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Anonymous

17 Apr 2020

SeedlyTV

Is it truly necessary to pursue higher education or not?

I am 28 years old with a diploma earning $3.4k as a healthcare worker. I am looking to do a degree, but am wondering if it should be in science, business, or management? My main goal is to be able to increase my earning power and open more doors. Most job postings that I see have a "minimum degree" requirement, which saddens me and I worry about the job market in future, where everyone has a degree. I definitely don't want to be left out. A degree in my field (optometry) costs $50k, while degrees in other fields cost way lesser. Any advice?

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Certain industries, u cannot avoid the degree, e.g. Medicine. All the doctors display their certificates that they graduate from which university.

Certain industries, it is good to have to differentiate urself to the next level of competition or offers easier access to accreditation, e.g. CPA, ATP.

Generally, it depends on the industry and if the stakeholders use such degrees or equivalents to cast first impressions.

Clara Ng

16 Apr 2020

Community Manager at Seedly

Hi Anon,

I don’t think having a degree is necessary but it’s certainly helps. Let me explain why.

Having a degree used to be a bonus back then during our parents’ generation. But it is no longer the case today. Having a degree has now become the norm and not having one would make you appear like the ‘odd one out’ or that you seem to be ‘less qualified’. That will unfortunately close some doors for you as there will always be employers that set a minimum criteria for applicants to have at least a degree, some would go further to limit it only to degree holders from local universities. If you choose not to get a degree, you must be prepared that there will be some doors that will be closed for you.

That being said, having a degree does not guarantee success in your career. I have peers who do not have a degree and only a diploma but they are doing very well in their careers, some earning higher incomes and are doing even better than those with degrees. On the flip side, there are also those who have a degree but are struggling to find a job.

I would also say that education qualifications tend to be more important at the beginning of our careers. But once you start working full-time and gain more work experience, employers will care more about what you did during those years spent working and your years of experience rather than your degree or diploma.

If you want to stay in your current field because that’s what you like and is passionate about it, talk to your experienced colleagues and ask what they think. Veterans in the field might be able to give you insights on whether a diploma can get you far in this career.

Having a degree will certainly help but it does not determine your success. A degree holder’s salary might not necessarily be higher than a diploma holder’s either. Ultimately, we dictate our success. Never feel like you can’t achieve success even if you don’t have a degree! All the best :)​​​

I would say that since you are looking towards increasing your earning power, pursuing higher education will boost your chances of achieving that goal. Our society is definitely open towards hiring diploma holders but there is still an advantage if you are a degree holder.

I think when it comes to choosing what degree to pursue, you have to think about both passion and practicality of the degree. Theres no point studying something you have completely no interest in (even if it can boost your pay) but also no point studying something that is purely interest (cause you may just be stuck with the same earnings and not achieve your goal of increasing your earning power). If I were you, I would weigh the pros and cons of the different courses and decide based on interest and practicality. I think it is really a personal decision as everyone would have different priorities and goals when they decide to pursue higher education. ​​​

Hi Anon

I used to be in the same situation as you! I am a HCW and I used to work in the private sec...

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