Is University Worth It?

During my lifetime I felt both thankful and regretful about getting my degrees and education.

I know that many people, especially young professionals, go through a similar transition themselves. I want to use this post to illustrate my thoughts on formal education and try to answer if it’s worth it.

Is a diploma worth it?

There are some prerequisites to answering the question.

For example, how do you define worth? How do you define value?

Also, I wouldn’t put every degree in the same bucket. Going to university to acquire non-lucrative knowledge and no skills inherently doesn’t have value. On the other hand, being educated in certain fields, on paper and in practice, can put you years ahead in life.

And indeed, people who studied certain fields in certain colleges never went through putting real effort in life (and by real I mean something that produces actual value). Many never put their mind to actual work. Compare it to a computer science student in a reputable university and you have a gap that may never be closed in the job market.

With that said, let’s look at the worth of formal education from a perspective of a career.

How I felt about formal education over the years

I went through various phases when it came to my studies…

Phase 1. You can learn everything by yourself.

Even as a high-school student, having a track record in a couple of out-of-school activities engraved this to my mindset. Anyone is capable of teaching himself skills that already exist. Maybe not everyone is capable of being innovative in every field, but certainly learning something that’s already taught to millions of people is within reach to anyone.

Talking about formal education, this still holds true, but with a variance – and it depends on the field of study, the quality of the university, the goals of the student, and the location.

Anyway, even before starting studies I had an idea that if you just learn what you’re required to – that’s it. I looked at it more like a game and figuring out that I can beat it. At the end, it’s all about the numbers.

Phase 2. University rules!

So, new grad. Although I was overwhelmed by the amount of information and requirements we had at first, I quickly caught up and did my best.

This was supported by my peers, family, social circle, etc. and it just felt right. It was both a confidence and a reputation boost and I had, social among others, incentives to “do my best”. I did – never failed or skipped an exam and got a sponsorship for being one of the best students in the country.

At certain moments, it felt like career success would come automatically… Ignorance is a bliss. Needless to say, it felt nice but diminished as I was approaching graduation.

Phase 3. WTF now?

By my third year of studies the following question started coming up more often: and then what?

It all restarts?

The points I accumulated are in a currency that I can’t use in “real life”?

Well, nobody promised us anything. Okay, I was and am in a field in high demand, so getting a job won’t be a problem. But starting to witnessing the opportunities, I had a conflict. I put all that effort, all those sleepless nights – for what? To earn the same as those who barely passed or still struggling?

All the benefits that came with academic success just vanished. Of course, some people recognized and cherished it, but this had nothing to do with real life improvement.

If I take the liberty to express myself in a more casual way – being a top student could’ve helped me gain some social status in delusional circles and even enjoy the admiration of pseudo-intellectuals, but that wasn’t going to pay the bills.

My ego was slowly put in check and this is a period where I changed a lot. This was not the exclusive factor, but it certainly played a role.

It hurt a lot to see how uncorrelated my academic success was with my earning potential. Especially in the early stages of a FIRE enthusiast’s career. WTF have I done?

Phase 4. Nothing matters.

Zoom out and take a look at the bigger picture…

We’re just the current events in a certain level of abstraction moving the machine. We’re just the tools. The means. The nameless assets ultimately contributing to the economic growth and humanity.

But if we keep it on a personal level, yes… It may not be the only or optimal way to start a career, but it certainly gives stability. Unless you study something that’s in low demand. I met a guy that during his third year of studies wanted to switch to something else because he “had interest in it”. It was hard not to get in a debate, but it didn’t have a point, so… Meh.

People are stupid. Delusional. Ignorant. Many of them think that they’re some kind of a factor in this world. In humanity. In the space-time continuum.

Life continues after you don’t.

The world will keep spinning after you’re gone.

And eventually, every record of you will simply vanish.

… What was I saying though…

So is it important?

Ah yes…

Finishing a reputable university while studying a field that’s either commonly accepted as challenging or simply in demand shows that you hold some qualities:

Dedication,
Perseverance,
Commitment,
Logical thinking,
Adaptability…

However, thinking that it’s a golden ticket or something that will tremendously improve your life may be wrong in more cases than not.

Going into academia as a career might offer some fulfillment while doing your job, but comes in a package with not much opportunities and potentially playing a game you dislike more than having industry experience.

On the other hand, you can get lucky, do research in fields you have deep interest in, and flourish in your career.

On the other other hand, you can also get lucky in the industry. You can build something you’re sincerely excited about and get monetary and emotional rewards in the process… In any case you’ll sometimes feel like a victim of politics, bureaucracy, and injustice, but in different ways.

Why am I keep getting side tracked though?

Here’s why.

Because there’s no right answer.

No amount of cherry-picking, statistics, generalizations, or assumptions will answer the question if university is worth it. Neither for you nor in a general case.

It certainly helps, but a course also does. It certainly gives a strong foundation, but informal education also does. It certainly shows that you’re capable, but relevant track record also does.

It can have a high ROI, but also high opportunity costs.

And I don’t want to start comparing starting salaries of hypothetical cases, because there are graduates that are underpaid and overpaid, drop-outs that are underpaid and overpaid, and PhDs that are underpaid and overpaid.

Best thing I can say is: whatever happened until now… Use that to achieve what you consider success to be.

If a decision was already made in the past, leave it there.

Start looking ahead… And remember, there are rarely guarantees in life.