Letter: Study what you most enjoy

John Baker (Letters, 30 November) warns students against choosing non-vocational courses, and repeats the assertion of an earlier correspondent that those that do are the victims of "con-men" in higher education condemning them to a bleak future on the dole.

But it simply isn't true. Many studying vocational courses struggle to find employment relevant to their training. My own humanities students frequently embark on potentially lucrative career paths. With good reason: critical engagement, command of a foreign language, effective presentation and research and reasoning under pressure are highly valued by employers, and will, if anything, become more important in the new world of swift

global communications and the "information society".

Would-be students considering a humanities course should not worry that the skills they will acquire are of no interest in the "real world". Like all students, they would be better advised to concern themselves with ensuring that the courses they choose - whether vocational or non-vocational - are sufficiently rigorous to have acquired a reputation for delivering the skills that they seek to develop.

Moreover, since enthusiasm will be one of their strongest assets in pursuit of a good degree result, they should not be afraid of selecting a subject at least in part because they enjoy it.

RA Burns

Kings College, London