Arts Degrees

shivsox

Can anyone tell me if Arts Degrees are actually worth doing? I'm getting mixed reviews about it to be honest. I think I want to do secondary school teaching but I'm not 100%.. I know you have to do a hdip as well but I don't mind that.
Any info about it?
Thanks

unknown13

You apparently do that after an approved course. But I am not sure.

Royale with Cheese

If you want to do secondary school teaching then it's worth doing, make sure you end up doing two subjects that you can teach to leaving cert level though. As in, don't study something like sociology as there is no course for this at school level for you to teach. Schools are mostly interested in teachers who have two different subjects they can teach at leaving cert level, and it's fairly tough to get a job in teaching at the moment.

Carsinian Thau

shivsox wrote: »

Can anyone tell me if Arts Degrees are actually worth doing? I'm getting mixed reviews about it to be honest. I think I want to do secondary school teaching but I'm not 100%.. I know you have to do a hdip as well but I don't mind that.
Any info about it?
Thanks

Yes, they are worth doing.

Without offending you, I'd like to point out that no matter who they are, the people who told you that they're worthless etc. are idiots. Complete idiots at that.

The vast majority of secondary school teachers hold Arts degrees. That's what you need for most of the subjects that are taught at secondary school level.

*= just to dodge any bullets of bias, it's probably worth pointing out that I'm not an Arts student/graduate/prospective student.

unknown13

here is a thread that will be of use to you; http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055733134

Royale with Cheese

Carsinian Thau wrote: »

Yes, they are worth doing.

Without offending you, I'd like to point out that no matter who they are, the people who told you that they're worthless etc. are idiots. Complete idiots at that.

The vast majority of secondary school teachers hold Arts degrees. That's what you need for most of the subjects that are taught at secondary school level.

*= just to dodge any bullets of bias, it's probably worth pointing out that I'm not an Arts student/graduate/prospective student.

As an arts graduate I can tell you that the majority of people who will tell you Arts degrees are brilliant and a wonderful platform to go on and do anything from are also idiots.

Unless you want to teach, then I would urge people to seriously consider what they want from their arts degree. A lot of people end up in Arts because they don't know what to do with their lives or missed the points for their desired degree etc. This isn't helped by people convincing them an Arts degree will be a useful thing to hold for any future career, the fact of the matter is it's not really. Of all the Arts graduates I know, most went in to menial unskilled jobs, with some losing them during the recession and then finding themselves 3 or so years out of college with no job and no real marketable skills. One graduate I know has gone in to teaching, and I myself went back and did a couple of years worth of Computer Science before I could get myself a decent job.

I hate students from other disciplines cracking out the tired old Arts degree jokes as much as anyone else, but I find there are too many people willing to firmly defend Arts degrees and brush over the fact that outside academia and teaching, they are not particularly useful. It misleads prospective students.

If you think you want to teach, then definitely do an Arts degree. If you don't want to teach, think very hard about what you do want to do. At 17 years old I had no idea what I wanted to do, so just ended up in Arts, but when I graduated at 21 with an Arts degree I was basically no better off than when I left school. I was lucky that I had the opportunity to go back and do a couple of more years in University, I'd hate to think I would have had to stick it out long term in some of the jobs I did immediately after graduating.

MaighEoAbu

Royale with Cheese wrote: »

If you want to do secondary school teaching then it's worth doing, make sure you end up doing two subjects that you can teach to leaving cert level though. As in, don't study something like sociology as there is no course for this at school level for you to teach. Schools are mostly interested in teachers who have two different subjects they can teach at leaving cert level, and it's fairly tough to get a job in teaching at the moment.

Isn't politics and sociology a new subject next year so maybe that would be a good choice as there wouldn't be that many teachers in that subject out there so it would be relatively easy to get a job with that subject.

XxMCRxBabyxX

MaighEoAbu wrote: »

Isn't politics and sociology a new subject next year so maybe that would be a good choice as there wouldn't be that many teachers in that subject out there so it would be relatively easy to get a job with that subject.

Problem is you can't teach anything with that subject so it's basically useless. Study sociology myself and can't stand it personally but that's another story.

And with regards to studying arts in general just be prepared for the jokes. You're going to get them no matter what, I'm studying law and arts and I get them! Just take them as they are, jokes. I have too many friends who get so worked up over jokes about arts and that just encourages everyone else! Just laugh, most of them are funny anyway!

theowen

MaighEoAbu wrote: »

Isn't politics and sociology a new subject next year so maybe that would be a good choice as there wouldn't be that many teachers in that subject out there so it would be relatively easy to get a job with that subject.

Is it a new subject?

spurious

Yes it is coming, but I don't think it has been rolled out nationally yet. AFAIK it's only in the planning stages.
With the wage cuts and cutbacks in general, the people who traditionally volunteered to assist with this process (trialling new materials/methods etc.) are less likely to do so now, so I wouldn't hold my breath on when it will go national.

XxMCRxBabyxX

spurious wrote: »

Yes it is coming, but I don't think it has been rolled out nationally yet. AFAIK it's only in the planning stages.
With the wage cuts and cutbacks in general, the people who traditionally volunteered to assist with this process (trialling new materials/methods etc.) are less likely to do so now, so I wouldn't hold my breath on when it will go national.

with what college? I know you can do politics modules as part of sociology and vice versa in NUIM

spurious

It will eventually come in as a Leaving Cert. subject. It will be up to the Teaching Council to decide what degrees from which colleges they accept to teach it. Less said the better about that.

XxMCRxBabyxX

spurious wrote: »

It will eventually come in as a Leaving Cert. subject. It will be up to the Teaching Council to decide what degrees from which colleges they accept to teach it. Less said the better about that.

Oh silly me, i thought they meant as a college subject...

implausible

Arts Degree (in teachable subjects) + H.Dip/PGDE = most straightforward route into teaching secondary school subjects. However, be warned that there is stiff competition for places on the PGDE, so you have to work to get high grades.

To be honest, it's what you make it. I've friends who graduated with me who are doing, (as one poster so elegantly put it) "menial" jobs, but in fairness, they didn't kill themselves working and the ambition wasn't there. Some of my fellow Arts graduates are doing the following: working in Planning Dept of a County Council (B.A. + M.A. Geography), solicitor (did Legal Science in 1st year, kept it on), psychologist (did Psych in 1st year, kept it on), national school teaching (did 18mth course in St Pat's after BA), librarian in a university (M.A. History), journalism, lecturing and of course, teaching.

Of course, there are people who never did anything with their degree, but you'll get that with any course.

OP, have a plan B, in case you decide against teaching and choose your subjects wisely.