Is university worth it? A university education costs both time and money, potentially putting students into a lot of debt as they start their working lives. Also, couldn’t time spent studying be better used in the labour market, gaining solid experience?
It’s true that graduates, on average, tend to earn more than non-graduates. However, does it always outweigh the time and money invested? In the UK, for example, one-third of male graduates only see a “negligible” increase in pay, despite the high costs of a university education.
What do our readers think? We had a comment from Iva, who tells us that a lot of young people in her country think a university education is wasting precious time that could be spent working and getting experience. Is she right? Is a university education worth the investment in time and money?
To get a response, we spoke to Malcolm Byrne, Head of Communications at the Higher Education Authority of Ireland. How would he respond?
Next up, we had a comment sent in from Stefano, who argues that a university education is critical because it “determines the role that each person plays in society”. But isn’t that a bit of an old-fashioned view of how society works? After all, entrepreneurs like Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates managed to get ahead without a university degree. Isn’t it more about skills and experience these days?
To get a reaction, we spoke to Eva Sadoun, Co-Founder and CEO of LITA.co, a crowdfunding platform dedicated to social entrepreneurship and to sustainable development. As an entrepreneur herself, what would she say to Stefano’s comment?
Is a university education worth the investment? Or is it becoming less relevant than it was in the past? Does it too often leave graduates in debt and without solid work experience? Let us know your thoughts and comments in the form below and we’ll take them to policymakers and experts for their reactions!
IMAGE CREDITS: Flickr – BY-NC-ND 2.0 – Alex Reynolds
Editorially independent content supported by: Fondazione Cariplo. See our FAQ for more details
9 comments Post a commentcomment
No. Let all become dumb and only the rich educated! Plutocrats ftw
No, definitely no. No university degree =/= not smart
Better education better life. Smart is one thing, educated is other.
Yes…but some more than others.
In Portugal it really needs to be a very specific degree because many of them just don´t offer any employment what so ever. Its also a problem with the countries themselfs, they can have universities offering degrees in lot´s of areas but if the economy doesn´t have such specialized employment sector looking for such set of skills and education its worthless. Personaly, i finished the mandatory school and i went to work and i work hard every single day but i can afford my own things while many friends are still studying at university drowned in debts or drowning ther parents and family perhaps and might not even get a job within ther degree after many years of studying
In Europe the cost of university education is farly low, so it’s definitely worth it. Especially if it’s real education and not indoctrination.
Yes. Every single penny.
No, if one does it only for a paper. Which is almost 60 percent here.
What are its consequences?
All statistics indicate that with an increasing level of education & training- starting from a high school diploma, tech colleges, bachelor degrees to advanced degrees- the life long earning potential increases incrementally and depending how “cheap” (which country & from which institution) one can obtain such training- will under normal circumstances enable such graduates to recoup the input costs, enhance their quality of life and that of their countries economy.
However, an unbalanced workforce, runaway technologies- e.g. too many academics & “unemployable graduates” etc- and nobody available of maintaining its infrastructure, cleaning its cities, tend to the young & sick- creates a different demographic problem when such disproportions and falling birth rates is recklessly balanced by “unchecked” immigration.
The minority surplus but unfortunate graduates have to find something else to do or work elsewhere.
The most successful economical input is either given by gifted and higher educated or/and any happy workers who love their assignments, (create) their (own) companies and are able to prosper in the country they are born, grown up & work in!
To make the right choices is not always easy; since most parents wish to see their children do better than themselves- by offering their full support as long it is sensible & affordable.
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Tertiary_education_statistics