Sunday, August 31, 2008

Higher Education as a private good? - graduate salaries

New figures from England and Wales are reported in the Sunday Times that signal that the much-touted financial benefits accruing to graduates are now beginning to weaken in the era of massification. One third of graduates, it is claimed, are receiving no financial benefit whatsoever from their degree despite having incurred huge debts as a result of fees and living costs. There are a number of institutions where over 40% of graduates end up in non-graduate jobs.

1 comment:

Niall Watts said...

This is to be expected. The greater number of graduates, the lesser value the degree has. The medical profession has realised this by strictly controlling the number of entrants - a shortage of doctors leads to well-paid doctors with long waiting lists.

Jobs that required a leaving certificate in the 1960s, required a degree in the 1980s and require a postgraduate qualification today. By required, I mean required to apply for the job not necessarily to do the job.