right_freds_dead Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 (edited) im watching the lunchtime news here, the youngsters are getting the A level results...and what results !!! a million A levels at top grade for everybody...!! 7x A's, 8x A's. OMG everyones a total winner in this country its fantastic. Lets all get degrees everybody. In media. Whatsmore, their parents are stinking rich thanks to house inflation. The kids are all genius level. It cant be better can it ? only, nobody has yet told them there are no jobs which will pay enough to buy even a modest 3 bed house for a new family.......despite the 7x A levels and forthcoming expensive degree. its a scam. i can see them screaming in joy and jumping about the common room as the ITV mobile reporter films them live. if only they knew how cynical the uk plc views them and their burger flipping little hands. they are simply economic meat. Edited August 25, 2005 by right_freds_dead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustrum_ridcully Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 im watching the lunchtime news here, the youngsters are getting the A level results...and what results !!! a million A levels at top grade for everybody...!! 7x A's, 8x A's. OMG everyones a total winner in this country its fantastic. Lets all get degrees everybody. In media. Whatsmore, their parents are stinking rich thanks to house inflation. The kids are all genius level. It cant be better can it ?only, nobody has yet told them there are no jobs which will pay enough to buy even a modest 3 bed house for a new family.......despite the 7x A levels and forthcoming expensive degree. its a scam. i can see them screaming in joy and jumping about the common room as the ITV mobile reporter films them live. if only they knew how cynical the uk plc views them and their burger flipping little hands. all they are is meat. economic meat. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> erm... A levels were last week, it's GCSEs today. Agree with most of what you're saying though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Sacks Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 Yes, it is rather sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzzMosiz Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 (edited) Saw on the BBC morning programme where they had a few kids lined up to open their results live on air. Hmmmm funny how the BBC and Schools picked the brightest kids in the school. They all had great results. No spin there then? Where were the less gifted kids? Edited August 25, 2005 by OzzMosiz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
right_freds_dead Posted August 25, 2005 Author Share Posted August 25, 2005 i meant GCSEs i mean....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreeFall Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 Can't remember the channel / station, but I seem to remember that this morning they were saying that the results just keep going upand up and yet employers are complaining that applicants can barely read and write. Sad really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnlyMe Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 It is quite scary when you look at the whole picture. Further ed. and degrees for all is looking like a bigger con job than housing by the looks of things. The old milk round has been scrappped and more companies are moving to having their own entrance tests - well the ones that are acutally taking anybody on. http://www.lichfieldmercury.co.uk/displayN...tentPK=13067628 NEW DOCTOR TO QUIT UK IN JOBS BLOW Next Story | Previous Story | Back to list ANDREW WRAGG 10:30 - 25 August 2005 A Newly qualified Lichfield doctor has been forced to move to New Zealand because the British Government is failing to provide enough training places for medics. Rebecca Henshaw, from Christchurch Lane, has slammed Prime Minister Tony Blair for not looking after its next generation of doctors. The 25-year-old, who studied at Edinburgh university, has applied for over 50 posts in this country, getting just three interviews. One position alone received over 1,000 applications from graduates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29929BlackTuesday Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 Telegraph has article on front page about universities having loads of empty course places contrary to the spin that there'd be massive competition - seems the kids have caught on that it's just not worth it anymore. A levels are still quite hard though I have to say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooter Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 im watching the lunchtime news here, the youngsters are getting the A level results...and what results !!! a million A levels at top grade for everybody...!! 7x A's, 8x A's. OMG everyones a total winner in this country its fantastic. Lets all get degrees everybody. In media. Whatsmore, their parents are stinking rich thanks to house inflation. The kids are all genius level. It cant be better can it ?only, nobody has yet told them there are no jobs which will pay enough to buy even a modest 3 bed house for a new family.......despite the 7x A levels and forthcoming expensive degree. its a scam. i can see them screaming in joy and jumping about the common room as the ITV mobile reporter films them live. if only they knew how cynical the uk plc views them and their burger flipping little hands. they are simply economic meat. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Yep, last time I was recruiting-about 9mths ago-the graduates in politics, geography and the like from average but not terrible universities were mostly f$ckwits many of whom could not really string a sentence together, had not researched the job and could not give any coherent reasons why they wanted it. Standards are pretty low even for those who appear ok on paper with A grades all the way. S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isoprene Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 .......despite the 7x A levels and forthcoming expensive degree. its a scam. i can see them screaming in joy and jumping about the common room as the ITV mobile reporter films them live. if only they knew how cynical the uk plc views them and their burger flipping little hands. they are simply economic meat. