11 minute read
Is university worth it?
It is said that Australia is a nation of graduates, with more and more people opting for tertiary education each year. As many local students prepare to start university this year, we look at whether a university degree is translating to better career opportunities. By Madeleine Curby.
Australia has one of the highest university enrolment rates in the world.
Over 1.4 million students were studying in 2015 - up from 1.3 million in 2014 - as reported in University Australia’s 2017 data report.
And it is expected that on average, 70 percent of young people living in Australia will graduate from tertiary education based on 2015 patterns of graduation, as reported by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 2017 Education at a Glance report. Of these students, only 39 percent are Australian residents (which is below the OECD average of 49 percent).
The report also found that 40 percent of young adults under 30 are expected to enter the labour force for the first time with a tertiary education.
So what are people studying and is this translating to greater employment prospects and higher salaries?
Popular subjects
Currently the most popular university courses Australia-wide are STEM related (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), while the least popular are journalism and social sciences.
This trend is reflected in both university entry levels and pay, with the more popular courses requiring higher ATARs and earning higher salaries.
But not all universities have the same requirements, which is pushing certain course entry levels up, while others spiral downwards.
For example, The University of Sydney is renowned for being a prestigious and popular university, which has driven the ATAR requirements for most courses up. To study a Bachelor of Commerce here in 2018, the required ATAR was 95. However, the same course at the University of Newcastle had an ATAR of 65.75.
In effect, this has meant that people who never had the opportunity to attend university before are now able to do so if they enrol at a smaller, less prestigious university.
In this system, universities are partly responsible for churning out graduates, with supply potentially exceeding demand.
Too many graduates for too few jobs?
Adzuna, an Australia-wide job hunting platform, released its 2017 report showing that 22 graduates will compete for each graduate job vacancy. In NSW, this number was 20 to one.
Data released in September last year by the Australian government found that only 71 percent of graduates secure a job of some sort straight out of university, while 15 percent were still unemployed four years after graduating.
The report also found that of those employed full-time, 30.9 percent were unhappy as they were unable to find suitable jobs in their area of expertise.
Interestingly, the OECD report found that university graduates and those with vocational training (including apprenticeships) actually had similar employment rates; 84 percent for tertiary-educated adults and 74 percent for vocational-educated adults.
The highest graduation rates for tertiary-educated students were from STEM degrees, whilst students in arts and humanities, social science and journalism experienced the lowest employment rates.
Employment rates of tertiary educated 25 - 64 year-olds
Education
Employment rates
82%
Arts, humanities, social sciences, journalism and information 80% Business admin and law 85% Natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 85% Information and communication technologies 86% Health and welfare 84% Vocational education 74%
Figures from the OECD report
Does a university degree mean more opportunities and better pay?
For the most part, yes, but there are a few different factors in play.
The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) reports that the median annual income of a Vocational Education & Training (VET) graduate working full-time is $56,000.
However, according to the Federal Government’s latest student survey published on its Quality Indicators in Learning and Teaching website (QILT), the median graduate salary for those with a university degree is also $56,000.
Yet, VET graduates don’t have the same level of HECS debt.
For university graduates, increases in salary were seen three years after graduation when the median salary rose to $68,700.
Medicine is considered one of the bestpaying jobs for graduates, with an average salary three years after course completion of $100,000. The only other career to beat this was dentistry with a median salary of $120,000.
Next are engineering graduates earning $75,900; lawyers earning $75,000; and pharmacists earning $72,800.
Those who study medicine are also most likely to get a job after graduation with almost 98 percent of graduated doctors gaining employment. The employment rate for pharmacy also sits around 97.1 percent.
However, for those who study creative arts, the news is not so great. While the employment rate has significantly increased from 49.2 percent in 2013 to 80.1 percent in 2016, it is still nearly 20 percent lower for art graduates than medical graduates.
The changing nature of employment
Another factor for university graduates to consider is the increase in part-time and contract work.
For the past 12-24 months, I have worked in contract roles and I have many friends and colleagues in the same situation.
While there are some perks, there is also a huge element of pressure; of always being ‘on’; ready to take any phone call; recite your experience; and to have your resume always up-to-date and ready to send.
You also miss out on opportunities to get more involved with a workplace, expand your skill set and work within a team in a more cohesive and rounded way.
SEEK found that the advertising, arts and media industry saw a nine percent year-on-year increase for contract/ temp roles; whereas the Government and Defence industries had a 56 percent increase in contract/temp roles.
What about HECS debt?
Students can opt to pay their degree upfront or use the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS).
