Is it worth going to university?

These days higher education can feel like a risky investment. Here are The Economist’s tips on how to make your degree worth the money.
Sign up to The Economist’s daily newsletter: econ.st/3QAawvI
Read more about whether it is worth going to university: econ.st/43fAo6x
For our summer reads: econ.st/43fRtgY
Listen to our podcast, Money Talks counting the cost of education: econ.st/44oP3ME
Why affirmative action in American universities had to go: econ.st/3YYtEsv
The university lottery: econ.st/45yC50b
American universities have an incentive to seem extortionate: econ.st/3OTBDT6
Muddled policies are harming British universities: econ.st/3PfIGqv

[@rahatahmed3955]

Disclaimer: Most of it applies to people living in America. Almost every second and third world country will ask for degree to hire you. Even if you want to relocate to some country, you will need degree to get the visa

[@khalidalali186]

Touché. You need at least a Master’s degree, to get the EU Blue Card, as a non-Eu citizen.

[@cmep]

The underlying issue playing out with higher education is that companies use it to filter out job applicants. When companies need talent (ie: employees) they go looking for someone that they do not know at all, most of the time and engage them to represent their company. These relationships open huge legal liability for the company, not to mention the cost of employing that person. Put simply - if the new higheree does something wrong in the name of the company, that company could be held liable. A degree is not a trade school, where you learn to complete somewhat rote skills - it's not even supposed to be fun - it is proof that you are not a slacker and can get things done. Then, when you are in the interview, you can point to that degree and tell people "look what I got done". Conversely, not having a degree can be seen as proving the opposite case, even though it may not always be true.

[@JJdakilla]

What is a „second world“ supposed to be lol? Do you know where the term „third world“ originates from?

[@rahatahmed3955]

@@JJdakilla You'd have known about these terms if you did your degree.

[@SonnyDarvishzadeh]

​@@khalidalali186I arrived in Germany in 2017 with a Bachelors degree and this year Germany is removing that requirement as well. Check the news. Blue Card is going to be easier with lower threshold salary.

[@wvb6289]

Choose wisely and finish on time? Profound.

[@riarizkya99]

it is worth it when it’s free or when you have funding. nowadays it’s more important to gain skills than a degree, and focus on making more money

[@khalidalali186]

As someone who lives in a country with free universal education from KG-university. I firmly believe that my bachelor’s degree from 2015, was also a waste of time and effort on my part, and money on the government’s part. I’ve been making my money on things I’ve taught myself, rather than things I learned at Uni. Ironically, “Opportunity Cost” is the one thing that truly was new to me, and actually stuck with me ever since. I apply that economic term on every aspect of my life. Incidentally, most of the people I know, also work in careers that have nothing to do with their degrees. Only a tiny minority work in fields that have something, and not entirely everything, to do with their degrees, and that includes STEM graduates, btw 😅

[@Cliodhna-z1i]

@@khalidalali186 They should make courses related to your profession a part of university instead of these annoying 4 year or more degrees when you are not going to be a doctor or something that is going to study a slower changing science. just my thoughts. Also it costs too much for no reason. There isn't anything special you learn by going in psychology uni outside of financial management lOL

[@123456789987o]

The fact, that higher education is treated like a commodity is indicative of a broken society.

[@geordi-gabrielrenauddumoul449]

Higher education makes better societies . It's annoying that every thing always has to make money for it to be worthwhile

[@Markbenwisch]

It's dependable on how your view on the world is. Higher educated managers are better leaders. Better leaders lead to better involvement of employees and this is important to absorb crisis and unemployment best.

[@Ser3456]

Very refreshing to read such a wise comment on here and see that it receives many likes.

[@rd9102]

It is ONLY treated like a commodity because there are so many worthless and near worthless degree's in existence.

[@Markbenwisch]

@@rd9102 It's treated like this, cause most most students behave like a commodity! Like in other comments said. "Don't study humanities". The problem is, there are three kinds of students: 1. Students who want to earn big money and study what everyone else does. 2. Students who want to discover them selves what everyone else does. 3. Students that are smart and network until they probably don't need a degree anymore or complete a degree in a field that might be important in economies future. So only one of these three don't behave like a commodity. And here the irony of it all: I nearly had to become something between midst 30s and 40 to figure that out how to be the third one, where I always wanted to be ahead of others in my 20s, but was one of the both others.

[@gamerjpcheats]

I debated going to university but I’m so glad I didn’t, I left school and got a trade, i got 4 years of work experience and got paid, my friends got 4 years of debt and a degree that they can’t find a job for. It’s just not worth it anymore for most people.