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> A 27 yr old friend of mine who is now a doctor of chemistry has realised how he has been conned, and summed it up beautifully... "After all these years of studying, and all the time and expense in getting my Phd, I am just a more expensive and more skilled gear in the same economic machine." Says it all really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ʎqɐqɹǝʞɐɥs Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 i meant GCSEs i mean....... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Its easy for us thickos to get confused between the A levels the Highers the GCSEs and the Standard Grades as these days the pass rates ALWAYS go up and everybody is guaranteed at least 5 straight A's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ignorant Steve Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 A 27 yr old friend of mine who is now a doctor of chemistry has realised how he has been conned, and summed it up beautifully..."After all these years of studying, and all the time and expense in getting my Phd, I am just a more expensive and more skilled gear in the same economic machine." Says it all really. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> If it's taken him until he's 27 to realise that then he must be pretty stupid - wouldn't you agree? Most intelligent people have it sussed by their mid teens. I know I did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marko Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 Yep, last time I was recruiting-about 9mths ago-the graduates in politics, geography and the like from average but not terrible universities were mostly f$ckwits many of whom could not really string a sentence together, had not researched the job and could not give any coherent reasons why they wanted it. Standards are pretty low even for those who appear ok on paper with A grades all the way.S. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Scooter, After arguing with you quite a bit about FRB, I am interested to read about your experiences as a graduate recruiter....seeing as you are an underwriter in The City, one would perhaps expect that you would only be receiving applications from the cream, as it were. Alternatively, maybe all those kiddies clutching their worthless degrees had actually bought the lie that everybody in the UK with a degree goes on to a job in finance which pays £100,000+, and all they had to do was turn up on the day of the interview! You mention it was politics, geography etc students who were the f*ckwits...does this mean that the graduates from harder subjects were better? Interested to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leodhasach Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 A 27 yr old friend of mine who is now a doctor of chemistry has realised how he has been conned, and summed it up beautifully..."After all these years of studying, and all the time and expense in getting my Phd, I am just a more expensive and more skilled gear in the same economic machine." Says it all really. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> So am I...and I would now be substantially better off if I'd learnt a trade at 16. They constantly talk of persuading more kids to study maths and sciences - but who would bother? An analytical chemist starting with a water company will be lucky if he gets £13k - less than a nightshift shelfstacker. I'm glad I like enjoy my job, because financially the 8 years of studying was a very poor investment indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backtoparents Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 A-levels and GCSEs don't work. Our education system is frankly a dumbed down embarassment. You can not polish a turd. /G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E Powell Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 Education has been devalued by the politicians. It was the bloody tories who wanted to get more young people into HE. So they made all the polytechnics universities. A degree from a low life poly is NOT the same as a degree from a red brick university. When new labour came to power they manipulated the GCSE and A level qualifications so more people would go to university. Now if more people go to university more will come out in debt. Will they be able to afford a place ? No they will be clearing their debts. I think what new labour should do is give GCSEs and A level away in the Scum or in crisp packets. Thats what I think of education in the UK. Education has been completely devalued by politician for their own political means. Not everyone can be a graduate. We all cannot earn good money. You still need people to do the menial jobs. Rant Over Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isoprene Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 If it's taken him until he's 27 to realise that then he must be pretty stupid - wouldn't you agree?Most intelligent people have it sussed by their mid teens. I know I did. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Fair point but he said that he went to uni because of pressure from parents (to succeed etc) and wanting to experience the student life. So am I...and I would now be substantially better off if I'd learnt a trade at 16. They constantly talk of persuading more kids to study maths and sciences - but who would bother? An analytical chemist starting with a water company will be lucky if he gets £13k - less than a nightshift shelfstacker. I'm glad I like enjoy my job, because financially the 8 years of studying was a very poor investment indeed. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> When my mate told me how much he could earn as a doctor of chemistry I couldn't believe it! All that money and studying for £16K. Crap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leodhasach Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 Education has been devalued by the politicians.Not everyone can be a graduate. We all cannot earn good money. You still need people to do the menial jobs. Rant Over <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Couldn't agree more. I want everyone to have the same opportunity to go to university. But that means providing high quality primary and secondary education to all, to allow those that are good enough to go further to flourish. It does not mean lowering the bar so everyone qualifies. I'll admit that today's kids do actually work harder in school. My sister is 14years younger than me, and the atmosphere at school is very different. No one wanted a reputation as a big girly swot when I were a lad. These days they boast about how much studying they did last night. But everything is modularised, re-takeable and you select your best 2 out of 4 etc etc. Being able to reason is no longer required for A-levels or a university degree. The exams are not pressurised - they've already got 50% in the bag through "coursework". Modern education tests memory, application and attendance. Reasoning and intelligence are not required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marko Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 Fair point but he said that he went to uni because of pressure from parents (to succeed etc) and wanting to experience the student life. When my mate told me how much he could earn as a doctor of chemistry I couldn't believe it! All that money and studying for £16K. Crap! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Indeed. Again and again scientists (and engineers) have to stand and take these rubbish salaries on the chin (I am an engineer with a Doctorate), wholly out of kilter with the amount of hard work and effort required to get qualified. What really irks me is that the government is always going on and on about how we need more scientists and engineers etc. blah blah blah....if there is such a bloody shortage, then where the hell are the increased salaries to compensate!?! To be honest, if I was a youngster I would not bother with hard subjects I don't think...although I lament their lack of interest in science, I kind of understand why they are not interested...beyond the intrinsic interest (which most accountants and salary setters seem to think is recompense enough for science-types...f**kers) why would they be? Bloody hard work, a SH1T, SH1T wage and no social respect. We're all doooooomed I tell ya! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bottletop Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 Indeed. Again and again scientists (and engineers) have to stand and take these rubbish salaries on the chin (I am an engineer with a Doctorate), wholly out of kilter with the amount of hard work and effort required to get qualified.What really irks me is that the government is always going on and on about how we need more scientists and engineers etc. blah blah blah....if there is such a bloody shortage, then where the hell are the increased salaries to compensate!?! To be honest, if I was a youngster I would not bother with hard subjects I don't think...although I lament their lack of interest in science, I kind of understand why they are not interested...beyond the intrinsic interest (which most accountants and salary setters seem to think is recompense enough for science-types...f**kers) why would they be? Bloody hard work, a SH1T, SH1T wage and no social respect. We're all doooooomed I tell ya! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> too true....me? 36, BSc and MSc's in molecular Biology, work on mad cow disease for a private company based in a university. Salary? 22k a year. A total pittance. Wasn't the A-E pass rate for GCSE's something like 97% or did I read it wrong? If the govt can just get that 3% of achievementally chanllenged to pass then there'd be no more need for exams at all. Everybody can automatically be assigned passes. The torygraph had a news item today about x000 vacancies at second rate universities. There's places available in Adventure, Disaster Studies, and Surfing apparantly. Maybe it's not to late for me to get a degree in Adventure...sounds exciting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smell the Fear Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 Saw on the BBC morning programme where they had a few kids lined up to open theirresults live on air. Hmmmm funny how the BBC and Schools picked the brightest kids in the school. They all had great results. No spin there then? Where were the less gifted kids? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Showing the less gifted get their 2 c's and a d would be positive government spin in my opinion - it would reinforce the idea that the qualification isn't easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smell the Fear Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 A 27 yr old friend of mine who is now a doctor of chemistry has realised how he has been conned, and summed it up beautifully..."After all these years of studying, and all the time and expense in getting my Phd, I am just a more expensive and more skilled gear in the same economic machine." Says it all really. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> No offence to your friend, but who ever promised him a glittering career with a PhD in chemistry? The only PhD in chemistry I ever met was my A-level chemistry teacher. Lovely lady, but she wasn't in it for the money. PhDs are often those who lack social skills and common sense. They try to compete on sheer academic qualities, but employers are mostly uninterested beyond the point where you have proved you are capable of logical thought. Other qualities become more important in almost any job. Has he tried academia? