Is Going To University Really Worth It?

All of it makes sense. The question is, how dependent are you going to be on the economy, and is your university education going to be worth it in the event of a crash? Also what are the jobs that’ll get taken over by artificial intelligence.

Not so long ago, after the economic crash of 2008/2009 many a finance executive became a tradesperson a few even took the drastic step of committing suicide. Some of these finance experts were at senior positions.

During a recent conversation with a research scientist the topic of software engineers losing their jobs to AI came up and the scary thing was that, she who is an AI professional, was of the opinion that many jobs including those of software technology crackerjacks are likely to be lost to AI. A professional translator with a master’s degree that I know at a personal level, recently lost her most important client, a multinational company, to AI and they now only use a proofreader.

Way back in 2006 a draughtsman with a diploma who worked with a firm of architects in France, retrained to become a plumber since the country was facing an extreme shortage. Over the years he’s established a reputation and brings home a much higher amount compared with his ex-boss who was a full fledged architect. More importantly, he’s much less dependent on the economy, AI is never going to take over his work and he is at peace while he enjoys his work. 

We spend years earning that university degree, not to mention the money that goes in as an investment to acquire that education. Oftentimes, in many countries students take loans and it’s years before they are able to repay them. 

Many jobs have already been lost to AI and robots. Some of these being assembly, customer service, jobs requiring repetitive tasks, packaging, cashiers, bank tellers and clerks, prescription issuers, analysts, researchers, cashiers at check-out counters and many more. Other jobs such as bus drivers or even aircraft pilots are expected to be taken over by AI.

Human resource managers, recruiters, teachers, medical professionals in many areas, writers and lawyers are likely to be relatively safe in the foreseeable future.

Looking for a university degree that is non-specialised doesn’t appear to be worth it at all. I am not saying that going to university is going to be completely unrewarding. The point is either choose your direction and specialisation carefully or consider giving some of the trades a serious look.

At the moment the highest paying trade work is in the areas of nursing, plumbing, masonry, electrical installations, physio-therapy, dental hygiene, facade building, insulation for homes and several other areas including pizza making that are worth considering mainly because they are recession proof and AI proof. In fact, even Italy is facing a shortage of pizzaioli.

Especially with new entrants needed in many trades, labour costs will keep soaring and delays which are already the order of the day will only get worse. Some reliable studies talk about a shortfall of many millions of professionals such as electricians, carpenters and plumbers— there’s always going to be plenty that will need fixing.

Picture: Shutterstock / ID: 516640027

If university does interest you, there are plenty of scholarship opportunities you can find on Youth Time Magazine!

The Danish Government Scholarship for Graduate Studies

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