Utilising A Science Degree?

[Theland]

Would somebody with a degree in science be able to achieve high earning management jobs in the likes of banking or local authority management?

[squarebear]

How would science equate to being a good manager?

[mrs_overall]

I know someone who is very high up in Corus (formerly British Steel)management. Her degree is in geography, which bears no relevance to the job

[EcclesCake]

My accountant has a marine biology degree!

[squarebear]

I still fail to see how having a degree equates to being able to manage a department. Surely, all it proves is that they can pass an exam?

[PipinHull]

Not a good time to be looking for a job in local authority management! I've earned a pretty good management wage for a number of years and I don't have a degree at all. I'm sure there are some industries where the type and grade of your degree make a big difference (banking is probably one of them) but there are also plenty of chances to earn good money as a manager by being hard-working and extremely good at managing people/budgets. This comes from experience, not academia.

[mrs_overall]

I agree with you squarebear, but for many jobs having a degree is mandatory, and it doesn't always matter if the degree is relevant

[seadogg]

My next door neighbours son did geography and he has money to burn as he used the computer skills he learned on the course to do something v. complicated in a company so you are right on there Mrs O.

[seadogg]

squarebear, the degree puts you in line for getting onto a management traineeship. I did Economics and ended in works management, learning the technivcal stuff as I went along.

[Old_Geezer]

What it proves is that they have the intelligence to pass the exam and the ability to stick to, and achieve a task. There may be a risk that the individual's skills do not translate to the management arena, but it's a reasonable starting point. Certainly the sciences are not subjects one considers an easy qualification; you don't go for them if all you were really after was a few years socialising.

[Mosaic]

My degree is in archaeology.
I have worked in well paid council jobs fo years.

[SueMoneyRowley]

The degree need not be relevant to the job. It shows an aptitude for study and a certain amount of intellect.

[boxtops]

In my experience, you would need to go in as a management trainee (if you can find an opportunity) and work your way up. A degree is very necessary in some jobs, irrespective of what it's in - but I have worked very often with management trainees who have good degrees but know diddly squat about managing resources and personnel. Management skills are acquired in the workplace, as well as learned in theory. (Equally I have known some exceptional managers who never had any sort of academic qualification...)

[Prudie]

My degree is in maths, I've worked for some time in the civil service doing nothing remotely mathematical.

[ganesh]

Exactly,but it might help at the interview if you have a relevant degree which shows interest in the career you have chosen and the job you are going for.

[factor-fiction]

If you apply for a management training scheme a degree qualification will put you at an advantage. In my experience the subject isn't important.
Like prudie, I have a degree in maths but as my career developed the maths element was fairly insignificant compared with organisational, leadership and communication skills.