[@annat6249]

Depends on career type and it is too soon to say who is better than who.

[@alexlopez5800]

​@@annat6249Agree

[@st8vie282]

Depends if you know what you want to do

[@kumadori9627]

well that´s your experience

[@user-lvqk2wdp8sjn]

@@annat6249Young people need to get their foot on the career ladder, the earlier the better. The later, if ever, the more difficult it becomes to "succeed".

[@Bvggerffpls]

My two cents as a 24 Yr old graduate: I've applied for over 100 jobs since my second year of uni. Out of those, I recieved only 3 offers. All of them were grad schemes in my desired fields of work, namely, national security and public administration. In other words, I wouldn't have secured my dream career if I hadn't gone to uni. Careers in the public sector pay a relatively meagre salary, therefore, it could still be argued that my 3-year undergrad and 1 year postgrad were a complete waste of time. The way I see it, my life wouldn't have been worth living if I had given up on my dreams and pursued more lucrative options. I probably would've offed myself due to lack of fulfillment. That's the truth that silly videos like this miss. The money you earn vs the money you spent due to higher education is just one narrow criterion on which to base the decision of whether or not to get a degree. Those jobs I mentioned required all applicants to have degrees. This is a structural, societal issue. Why do so many careers demand degrees before they even consider hiring you?

[@tagtraumerin5077]

What did you study?

[@guillaumegiroux9425]

Degrees are filters. Degrees holder already possess higher IQs, higher work ethics, nicer networks, better knowledge of their fields, etc.. Obviously they will earn more… that doesn’t mean their degree generated them an increase in productivity.

[@imhopelesslyaddictedtofent4266]

⁠@@guillaumegiroux9425 nothing you said is true, college has turned into highschool 2.0. All a college degree means is that you had rich parents and you aren’t smart enough to educate yourself.

[@jandrex007]

Sorry you didnt study and chose the guru life on youtube xD

[@ynnad7778]

​@@imhopelesslyaddictedtofent4266 i guess we should have our engineers educate themselves? your statement is too simple

[@dznnf7]

So paying huge money for a degree in something that won't get you a job is a bad idea? Wow. What a revelation.

[@Daniel-gs9eh]

You say that but people still doing those degrees right now

[@imhopelesslyaddictedtofent4266]

@@Daniel-gs9ehtheyre not very smart

[@thispersonrighthere9024]

majoring in chemistry was the biggest regret of my life.

[@thejuan7063]

I have a history degree and i don't find a job, I don't know what to do with my life now.

[@PatG-xd8qn]

​@@thispersonrighthere9024 Maybe not in your area, but there are tons of high paying jobs in chemistry. My friend just got his first job after finishing university 4 months ago and other companies are trying to "steal" him by giving him a better offer and better work conditions 😅 You simply have to go to an area that has a food, pharmaceutical and other manufacturing industries which all require people in chemistry

[@F00Lsmack]

"researchers in Norway" were they perhaps studying Norwegian students? People with a massive social safety net? Cuz all those American men in the humanities would like to have a word with those researchers

[@hepsima]

Mashallah the nordic countries🙏

[@dandreer3150]

They always say those who graduated from university earn more than those who didn't. I went to university and have a degree, but I've never seen anywhere on my paycheck a clause that shows an increase in my salary for having a degree. In fact, I have a colleague who didn't go to university and we earn pretty much the same.

[@Daniel-gs9eh]

What did you study tho

[@jakemorden8544]

I think the experience what matters in current situation, not the degree. And I think if it's just about the money there're a lot of ways to earn more without going to the university.

[@dandreer3150]

@Daniel-gs9eh Civil engineering, but I work as a draughtsman. My colleague is a draughtsman too, but he just took a short course about technical drafting with CAD programmes (Aurocad, Revit etc)

[@dandreer3150]

@@jakemorden8544 You're right

[@jakemorden8544]

@@dandreer3150 so he earn as much as you. The uni is facing a hard time in the whole world right now, and every one is saying that we we should change the education system.

[@MM-st6vu]

For some, yes. I always tell students that university isn’t for everyone.

