview. You can bet that at least half will have an honours degree, and that the likelihood of me shortlisting someone without one is pretty small - unless I see something else in their application that shines out above everyone. So if I were you, I'd get the honours bit of the degree. Otherwise you may find it difficult to get an interview.

I know it sounds unfair, but it's very difficult to judge who to interview from what they write on a CV or an application form. So externally verified stuff like the class of degree becomes more important than you might ideally like.

 

[Leonida]

Sketti,
You can bet that at least half will have an honours degree

Or does it just say they have an honours degree on their CV? I've interviewed a few people in my time, and not a one has ever brought a brown envelope with the O and A levels/Degree in it.

I've always wondered about that - its not as if anyone can actually be ar$sed to check up on it, so if in doubt - put (Hons) on your CV if you think it will help.

Naturally, someone will now claim that they "always check on people's qualifications" to which I raise my hat and wish that I had job that afforded me the luxury of doing such.

Cheers

L

 

[j d worthington]

The problem with putting something like that down is that it can be checked up on, if someone gets an itch to... and then it's grounds for termination from employment in most places. And, though it may be illegal most places to spread the word, somehow it does get unofficially spread a fair amount of the time... which can make it very difficult to get hired. I've seen such things happen, and known others who have been through the experience (not just degrees, but other claims as well). It's getting easier and easier to check out such things electronically now, so it's really not a good idea to bs when applying....

 

[SpaceShip]

Sketti - if you have the opportunity - GO FOR IT!

When I was young and just finishing school - unless you were an out and out genius there just wasn't the opportunity! You left school - you went to work! That was it.

Don't let golden opportunities pass you by - you will always look back and say "what if?" You can still get a job as a garbage disposal expert with or without the degree; you can't do the same when applying to be a brain surgeon!

 

[Patrick Mahon]

Or does it just say they have an honours degree on their CV? I've interviewed a few people in my time, and not a one has ever brought a brown envelope with the O and A levels/Degree in it.

Good point, Leonida! But as it happens, we always ask for two references to be given, and we always write to them before confirming the appointment. Where the issue of the type of degree is relevant (i.e. where the person is relatively newly qualified, and doesn't have lots of experience in different jobs), one of those references will be from their Uni, and we'll find out then.

It hasn't happened to me, but a colleague of mine recently ended up employing the second best person on their shortlist, when one of the referees for the person they'd originally chosen came back and told them that he/she had lied on their CV...

As JD says, not a good idea.