With rising student debt, stagnant graduate salaries and fast-moving technological change, Australians are growing more doubtful about the benefits of a university degree. Recent data shows only 27% believe a degree holds strong value while most consider it too expensive to justify. By 2024, the average graduate entered the workforce with around $27,600 in debt even as nearly one third struggled to secure full-time employment within six months.
University enrolments peaked during the pandemic in 2021 with nearly 291,000 new domestic students but dropped to a ten-year low of 262,000 in 2023 before a small increase in 2024. Government-backed surveys reveal that entry-level salaries in areas like law, finance, medicine and nursing have declined or remained flat in real terms while education costs grew by up to 53% in some courses. Although the median graduate salary increased by just 1.7% in real terms since 2016, many now question if the expense of higher education is worth it.
Government policy continues to encourage broader degree attainment with targets aiming for 55% of young Australians to earn a tertiary qualification by 2050. However, experts from both industry and academia argue that some degrees no longer provide a clear career advantage. Generalist qualifications are struggling to offer long-term employment benefits. By 2021, 5.5 million Australians held degrees yet the saturation of the job market has prompted concern about university being the default post-school choice.
Artificial intelligence is also influencing future employment outcomes. Although only about 4% of Australian jobs are at full risk of automation, many students fear their qualifications may lose relevance quickly. Fields such as healthcare and engineering continue to show strong job prospects after graduation but others including journalism, architecture and biological sciences report much lower full-time employment rates six months after students finish their courses.
At the same time, the equation of cost and benefit has shifted. The Job Ready Graduates reforms pushed up tuition fees in courses like law and communications by between 21% and 53% since 2016. Average student debt has risen by over 225% since 2005. These cost increases have made the vision of a better future through education harder to achieve. Rising living expenses are compounding the challenge with nearly 65% of students now taking on part-time work alongside their studies, often at the cost of full participation in campus life.
The university experience is also quietly changing. More online study, lasting effects from the pandemic and heavier academic workloads have turned previously lively campuses into quiet, functional environments centred on job readiness. The social and developmental benefits once inseparable from higher education such as building networks, developing critical thinking and gaining independence are no longer guaranteed. This change is influencing how future students assess their options.