[@WxFly11]

I think a big question is, how are our changing viewpoints on university education going to affect universities over time? The focus on financial value is creating big shifts in university curriculum, and tightening budgets are forcing tough decisions on small programs. The traditional degree is a broad program of study with a variety of courses outside of your major. Budget cuts are creating incentives for in-program alternatives for such courses, to increase course load within programs and create the appearance of more focused curriculum. If the focus of a 4 year education is purely on the skills required for your desired subject area, then is that 4 year degree simply a 4 year trade school degree? When I was fresh out of school, courses outside of my area of study bothered me, but as time has gone on, I've recognized that those other courses have had a role in giving me a broad foundation as a professional. So, will the shift to more narrowly focused degree programs "pigeon-hole" recent graduates in ways that only doctorates used to be worried about? For the broader labor market, will the focus on early career value create a shortage of educated workers in ten years as people shift to the trades? Or does AI make any predictions we can make worthless? In any case, it's certainly a volatile time in higher education.

[@drstevej2527]

A university degree is supposed to be about education not a career path. Today it’s seen as a means to an end and that end has little to do with enlightenment. Still there are huge benefits that come with a university education. Higher income, less unemployment, more social status and socioeconomic mobility and you are far more likely to marry someone who also has a degree. The fact is that if you want a broad based education it’s increasingly the case that you will need to go to graduate school unless you are fortunate enough to attend an elite undergraduate university. The original purpose of a university education was education meaning it was meant to produce a well rounded person through a comprehensive curriculum. It’s unfortunate that people don’t see the value of education beyond the $ it’s generates.

[@Nainara32]

@@drstevej2527 This is indeed the classical view of a liberal arts education. However, in a growing number of technical fields like data science, not only is a focused 4-year degree insufficient to meet the demands of the labor market, but a master's degree is often the floor to be considered for employment. In this environment where deep specialization is required, the traditional liberal arts education formula no longer serves the interests of students and society to the degree that it once did.

[@joemahony4198]

@@drstevej2527 I would say the educational industrial complex is responsible for the trade school mentality.

[@drstevej2527]

@@joemahony4198 Ignorance is responsible for this phenomenon. Higher education is about education not a job training program. Higher education should be less expensive but even with the cost it’s benefits far outweigh the costs.

[@MikhailJ]

I’m a medical student so I need a degree to become a medical doctor it helps when I’m basically studying for free as long as I do well

[@user-gt5hp4up6c]

Excellent. Thanks.. For some, yes. I always tell students that university isn’t for everyone..

[@xiondFirst]

It is worth going depending on the program obviously. It's not a end all be all. You can do lot of things without university. But the choice ultimately comes down to you.

[@drstevej2527]

It’s about the education not about turning it into a return on investment. Go to a trade school if you want to make money. Secondly a degree on average is worth the cost in lifetime earnings. You are half as likely to be unemployed and are far more likely to marry another college graduate meaning your combined incomes are significantly higher than two non college graduates.

[@Daniel-gs9eh]

Only worth cost over a lifetime if you pick the right subjects. Yes if you want to make money going to a trade school, study economics, computer science ect. But dont go to uni and study humanities or art

[@drstevej2527]

@@Daniel-gs9eh Wrong as studies show that even liberal arts degrees means over 700k in addition earning vs a high school education in lifetime earning. Secondly the point of education is education not to earn money. Had you earned a degree you might understand basic research methodology. At the very least you might have learned how to write a grammatically correct sentence.

[@stanleytolle416]

With a college degree and a hurt back you too can get arrested and jailed for using a vehicle as a residence.

[@drstevej2527]

@@stanleytolle416 It means over 1 million more in lifetime earnings and you are half as likely to be unemployed. Exactly how are you going to hurt your back doing white collar work? You can do such work from the seated position. We actually track these things. The only people who don’t know this are those who don’t have the benefit of a university degree and therefore have never read any actual research.

[@j.clements2093]

I think women have to go to college. Name one well paying trade career that women often choose?

[@withpikachu2402]

Quality of education is pretty bad. They also make many hurdles for new staff to reduce competition. Nevertheless, there is a great demand for education and testing. Employers don't trust universities: they make their own tests and certifications

[@jungsookseo583]

I like learning and really enjoyed those times, though I had to support myself, cause I was really happy being a student of English literature/Interpretation &Translation. If you are a more practical type person, maybe it'll not be bad not to go for college.

[@NicholaiHat]

Economics degrees do not get you a job. I’ve sent out 300 applications and received 2 interviews. Going to school for instrumentation now.

[@BadMannerKorea]

You're n=1. And if you sent out 300 applications and only received 2 interviews, I'd say the fault rests on you. But hey I get it, it's a lot easier to blame external factors, right?

