Speaker Callum Williams
Earning a degree used to lead to a steady job with a good salary.
Explores if university education is still worth it amid rising graduate unemployment and changing job markets influenced by technology and AI.
Key Takeaways
- A university degree no longer guarantees better employment outcomes compared to non-graduates.
- Soft skills and adaptability are crucial for future job market success amid technological change.
- Practical experience such as internships greatly enhances chances of securing full-time employment.
- Students should focus on lifelong learning and transferable skills rather than specific subjects.
- Economic shifts and sectoral declines impact graduate job availability more than AI alone.
Summary
- Graduate unemployment rates in the West are approaching those of the general young population, reducing the advantage of having a degree.
- Universities may be admitting less talented students and not adequately preparing them, leading to employer skepticism about graduate value.
- Fewer jobs require graduate-level qualifications as technology and digital literacy become widespread skills.
- Employment in traditional graduate-friendly sectors like finance and law is declining, partly due to economic shifts since the 2007-2009 financial crisis.
- AI is not the primary cause of declining graduate jobs; the trend predates recent AI advancements like ChatGPT.
- University enrollment is falling in the US but rising in other OECD countries where education is more affordable.
- Students continue to favor arts, humanities, and social sciences, which may not align with future job market demands.
- Future jobs will require adaptability and soft skills such as communication, critical thinking, empathy, and relationship-building.
- Practical trades like plumbing and carpentry remain valuable and less susceptible to automation, often learned outside university.
- Internships and work experience significantly improve graduate employment prospects, sometimes more than the degree subject itself.
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker Callum Williams
But today, young graduates in the West are finding fewer employment opportunities.
Speaker Callum Williams
So, is it still worth going to university?
Speaker Callum Williams
The unemployment rate of young graduates in America is now approaching the same rate for the age group as a whole.
Speaker Callum Williams
In 2010, there was around a 6 percentage point difference in unemployment between young people and young graduates, but now there's just a 1 percentage point difference between them.
Speaker Callum Williams
It's not just in America.
Speaker Callum Williams
In the European Union, the unemployment rate of young people with tertiary education is now approaching the overall rate for that age group.
Speaker Callum Williams
One theory for this is that universities are accepting less talented applicants and then they aren't teaching them very well.
Speaker Callum Williams
This could lead to employers not expecting much of a difference between the average graduate and then someone who didn't go to university.
Speaker Callum Williams
Another theory is that fewer jobs need graduate level qualifications.
Speaker Callum Williams
For example, in the past, you often needed to attend a university in order to understand how to use a computer.
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on the frontiers of science, the strange world of the computer.
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But today, almost everyone can use tech, regardless of whether or not they went to university.
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The number of jobs in graduate friendly industries is also decreasing.
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Across the EU, the number of 15 to 24-year-olds who were employed in finance and insurance fell by 16% from 2009 to 2024.
Speaker Callum Williams
And since 2016, the number of British 20-somethings in law and finance has fallen by 10%.
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It's tempting to blame AI for these waning opportunities.
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Yet, the decline in graduate jobs started long before ChatGPT.
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What's more likely is that the industries that traditionally employed graduates have had a tough time lately.
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Since the global financial crisis of 2007 to 2009, the golden age of investment banking is over.
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So, they're spending less money on hiring graduates.
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In America, all this is affecting young people's decision on whether or not to attend college.
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The number of Americans enrolled in bachelor's programs fell by 5% from 2013 to 2022, according to data from the OECD.
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Yet, in most rich countries, where education is cheaper because the state plays a larger role, young people are still applying to universities in droves, excluding America, enrollment across the OECD rose from 28 million to 31 million in the decade to 2022.
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Perhaps students simply aren't picking the right subjects.
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Arts, humanities and social sciences are still proving popular, even inexplicably, journalism.
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If these trends say anything about young people's ideas about the future of work,
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they truly are in trouble.
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So, in the age of AI, what should you study at university?
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As technology improves, the future of work is changing too.
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Many of the jobs that graduates will have don't even exist yet.
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Some young people worry that certain skills they learn might become outdated as technology changes.
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Coding, for example, is at risk of becoming obsolete within only a few years.
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According to one study, the percentage of American and British IT professionals who worry that AI tools will make many of their day-to-day skills obsolete increased from 74% to 91% in just one year.
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There are some subjects which are likely to stay relevant.
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Robotics, for example, will help people maximize the benefits of technological change.
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And practical jobs like plumbing and carpentry are less likely to be taken over by AI and will remain valued by society.
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These professions often don't require a university qualification.
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and can be learned in other ways, like on apprenticeships.
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But arguably, what's more important for students than studying a specific subject is to focus on learning soft skills instead.
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Things like communication, critical thinking, and reliability, as well as empathy and being able to build relationships, all are transferable across multiple industries.
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OECD findings from 2019 demonstrate that people will need to rely on their currently unique human skills to succeed, understanding how to learn will be key to developing new skills and adapting in changing times.
Speaker Callum Williams
The research also suggests that jobs with complex social interactions, such as care, will still need humans, so developing skills like negotiation and persuasion will be vital.
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Currently, AI isn't very good at these soft skills.
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I understand emotions have a deep meaning.
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But I can't experience them like you can.
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So, if workers can plug the gaps, while also being able to transition into emerging industries,
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then it will help humans to compete with machines.
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Nearly all degrees will allow you to gain these skills through group projects, presentations, and extracurricular activities.
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Ultimately, it doesn't really matter which degree you choose to study.
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Perhaps what's even more important is that a student gains work experience or an internship.
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Research finds that those who graduated in 2022 and completed internships were 23% more likely to start a full-time position within six months of graduating.
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This gap increases further in certain fields, like oil, gas and mining, where it rose to 65%.
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Although it's hard to predict how improving technology will change the world of work over the coming decades,
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one thing is for sure.
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A student with a variety of skills, a lifelong desire to learn, and a good attitude will go far.
Topics:university educationgraduate unemploymentfuture of workAI impactsoft skillsinternshipsjob market trendshigher educationskills developmenttechnology and jobs