HECS-help is a loan scheme to help eligible Commonwealth supported students pay their student contribution amounts through a loan. The debt is not subject to tax, however, it is subject to indexation which is applied at the end of every financial year.
Universities can set their own tuition fee, which means that the average price of completing a degree can vary wildly. The table below is based on an analysis by Andrew Norton, a higher education policy analyst at the Grattan Institute.
While this table is a good starting point, many people I have spoken to who have completed an arts, nursing or law degree all paid a lot more than the table shows.
COURSE
Engineering Architecture Agriculture Nursing Education
Arts
Law Medicine Business
COST $33,000 $18,000 $25,000 $18,000 $23,000 $18,000 $49,000 $59,000 $29,000
Figures from whatwillmydegreecost.com.au
Does a university degree provide the pathway to success?
I spent close to $40,000 to get my Bachelor of Business Administration and Bachelor of Arts degree from Macquarie University.
For Alex, a three-year Bachelor of Business & Sports Management degree from the International College of Management (ICMS) cost nearly $70,000.
“Attending university was worth it, but I do question how much it cost and now think a private college wasn’t worth the money,” says Alex.
Post-graduation, Alex said it was extremely difficult to get a job, and he chose to remain working in a casual role while saving money to go travelling.
“About two years after graduation, I started searching for entry-level business administration roles in the sports industry. It was next to impossible as all the graduate roles I saw required 1 -2 years’ experience, yet no-one is willing to train you to get this experience.
Alex is now employed full-time, but not in the sports industry.
Another graduate from Macquarie University, Tom, explained that his Bachelor of Electronic Engineering cost $32,000, not to mention the cost of textbooks and the lost opportunity costs of not being able to work full-time.
Has it paved his way to success? It would seem so. Tom found it easy to find a job post-graduating and he is now working full-time for a highly-regarded engineering firm. █
ALEXANDER NEWHALL
TOM MEGGITT
MADELEINE CURBY
A word of advice
While I was studying at university, I went to see an academic advisor, but accidentally booked a careers advisor instead. While they weren’t able to advise me on my degree, they did set up an interview with a content marketing agency.
It was a case of right time, right place and I went on to intern at the agency for a few months while studying and working part-time on the weekends.
After four months, I applied and successfully got a position as a Junior Digital Producer. I now work full-time as a Digital Editor/ Content Coordinator, which would not have been possible without my degree.
My advice for all those studying would be to get an internship. While my degree lay the foundations, interning proved that I had absorbed the necessary skills and knowledge my job required. It also gave me credentials of real-world experience to bring to an interview — not just a piece of a paper.
So, is university worth it? I would say yes - but only if you can validate what you have learned with experience.
For me, it opened up doors that I didn’t even know existed and has led me down a path which has turned into a career.
REFERENCES: • Adzuna - https://www.adzuna.com.au/blog/2017/10/03/jobs-market-improves-new-graduates-outstrip-vacancies-20-1/ • DOCS - skills shortage - https://docs.employment.gov.au/ system/files/doc/other/skillshortagelistaus_5.pdf • QILT national report - https://www.qilt.edu.au/docs/default-source/gos-reports/2016/qilt-gos-l-national-report-v2.pdf?sfvrsn=463de23c_14. https:// www.qilt.edu.au/docs/default-source/gos-reports/2017/2016-ses-national-report-final.pdf?sfvrsn=14e0e33c_5 • The Australian - doctors earn more three years after graduation - http://www. theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/graduate-pay-doctors-dentists-top-earners-after-three-years-of-work/news-story/943d75bc0fc551a37a756f5e7860dae1 • Mitchell Institute - Participation in Tertiary education - http://www.mitchellinstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Participation-in-Tertiary-Education-in-Australia.pdf • News - is Uni worth it? - http://www.news.com.au/finance/ work/careers/is-it-worth-going-to-university/news-story/2e2e2def7088659eba9b5a647ba8c50a • docs education - https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/2016_student_summary_ infographic.pdf - https://www.education.gov.au/student-data • OECD - http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/education/education-at-a-glance-2017_eag-2017-en#page110 • Universities Australia - key facts - https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/australias-universities/key-facts-and-data#.WhdWn7aB2CQ • QILT - salary comparison - https://www.qilt.edu.au/ institutions/list/institution/the-australian-national-university?ca=median-salary • SEEK - https://www.seek.com.au/career-advice/job-trends-a-rise-in-part-time-and-casual-opportunities THE VILLAGE OBSERVER I NO. 270 I FEBRUARY 2018 I 5
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