[@NicholaiHat]

@@BadMannerKoreaRight! Only in recent years could one expect to have a such an outcome. Assuming what the older generation has lead me to believe about getting hired in the past is true. And many others are in the same boat. I’ve found more luck removing the economics degree from my resume so I would be more likely to be hired for a labour intensive construction job. Doing additional learning to sell insurance, do investment planning, and retirement planning is an option. And I have done a little of that. But an economics degree isn’t necessary.

[@GlenCote]

What was that Norwegian research that said that students who wanted to study the humanities but ended up studying sciences instead earned less? I didn’t see any citation

[@hellobb1177]

Percents play a important role and responsibilities to coordinate their children to make the decision rather just pay the uni fee

[@skyking6989]

Going back as we speak at 37 for an electrical engineering degree. Better late then never i guess.

[@mikiallen7733]

While partly that is due to free or not choice , the problem still remains with how originally incentives have been created and put in place , what would happen to future returns of every undergrad when it is mandatory or at least electively to study programming and SD / DS in various shades whatever the underlying discipline is ! Let alone

[@The_Hero_Is_Back]

Excellent. Thanks.

[@timmyrahman4803]

All of this debate is subjective. I'm planning on getting a diploma that requires skills in a lucrative business so instead of going for a 4 year degree at a university which will require mainly theoretical experience, I've opted for a three year diploma program for roughly 10.5k for the entirety.

[@d7oomyhabib79]

I studied for 3 years & I got my diploma degree since 2019 from Saudi Arabia YIC college majoring of manufacturing technology program MTP. However, in 2023 just few weeks I finished my first semester of 4 years to achieve mechanical engineering degree in Sydney at UTS uni. Wish me luck!! Literally I studied in 3 different universities. I struggled many times in my life but I won’t ever give up.

[@sitrakaforler8696]

It's informative. But yeah it would not be to much to go a little bite deeper into the subject within an article :)

[@XdASeviX]

What's really shocking is the graph at 0:34. How is it that men perform so much worse than women across-the-board?

[@lucidvibes8133]

of course, none wants to talk about it, because its a disparity which favours women

[@Astheniumn]

You ever seen the meme that compares two of the same thing, except one is made in Japan and there’s a wojak excited for the Japanese thing? Ok no there’s probably more at play, but it is a trend I’ve seen consistently.

[@manolokonosko2868]

Here's a free piece of advice: Sororities and Fraternities are BS. Don't waster your time or money on them. Concentrate on your school work and make connections with instructors and well rounded peers. Do not waste your time with losers, especially those who talk big but achieve little. Make friends with the ones that score high on tests and learn from them as well. Take Summer classes and finish school on time. When you finally have graduated. Take a few months off to reward yourself before you join the workplace.

[@christopherk7920]

I recalled back many yrs ago my cousin (who at that time was a financial director in IBM) told me they would shortlist mainly those who graduated from reputable universities. So take it for what it's worth but I do believe where you study counts too. I began my career in a very well known oil & gas company starting back in 2000 and most of my colleagues who got earmarked as potential candidates to rise up the ranks are from very well known universities like oxford and imperial

[@sarahfranco6802]

This also depends on the degree and field of work

[@christopherk7920]

@@sarahfranco6802 hey sarah, agreed

[@ondraspendlik9759]

Here's me, a 24 year old man, who's wondering if he should go to university to study his passion, industrial design, after studying a second high school to learn the basics of it (I picked one high school at first, finished it and graduated there, but during my time there decided I want to do something else). This doesn't fill me with much optimism (which already isn't high, because I don't think I can get to the university I want and I'm not sure if I can manage the workload along with working a normal job (which I'll have to). I'll try it though, apart from living and not earning, university is free in my country.

[@SW-fy8pq]

It depends. Excellent ranking and with financial aid, it is 100% worth every single penny.

[@chrisaycock5965]

I didn't go to Uni I make Uni level money it does take longer to get there without a degree though I had to slog it an additional 2-3 years in retail to get a white collar job.

[@TheBarOst]

I won't finish on time because nice guys finish last! Wait, what are we talking about here?

[@lastChang]

Children of high-ranking Chinese🇨🇳 officials don't have to work hard. - They study abroad and get to the top automatically. Xi Jinping is a prime example.

[@davidc4408]

No, winni poo worked hard

[@C4Oc.]

​​@@davidc4408And his work did and still does involve abusing and neglecting humans as much as possible for personal gains

[@123456789987o]

Xi studied in China. What are you talking about?

