All degrees are not created equal

I saw a really interesting piece on BBC Breakfast this morning in which the claim was made that there are now too many graduates entering the jobs market and that graduates of many degrees are not finding graduate jobs as a consequence. This interested me particularly because of an incident earlier in the week. I was asked by a student at one of my careers talks in Scotland why, given what I was saying about what an excellent degree mathematics was for so many career choices, numbers of students taking mathematics was falling. Firstly I said I thought we are starting to turn that particular tide, with good inititatives and a rise in numbers (with maths rising above the general rise). Secondly I said I felt there was a lack of understanding among school students looking to take degrees of the relative value of different degrees, with students thinking maths is a difficult choice of degree subject and not realising the extra value that it has for their graduate prospects.