Should I go to University?

About 40% of young people are entering higher education, is this leading to an oversupply? Many commentators write about graduates being unable to obtain graduate level jobs and earning no more than if they had left education after A levels.

Some recent research by Dr Anna Vignoles, a reader in the economics of education at the Institute of Education has found that employers increasingly demand skilled workers and the Leitch review found that the proportion of people working in professional and graduate level jobs gas increased from about 20% to 27%.

However other research has said that the pay differential is decreasing, particularly for more recent graduates. Overall with a degree you should expect to earn 30% more than leaving education after A levels but you also need to take account of the cost of studying or the degree and the lost income over 3 years. Also research by McIntosh and Chevalier and Lindley, 2007) suggest that around 30% of people fail to get a graduate level job.

Much of the difference depends on degree subject, with an accountancy degree showing a 40% premium above an arts degree.

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