[@abdullahhakan1]

We expect more british, irish, welsh, scottish, Canadian, American, Brasilian, Argentinian hard working, dexterious students to choose AASCB accredited Bilkent University in Ankara Turkey only in English medium of instructions with full bursary and study until getting PhD diploma. Electronic engineering, industrial eng, computer eng, mechanical eng, Business, economics, intl relations

[@AlvanMuller]

Stock picking is an effort in futility, particularly at an uncertain time such as this. My portfolio is still significant, about $320k, but I'm not confident about picking stocks anymore. Are there really no other options for me to gain from the stock market ?

[@ChiesaAlessandro]

I'm sorry to hear that. It's hard to beat the market as an ordinary investor,You don't have access to information that professionals have. So it's just better if you invest with a professional who knows how things work better.

[@JohnnyRourke-fk6gi]

Picking stocks is a risky thing to do, particularly for non-professionals. I learnt that in 2020, when I lost almost everything. But I switched to using a financial advisor, who has better knowledge of the market than I do, and I've been returning at least $38k every month. Just too bad I didn't learn the lesson early one.

[@AlvanMuller]

Interesting! Been looking to switch to an advisor for a while now. Any help pointing me to whom your advisor is?

[@JohnnyRourke-fk6gi]

Have you heard of Liza Mackenzie ? I got a chance to benefit from her services a few months ago and it has been a very smooth experience.

[@AlvanMuller]

How do i connect to her?

[@noneofyourbusiness4830]

Someone with a bachelor's degree will have spent at least 15 years of their life in school! Without the degree, 12.

[@chriswalter92]

Last year, more than 140,000 jobs were slashed from public and private tech companies as they were forced to confront rising inflation and a tumultuous stock market.

[@davesmith3526]

Only go if you're ready and it's right for you.

[@carolbrusa2270]

solution : send Your kids to Argentina, the Italy of SouthAmerica ! In Argentina públic Universities are free tuition Even for foreign students. And You can live very well with 700 dollars per month !

[@wellesmorgado4797]

Translation: bring cash to Argentina, pretty please!!

[@dont_listen_to_Albo]

In the seventies, when I finished high school, there were alternative pathways to get into engineering, accounting, architecture, and even law, without going to university. In the case of engineering, a person can study part-time and sit for the Engineering Council Parts 1 and 2 exams, the latter being equivalent to a Bachelor’s degree.

[@manolokonosko2868]

Technology was simpler then. And don't underestimate the corruption and gullibility of industries and the market, as well as the greed and cunning of the university business.

[@passportbro904]

I started my data science degree 4 weeks ago after self learning to code by myself for 14 months. Im so happy i did, im only in my 4th week at university and we're already discussing things like databases and sql, before i decided to go to university i heard negative thing's like self learning is better (which it may be i agree) they dont teach you relevant things etc, i can confirm that is a lie. Yes i self taught myself to code in python and that was a great ultimate boost to start uni, ive basically started my first class as one of the top students (only after 4 weeks) so i think a mix of the 2 is vital, im 37 and plan on being a junior data scientist within a year. Just do it guys, save stress of being rejected just because u dont have a degree. Plus i only paid £20,000 for my 3 year data science degree here in London and the government paid for it via the student finance loan. University is very structured allowing you to feel your doing each step perfectly, but im also doing a data science bootcamp alongside it so ill always be ahead of whatever university throw at me. Be smart 🤓

[@israeldavidleonrodriguez2887]

It also depends on for which department I studied. If I went to liberal arts college, as a matter of course, it's very difficult to get a very excellent job, and I'm actually living as unemployed one. I got a bachelor's degree with Mandarin language, but it didn't ever help me find a job in South Korea, but in anyhow, it was worthwhile to study Mandarin very hard, only when I posted very bad comments in Mandarin. In fact, I didn't have any courage to try any other major except Mandarin. In Korean, there is a new term called "elchemach," and engineering, joined together with electronics, chemistry, and machinery, is still valuable for money-making, but not everyone can get into the engineering department, nor can anyone study without any misadventure until graduation.

[@batasgamer8511]

I think it is worth getting to university if university graduates have higher pays than non university graduates.

[@kyriakostsiroukas5085]

This is a very deep meaning story. What shall I even say. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@abdullahhakan1]

İ am at 50 years old, Turkish citizen, male, single, living alone, childless, alumni of Ted Ankara College math and Science dept , Bilkent University Bachelor Science Business Admin., Masters in İntl Relations Ufuk University Ankara and i had earned 25 years , 450 USD per month net wage in Istanbul, Ankara cities of Turkey at Sabanci, Toprak Holding, Genpower Generator, ASELSAN inc. İ had always minus return rate from my investment on educations. Now i am pensioner. İ have german at B2 level from Dortmund by attending 3.5 years there at Goethe institut.

