Students across Canada are into a new school year, committing to post-secondary programs, and the costs and efforts that come with them.
But is getting a degree worth it?
Callers to CBC’s Cross Country Checkup recently gave their views on both sides of the debate.
“It’s not worth it. I think it’s too expensive now,” Steven Gregory, who lives in Montreal, told host Ian Hanomansing, on Saturday.
Many people make significant contributions to society without ever attending university, he added.
In the 2023-2024 academic year, domestic undergraduate students paid an average of more than $7,000 for tuition, according to Statistics Canada, with tuition highest in Nova Scotia ($9,575), Saskatchewan ($9,232) and New Brunswick ($8,706).
- Do you think a university education is worth it? Email us at ask@cbc.ca.
The most recent Statistics Canada data shows the average student loan debt for a university graduate with a bachelor’s degree is more than $30,000.
Other callers to Cross Country Checkup also voiced concerns about the practical value of university degrees in today’s world. Debt is one issue: Finding a job in a relevant field is often another.
Cross Country Checkup19:49Is a university degree still worth it?
The Bank of Canada looked at data from 2018 gathered by Statistics Canada. It determined that workers in their 40’s with a university degree earned about 10 dollars more per hour than those who graduated from college or another post-secondary school. But that gap was larger back in 1997 and the economy has certainly changed since 2018. Joel Westheimer is a professor of democracy and education at the University of Ottawa and has written and talked about the value of a university degree. He’s also an education columnist with CBC Ottawa. He answered your questions about whether or not a University degree is still worth it.
Anita McCabe, who lives on Prince Edward Island, said her daughter has struggled to find work, even in a coffee shop, after graduating this year with a degree in biology.
“It’s been really challenging to find employment,” McCabe said.
McCabe still believes getting a degree is worth it, but added some programs, such as nursing, offer a clearer path to paid employment than others.
A report by the Bank of Canada noted workers in Canada with higher education still make more money on average than their peers, but that gap has been narrowing over the past 20 years.
“Although the wage premium…
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