The value of arts degrees has been unofficially questioned in humour and popular culture for decades (at many universities, toilet roll holders are adorned with the graffito "Arts Degrees -- Please Take One"). Now a study in Britain has found that having an arts degree reduces one's earnings; in other words, people with arts degrees (in subjects such as history and English) earn between 2% and 10% less than people with no university degrees.

Professor Ian Walker, leading the study, said: "Feeling warm about literature doesn't pay the rent.

So, if you're planning to do an arts degree for the career potential (as opposed to as a somewhat expensive intellectual hobby), you may be better off calling it off and getting a 3-year head start on your fast-food industry career. Or maybe not.

Posted by: Zed | http://www.mememachinego.com/ | Thu Mar 6 20:42:55 2003

When I told my sister I was getting a philosophy degree, she quickly replied: "Well that'll come in handy."

Posted by: Ben | http:// | Fri Mar 7 03:44:10 2003

Thankfully, I never finished mine.

Posted by: Ben the REAL Ben | http://leviathan.weblogs.com | Sat Mar 8 05:46:07 2003

I never started, due to the gift of foresight (and seeing some of the absoloute fuckwits who had degrees but were too useless to either make money or get any sort of job).

Posted by: Alex | http:// | Sat Mar 8 17:30:56 2003

This is where someone mentions getting a 'useful' qualification or apprenticeship like being a builder, plumber, chippie, plasterer etc. TISM said it best, If You're Creative, You Can Get Stuffed. "My Dad's a builder / His friend's a plumber / They're getting cancer / And you can get stuffed... "

Posted by: deathsign | http:// | Tue May 10 21:46:35 2005

Funny that - most of the people I knew at Uni who were doing Business Studies were some of the most vile, toady brown-nosing soulless little weasels I ever met. Sure - the art students were "arty" and a bit of a joke - but at least they had some soul.

Professor Ian Walker, leading another worthless study, said: "Artists feeling warm about literature don't pay my taxes - I however can since I'm a fat leather elbow patched crustie with a cushty position in the Undead Sciences department."

Often it seems that people who talk about "Joke Degrees" forget the true degree to which their entire society is built on a series of bad jokes..

Laters

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