[@user-is5vu2rz5p]

Majors of universties are so difficult to learn. If you learn well, enough valuables.

[@billyevans4929]

It honestly depends on what you want to do in life. Graduating high school should be a minimum and then afterwards you either enter the workforce working your way up to better positions or go to college to learn a concentrated subject broadening your knowledge to fit certain positions. High paying professions like lawyer or doctor should be the college route but as for other positions, you can gain the skills and experience by just working. Also it's abysmal for anyone to be paying tens of thousands of dollars for college and be in debt afterwards. Price should always play a factor into which college you go to and don't be afraid to not dorm. Name brand is what these kids care about these days, but it should be about the experience and value you get out of it

[@lewisUK9393]

I’m really glad I did my degree in creative arts, for the experience alone. I doubt I’ll ever make a return on it, but I left the country so I don’t have to worry about paying back the debt, when the student loan company called and asked what i was doing i told them to get stuffed 😊

[@crishnaholmes7730]

Where did you relocate

[@lewisUK9393]

@@crishnaholmes7730 SE Asia

[@iceonthesun8880]

How noble of you

[@lewisUK9393]

@@iceonthesun8880 noble and smart

[@ArunAbrahamKY]

think they need to start pushing for more vocational studies. and various short term certification courses you do throughout your life time. most doctors i know are broke with student debt well into their 30s.

[@maroon9273]

And licensing programs as well.

[@vaccaphd]

It depends on the person.

[@d3r3kyasmar]

It depends on your major. Its worth it if you go Nursing.

[@rolandnelson6722]

Do whatever you can to avoid recruiters. No bigger waste of life than speaking to recruiters.

[@TheJohnM]

I studied Politics at a Russel group university. Did I expect to earn top $? No. However, I do have an expensive coffee machine in the kitchen. ;)

[@Lucerys890]

What do u do now?

[@ths3525]

My advice would be to not do anything in sport. You can simply get involved in sport through the coaching qualifications that each sport has in the UK, only if you are to become a sports scientist in some capacity then you must go.

[@F00Lsmack]

Also, $600k extra on average.. what about the median difference? How much more is the median lifetime earnings over the median lifetime earnings of non-college educated?

[@ajbarb2443]

By not having one at all…

[@helifynoe9930]

My brother is a smart fellow, and thus he skipped a grade back in grade school. Of course I was much smarter, and thus I skipped the entire university.

[@pipebearbound]

how do trades fare?

[@brianburgess3231]

Armour boomer and I've never used my degree .. I know many people like me

[@savagepro9060]

Cuba enters chat . . .

[@zytrik1]

How am I gonna obtain a PhD in physics if I don’t go to university? Just wondering

[@wellesmorgado4797]

In my city, some people get math PhDs before they finish their math major. One of them was Artur Avila, fields medallist.

[@vincentxie3090]

The answer would be yes but in order to enter uni you will first need to graduate college and get a degree but this really depends on how well you go in academics

[@SeaJay_Oceans]

Nope. Universities have turned into Ponzi Schemes = promising great jobs and wealth, extorting tens of thousands of dollars out of 18 year olds, who are lucky if they can find a job, any job afterwards... then spend 10 years or longer paying off debts they shouldn't have had in the first place. Health Care, Engineering, and Science need practice and labs. For all other careers, the union or Apprenticeship models work best = learning by doing, getting better and better with each job and each project. Philosophy and Religion and other scholar's persuits are best shared with many people and reading many books, then writing your own ! :-)

[@cryohellinc]

Finished college, bachelors and masters in economics. Waste of time and money. I work in a totally different sector now and had to self educate in order to literally crawl my way here. My children will never go to university- waste of time and money.

[@amirulsyuhada2857]

What sector do you work now?

[@GonzoTehGreat]

Why is a UK magazine making videos about university education in the USA?

[@obtuse1291]

The question should be, is it worth being educated?

[@ArtDocHound]

Don't choose an Art degree!

[@Markbenwisch]

Art Degree here! Why?

[@HerezCheez]

@@Markbenwisch cuz it's useless.

[@Markbenwisch]

@@HerezCheez You mean Arts as a degree or Art vs. Science Degree? I study linguistics. It's a bachelor of arts degree.

[@striker7469]

With current economy policy, not anymore.