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smell the Fear Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 Education has been devalued by the politicians.It was the bloody tories who wanted to get more young people into HE. So they made all the polytechnics universities. A degree from a low life poly is NOT the same as a degree from a red brick university. When new labour came to power they manipulated the GCSE and A level qualifications so more people would go to university. Now if more people go to university more will come out in debt. Will they be able to afford a place ? No they will be clearing their debts. I think what new labour should do is give GCSEs and A level away in the Scum or in crisp packets. Thats what I think of education in the UK. Education has been completely devalued by politician for their own political means. Not everyone can be a graduate. We all cannot earn good money. You still need people to do the menial jobs. Rant Over <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Why don't you just rack up a few A-levels in your spare time to show us all how p!ss easy it is? I think you'll find the exams are actually still very demanding. To score top grades at A-level is harder than you think. I agree there is a problem with universities. Even red brick unis will accept people with dreadful grades to study many subjects (politics, geography, and sadly the sciences). I think ALL subjects are important and worthwhile, but you need to have a genuine interest and ability to make a successful career from them. The system seems like a cheap way to keep 18-22 year olds out of the unemployment figures, whilst simultaneously saddling them with debt and forcing their parents to pay for their living expenses. It must save the govt. a fortune on benefits. If you look at the kids who score the top grades, most will take up the places for which there is real competition (law, medicine, dentistry, accounting etc.) Even at the tender age of 17 most kids with their heads screwed on know where the opportunities are. Its the hopeless bunch who fill the other places I feel sorry for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marko Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 No offence to your friend, but who ever promised him a glittering career with a PhD in chemistry? The only PhD in chemistry I ever met was my A-level chemistry teacher. Lovely lady, but she wasn't in it for the money.PhDs are often those who lack social skills and common sense. They try to compete on sheer academic qualities, but employers are mostly uninterested beyond the point where you have proved you are capable of logical thought. Other qualities become more important in almost any job. Has he tried academia? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Dear Smell, That is such a tired bloody argument...everyone goes on and on about people skills being more important nowadays. Mind you, I guess they are in the bulk of the UK economy nowadays, seeing as it is basically composed of: (1) Marketeers conning people into buying sh1t they don't need - 'people skills' needed (2) Cutting hair, polishing nails, life-coaching - 'people skills' needed (3) Talking up overpriced properties to FTB mugs - 'people skills' needed (4) Pulling off multi million pound banking deals on the strength of your previous attendance at Eton and membership of the Bullingdon Dining Club and Flaming Ferraris - 'people skills' needed (5) Tempting proles into lifetime debt slavery through debt consolidation - 'people skills' needed (6) Convincing greedy people that the fact that they smoke/are fat/fell over and sprained their wrist is in fact not their fault at all, oh no, it was somebody...anybody elses....let's sue them and get something for nothing - 'people skills' needed (7) In summary, conning people in various, nefarious ways - 'people skills' needed. Guess what? Somebody has to make the widget in this advanced, science and engineering enabled society. Just because our chimeric economy places a premium on using 'people skills' to extract cash from all and sundry, doesn't mean that it is a sustainable situation. Most proper jobs require serious, specific technical knowledge. This includes those real jobs that also require real empathy and ability to deal with people - e.g. palliative nursing etc. Those 'jobs' which just require you to be able to crack a funny joke in the pub after work (EAs are perhaps the pinnacle)? Guess what....they are not proper jobs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leodhasach Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 No offence to your friend, but who ever promised him a glittering career with a PhD in chemistry? The only PhD in chemistry I ever met was my A-level chemistry teacher. Lovely lady, but she wasn't in it for the money.PhDs are often those who lack social skills and common sense. They try to compete on sheer academic qualities, but employers are mostly uninterested beyond the point where you have proved you are capable of logical thought. Other qualities become more important in almost any job. Has he tried academia? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm afraid that the golden days of bow ties and mad hair folks doing PhDs is gone. A PhD is the new degree - people are doing them because they realise an undergraduate degree ain't worth doodly-squat to an employer now. Industry funded PhDs are now paying 14K tax free, more for engineers - that's better than most graduate salaries, so a lot of people who aren't "PhD types" are doing them as a first job. I do my job because I am a confessed chemistry nerd - if I wanted money for it I'd have to go to the States. Wouldn't swap it for one that paid double, but made me cry on Monday mornings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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