• Question: Would you change your degree if you had the opportunity to.

    Asked by yock534wake74 on 16 Mar 2026.
    • Photo: Melissa Upjohn

      Melissa Upjohn answered on 16 Mar 2026:

      I actually did change my degree – my first degree was in Banking & International Finance, which included some applied maths subjects to understand financial products like derivatives. I worked in Finance for about 10 years before I decided I wanted to be a vet ( a bit different, lol) so I went back to university to do a veterinary degree. I still use lots of the things I learned in my first degree within the work I do now but I needed the veterinary qualification to enable me to do the job I do now.

    • Photo: Tom Natt

      Tom Natt answered on 16 Mar 2026:

      My degree was in maths and I wouldn’t change it. At university, Maths teaches a lot about ways of thinking and problem solving and it has been very valuable. Plus people think I’m smart when I tell them! However, I would change HOW I chose my degree. I did A level maths, so I did a maths degree. I did not consider computer science, electrical engineering, or other things. I am happy with the outcome, but I do think I should have thought wider than the subjects I studied at school when thinking about my degree choice.

Comments

  • Photo: Michael J

    Michael J commented on :

    I studied Maths with French, mainly because those were the subjects I enjoyed the most at school and that I felt I was good at.

    In retrospect I probably should have studied Statistics or Economics – or something else that involves Maths but in a more obviously applied way and probably with a bit more computer programming thrown in as well. Had I been born 20 years later I would have chosen data science for sure.

    Having said that having a maths degree has opened a lot of doors in terms of career and the chance to move around (both in terms of employers and jobs, but also geographically as well). The skills and knowledge gained from studying maths are in demand and transferable to many different types of jobs within a range of organisations.