[@jandrex007]

Education is a bussiness now

[@mareezy]

I'm a dentist, needed a bachelor's degree to get in. Totally worth it. 👌

[@imsamiurrahman]

If you want to become a doctor, lawyer, engineer, accountant or something that requires a college degree then you should go to college otherwise it isn't necessary

[@stewie1442]

I hope the degree to be a goal, not means.

[@user-ex2yt1pl6u]

If you have to ask this question, you do not have what it takes to make university worth it, so you probably should not bother.

[@kcjfilms2946]

Mostly no. My gen told to go, would earn £20,000 upon graduating, after 2004-2007 graduated in financial crisis. Rip off uni

[@bozaon]

at 0:24 the graph shows that woman get more return than man everywhere... I don't anyone talking about gender inequality

[@tthtlc]

Worth or not worth it all depends - there are so many things that university education can give you: lots of friendship and connection, a wider perspective in life, a chance to learn from so many other people who are all young and learning, and sometimes a chance to know your future wife. So if throughout this video is focus is just solely on financial terms, then of course, even the author of this video has completely wasted his own university education as he has completely failed to think .

[@leanderbarreto980]

No

[@justarandomdude.9285]

they have to move education online completely and make it free the system is so old and off (I'm not talking about America) maybe the system needs radical changes in the whole world right?

[@badr-elm]

choosing what study and not where is kind of controversial idea, because even you are interested, you will be engaged to study a lot of useless stuff if you are in a weak institute or college, and then a waste of time and money, see as well a failure on the course, that conduct us to the second discusted one: finish on time

[@shepherd4901]

Degrees are useless that's why most scientists came from very alone places and most Ceo's aren't well in education but in Social gatherings and political connections... Money comes from low class things and Scientists come from alone places or life... Degree were,are and will useless... That's all❤

[@wwxyz7570]

Why men take “Creative Arts” major? What is “Creative Arts” actually?

[@albertnawab9211]

It depends on your will. No matter you use it or not, if you go to University, you get many experiences. You get many same level friends. You get some new ideas. It is different with Matriculate level. After matric, you should learn some professional.

[@tuam6132]

and in return you also spend money on this just to get something you can learn it anywhere

[@albertnawab9211]

@@tuam6132 Not same, my dear. Lazy people talk like you.

[@teencred9430]

Not enough gets said about the learning experience from extracurriculars universities provide. Where else can someone talk face-to-face with executives in career events, lead community efforts through clubs, and at times even receive counseling on mental health, career development, and startup development, all in one place?

[@imhopelesslyaddictedtofent4266]

And go into a hundred thousand dollars of debt when you could’ve done all of those things for free! How liberal!

[@teencred9430]

@@imhopelesslyaddictedtofent4266 depends on the school. Yeah, there are are definitely expensive schools, but most of the things I brought up are available in community colleges, and some unis' in-state tuition cost is quite affordable.

[@David-wc5zl]

"Education is all about ME! Its a service and I'm the customer!" Idiocracy here we come....

[@rizmacadillac]

One day at University I was taking a walk to the local Shopping Centre to buy some sweaters because it was chilly. I was shocked when a girl I did not like was following me and wanted to join. This was horrible and I preferred being alone to spending the time with or being seen with this particular girl. But maybe this is the sort of girl I was attracting for some reason. Maybe some of my ideas and some of what I occasionally said was taken out of context and she was the result. Not all of us are going to become the next Elon Musk or Donald Trump but I would hope that my Grandfather would be proud and see that maybe I have skills and abilities he could only dream of having. I guess I did it mostly for family though I know they would have enjoyed seeing me earn a bit more of the green stuff. I don't know if I am deceiving myself with what I believe are "accomplishments" since I cannot believe that money does not matter. And then there are subjects like Religion which I do not understand and my never understand. But there is also the reality that all of the greatest minds in the world can be accessed through books and many of these books can be found in a Library. And if you have Cable TV and are not getting the full educational value from your monthly programming you can always start. We are lucky to live in a world with this type of information and in a country with access to so much.

[@dylanbuchman8128]

1:03 gonna need more information on that data and conclusion--it's too vague

[@NasserAljoudi92]

"Stuck with their passion." Beware of this BS. Humanities and the like are useless degrees. If you like, for instance, read poetry, plays, novels, etc., do it in your free time. Don't waste your time and take an undergraduate and graduate degrees in them. Your time is valuable when you're young tondo a degree that isnreally going to give you a real return later in life. Watch out of these gimmicks.

