Granted this is the UK, US might be different,
but why the need for a
piece of paper?
A piece of paper shows that the holder has at least some stamina and
backbone to actually finish something, in some official way.
Err, no. That's a Ph.D. surely.
More seriously, a first degree often shows you could be bothered to turn
up to the lectures and rememebr what you were told. A higher degree
should indicate that you have the ability to solve problems on your own,
which IMHO is a much more valuable skill (certainly for a job like this).
Note that a higher degree is not the _only_ way to show you have such
skills. I put no value at all on bits of paper...
-tony