By Hannah Moser, Deputy Opinion Editor
For a long time, I was the favourite grandchild. Not because I was the sweetest or most adorable, though both those facts remain true, but because I wanted to be a vet (or a doctor), and my brother had brought shame on the family name for choosing to study something as useless as Politics. What you won’t know from my by-line is that I’m actually now in my third year, also studying Politics. My Opa’s dreams were shattered a week before the UCAS deadline when I shared I had done a last-minute U-turn to ‘follow my passions’. During freshers I had the reoccurring thought that maybe I had made a mistake, perhaps I was meant to stay on the previously prescribed (ha, doctor pun) path. Now, almost three years later, it is abundantly clear to me that choosing to study my ‘Mickey Mouse’ degree was the best choice I could have made. With the clarity of hindsight, I now endeavour to prove why my degree is, in fact, worth it.
The list of practical benefits is endless - after all, there is no greater time to be studying Politics than in a time of geopolitical crisis. I’ll keep it brief on these benefits as, though perhaps most pertinent to the worth of my degree, they are comparatively boring. Studying Politics does, despite my Opa’s objections, look great on a CV. It tells an employer I can hold my own, make compelling arguments and, when in dire straits, bullshit my way to success for the greater good of the company. Importantly, studying Politics does not mean one has to work in politics, this degree does help you develop a plethora of transferable skills which are valued in any sector. The other practical benefit of course is political literacy, an important quality for any decent citizen. Worth it, I say!
I am yet to reap any of the employability benefits of my degree. Regardless, my Politics degree really does come in clutch in a variety of other scenarios. Firstly, family gatherings - never a lull in dinner time conversation when I’m seated next to my uncle, who thinks I’m a freak of female nature for my interest in football. Secondly, any discussion of the economy; let’s just say the finance bros hate to see me coming. Finally, any interaction with a man born before 1940, I’ve learnt these golden oldies do love a riveting conversation about either of the world wars. Shoutout to my second-year ‘Understanding Genocide’ module for providing me with hours of material with which I can occupy pensioners - that alone makes my degree worth it.
Certainly, most importantly, studying Politics is mysterious. Why does this make my degree worth it you may ask? Well, it gives me a bit of character. Something unique which inevitably becomes a qualifying feature of my identity for anyone I encounter. When learning what I study, people give me the classic confused look, it is evident that they have no idea what on earth that may entail. This fact does not bother me, I am quite content remaining an intellectual enigma. To most, I am a wannabe PM. Dearest reader, let me reassure you that you are at no threat of me becoming the future leader of Britain. So maybe, I don’t have the most straightforward career prospects or job security, but at least I’ve become a more interesting person because of it. Isn’t that worth its weight in gold?