[@Markbenwisch]

It's not the Degree. It's the Network and the combination of studies you build and of course the topic of your thesis.

[@choechoe8167]

@@Markbenwisch never put that much hope in humanity is the first lesson to study humanities

[@natesamadhi33]

Yup, but i'll also say that the big problem with humanities degrees is they hardly (if ever) educate students on how to navigate on a job or how to do business in the humanities-sector, and its even worse when humanities students arent educated about the **true** importance of internships, even in their sector. Sadly, if you want to have decent odds of getting a job just from your Humanities degree alone, you have to ATLEAST minor in a Business subject like Finance or Information Systems if you want to have a better shot. Humanities degrees dont have to be *completely* useless (for finding a job) if you know what skills to emphasize with them & what to complement them with.

[@Markbenwisch]

@@natesamadhi33 That's too easy. All students have this problem. Doesn't has much to do with humanities, but a lot with studying.

[@natesamadhi33]

@@Markbenwisch yes most students have this problem to a degree, but humanities have it the worst on **average** , usually because the nature of what they're studying doesnt really command much "demand" in the workforce (atleast right now). If you're a computer/accounting/nursing major, there are a decent amount of institutions that will pretty much **push** you to know how to do business & do internships, because these degrees are in higher demand for new talent (for example, I know at Waterloo, if you're a Computer major, you're required to do 3-6 internships before you can graduate). Humanities do not have this same kind of demand, so they [[on average]] have *much* less opportunities that would prepare them with real-world business-skills, and so business/job skills are much less emphasized in humanities majors, if not outright ignored. There is definitely a difference.

[@DrMJT]

I tell all my family and friend's children who are considering England Uni Tuition Student Loans. DO the Degree. You can never replicated the University Experience ... later in life. AND when you complete your degree, move to another country such as Australia or EU (the EU still hires those with Degrees)... When Live and Work outside the UK, the English student loans do not have to be paid. By the time the English get their heads out of the sand and realise the major duck up on student loans when everyone with a degree = goes Abroad... the student loans will be abolished.

[@dominicgamboa2554]

Only two minutes long?

[@hybridstryker233]

No waste of time

[@X-WHO]

Perfectly brain washed

[@GrimUpNorth_yt]

What could have been really interesting.... wasn't.

[@Daniel-gs9eh]

Free taste of a art degree then

[@stanleytolle416]

Did not work for me. The University degree seems to cause me not to fit any where. Poverty wages all my life with thousands of job applications and rejections.

[@rolandnelson6722]

Avoid recruiters like the plague. You are clearly honest. Absolute waste of your life to talk to recruiters go around them.

[@Markbenwisch]

What is your degree then? And what is your job now? And what you wanna do in the future due to your degree?

[@Daniel-gs9eh]

Studied art?

[@savagepro9060]

Save money study in Cuba!

[@samuellarreal]

what about journalism students, is there any hope for us? 😮‍💨🤧

[@Markbenwisch]

Don't study it. Work it! You need to visit a journalist school. So you work for Media already and get paid 4 studying.

[@Markbenwisch]

And if you go to college, look 4 some alumnies in your field where you can network, cause you'll need others to get well informed. And you should experiment a lot with technology And writing!

[@Daniel-gs9eh]

why would you study journalism 💀💀💀

[@amirk257]

No one gonna mention the wage gap between men and women in the graph illustrated in the video? It seems no one cares when men gets the short side of the stick

[@iceonthesun8880]

Men cared and changed laws when it was women getting the short end.....women dont care about men the same way. At least that is what the evidence and actions indicate.

[@davidfredericks5272]

You can get a piece of toilet paper at the supermarket for about $5.

[@savagepro9060]

What's the point when you spend the rest of your fkin life paying your student loan!

[@jon6309]

I don’t have student loans and was able to pay in cash however I am still getting negative returns because of loss income during the years of study plus I still started at an entry level position as a bank teller even though I did academically well and interned for a global investment company it took inconvenient job hops and years of experience to get my position today which is still not considered high paying at all but way better than entry level. My childhood friend and co-worker has his masters from a private school, sure he has a better job and higher income than me but most of his disposable income goes to pay off his student loans. Having a higher income also puts him at a higher tax bracket so by the end of the day it’s astonishing to learn I have more disposable income than him when he has more credentials and a harder job than mine.

[@user-wp5qo6qg7q]

Chat gpt just kills college

[@mattmont1247]

uni didn't work out for myself and alot of friends, that why i'm retraining for a trade. i wouldn't encourage people to bother with it to be honest.