Should You Take a Gap Year Before University

University grads who took a break after high school earned 8% over their peers who went directly to university. The wage premiums for delayers who completed multiple degrees are higher still – 10 %  more for non-university grads,and 13%  more for those who graduated from university.

However, in order to earn more than -- or even as much as -- traditional university graduates, delayers had to be employed. University graduates who took a break and not work earned 20% less than those who went straight from high school to university.

Read full article here

So if you’re in high school and considering a gap year, don’t go travelling in Europe but get a job or go directly to university.

Is a Degree your Ticket to Success?

According to the following article in the Calgary Herald, a university degree alone is not the ticket to career success. Other factors for getting hired include skills such as leadership, communication, enthusiasm, work ethic, respectfulness and experience. Therefore, look for degree programs that offer internships and co-op work terms to gain tangible and practical application of your degree.

Another advantage of these programs is that you will begin to build a powerful network of employers and contacts in your field that may eventually lead to a full-time job after graduation.

Note, however, that generally co-op and internship programs require a higher Grade 12 average or first year marks to be admitted. Yes, it always comes back to your marks!!

Read the full story here

Will Your University Degree Pay Off?

According to a Globe and Mail article, 18.5% of university graduates earn less than half of the country’s median income of $37,002 – the highest proportion of any OECD country, and a phenomenon experts struggle to explain.

Meanwhile, data from the federal Department of Finance show that while fields such as business, engineering and mathematics have returned 12 to 17% a year on education’s rising up-front costs, rates for disciplines in the humanities and social sciences could be as low as 4 to 6%.

Torben Drewes, a professor of economics at Trent University, believes returns on university degrees will continue to rise overall, but acknowledges students cannot bank on earning an “average” wage.

Read the full story here

Given the alternative of just high school, I would still recommend that you embark on post-secondary education. I know my 18 year old would be relaxing on my couch playing video games with intermittent texting if he were not at university right now.

It's not a guarantee, but it's still worth doing a university degree.

Different Return on Investment for Different University Programs

You have seen several reports that conclude a return on your investment in higher education. Now new research has showed the impact of higher education on wages in certain jobs. First, it confirms that individuals with post-high school education almost always earn more than those with just high school. Secondly, “education remains an important factor in determining annual income or hourly wage, but the detail offered by these insights shows some of the potentially complicating factors,” the study says, adding that the results support the general expectation that more education and experience equals higher income.”
Read more in the Globe & Mail


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Is University in your Future?

Most parents I know really do want their children to go to university and if you’re looking for evidence to support your dream for your child here’s a summary of recently published data:

·       TD economists Craig Alexander and Shahrzad Mobasher Fard College report that 10% is the average rate of return on an undergraduate degree. The range is from 11 – 14%. Furthermore, investment in education remains the single best investment that a person can make.

·       Statistics Canada and the 2006 Census report that university graduates are more employable and spend less time unemployed when they lose their jobs.

·       Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) found more than 80 per cent of university and college graduates between the ages of 25 and 64 are employed, compared to a little more than 50 per cent of high school graduates.

·       The Council of Ontario Universities state that two out of three new jobs require postsecondary education and from 2004 to 2010, employment growth for university graduates outpaced all other levels of education.

·       The Council of Ontario Universities also reported that 93% of Ontario university students find jobs within six months of graduation, but 85% of those employed full-time two years after graduation say their job is related to their education.

·       Ontario university graduates also earn more than twice as much annually (53%) as high school graduates, an average of $1.6 million more over the course of their careers according to the Council of Ontario Universities.

As a high school student reading this I hope you don’t need additional unbiased opinions on the value of a university education.

The underlying assumption of all of these reports is that the students are covering all of their university education (now or repaying loans later). However, as a parent who just paid her son’s first year tuition I’m still waiting for the data which shows the parents’ return on their investment! But I guess my reward is that I’m doing my best to ensure that he will be a contributing member of society.