Is a university degree still relevant for our children? 

As you wonder about the future of work, and read about jobs being displaced by AI, you may also question if higher education is the best path to a meaningful and financially rewarding career for your child. Within families, we’re hearing that spouses are disagreeing about whether they should encourage children to attend university!

It’s important to remember that no one has all the answers, and these are great conversations for the dinner table. If you grew up in a family that prioritised higher education, you may find it difficult to accept that there are other pathways to career success. On the other hand, while there are triumphant tales of individuals who didn’t pursue traditional qualifications, achieving success requires a rare blend of determination and natural abilities, along with support from one’s family background and social networks, which can offer significant advantages. Additionally, society tends to highlight success stories, but often overlooks those who continue to face challenges and struggle.

Worried that debating the pros and cons of a university education could get a bit heated? In our view, the best way to approach such discussions is to get an early start, and keep an open mind. For parents of tweens and teens, this is the big picture that you should be looking at, as opposed to fixating on the PSLE (Primary School Leaving Examination) and other milestone exams. It’s perfectly normal to have disagreements, but to avoid stalemates, you can look at available research on job prospects, and build discussions around the findings. 

Need some help to get started? Here are four big questions to guide your family discussions on higher education.

“Would You Like to Live in Singapore or Abroad?”

We may tell our children that the world is their playground, but if we haven’t ventured abroad for studies or work, our offspring might be inclined to stay put as well. However, some children could be open to building a life overseas if they are adventurous by nature, have a strong interest that is better nurtured abroad, or have close relationships with loved ones who’ve set up home elsewhere.

For teens who envision a future living and working in Singapore, they should be aware that there is still a large pay gap between degree holders and non-degree holders. According to a recent study, Singaporeans in their 20s and 30s who have a university degree or postgraduate degree earn a median salary of S$4,200 a month, compared to the median salary of S$2,600 for those with diploma or A-level qualifications.

However, we may be starting to see more structural support in Singapore for helping employers open their doors to non-degree holders. For instance, we now have a Polytechnic Talent for Finance Scheme, which supports financial institutions in training and hiring polytechnic students and graduates. If your teen is interested in a specific industry, you can check if similar development programmes are available.

As for in-demand jobs, Singapore’s focus areas are the green economy (sustainability), the digital economy (tech), and the care economy (health and wellness). The Skills Demand for the Future Economy report is a good starting point for career discussions.

For teens with a global outlook, refer them to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs report to look at job trends worldwide. A key finding is that the majority of fast-growing roles are technology-related, and these are:

• AI and machine learning specialists
• Sustainability specialists 
• Business intelligence analysts
• Information security analysts

Renewable energy engineers, as well as solar energy installation and system engineers are also relatively fast-growing roles, as economies shift towards renewable energy. 

“What Work Are You Interested In?”

Need an easy way to manage this conversation? Offer three options — the green economy, the digital economy, and the care economy — and talk about the possible jobs within each sector. 

As an example, if your teen expresses an interest in the care economy, you can browse Singapore’s social services career guide to look at education pathways. Let’s say your teen is interested in psychology: you can read about the education requirements that one is expected to have, in order to be a clinical psychologist in Singapore. This would be an accredited Master’s in Applied Psychology, and there are recommended universities to consider, such as the National University of Singapore. There are already many things to question and explore here, like what a clinical psychologist does, what is ‘applied psychology,’ and whether a Bachelor’s degree is adequate to launch a psychology career in Singapore or elsewhere. This gives you an organised way to assess how important a university degree might be for your teen.

For teens who are interested in less-common careers, such as being a fiction writer, it’s best to find mentors who can advise them on the realities of work in Singapore or their country of interest. Instead of a full-fledged degree course, such teens can look for relevant short-term courses in Singapore or abroad. For instance, the University of Oxford runs a creative writing programme that is just three weeks long, where students take part in writing seminars, attend talks by established professionals, and participate in open-mic nights. For certain professions, these short courses could be transformative, because what’s essential is being exposed to fresh ideas, having mentors guide you, and gaining access to a network that can open the right doors.

“What Universities Can We Afford?”

A useful estimate to remember is that on average, a four-year general course at a Singapore university will cost slightly under S$40,000 for a Singapore citizen in current times. Refer to this guide for more information about fees for different courses across local universities 

If your teen is interested in an overseas education but wants to return to Singapore for work, you can check the Ministry of Manpower’s list of ‘acceptable institutions’ — use this as a rough guide to the universities that are better recognised within our country, especially by government institutions. 

Alternatively, talk to industry professionals or consult resource guides to see if there are lists of accredited universities for each sector. Parents will want to do this, because you might be forking out between S$200,000 and S$500,000 for tuition fees as well as living expenses, over a four-year period. You can check this guide for an overview on overseas university costs, but note that it is based on 2021 estimates. Once your teen has shortlisted universities of interest, you should go directly to their official websites for accurate fee information.

Teens who have a stellar academic and co-curricular record can consider applying for undergraduate scholarships — there are hundreds of opportunities to consider!

And finally, there is the option of taking a study break in order to work, save money, and gain a broader perspective on one’s education needs. There is now a GapyearSG community, where other ‘gappers’ can provide support and resources.

“What Universities Are Singaporeans Interested In?”

For context, Singapore’s six public universities took in 18,000 Singapore citizens and permanent residents in 2022, out of 38,000 applicants. The Ministry of Education has said that it does not track the number of Singaporean students who choose to study overseas.

Based on local search data, the most searched for local universities are the National University of Singapore and the Nanyang Technological University. This is to be expected, given that they are our most established universities, and have been faring well in terms of global rankings.

What’s surprising is that Australian universities are also drawing as much — or even more — search interest. The most searched for Australian universities include:

• Monash University
• University of Melbourne
• James Cook University (with a Singapore campus)
• The University of Sydney
• The University of Queensland

For the UK, the top searches are for the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford. There is also significant interest in Coventry University, which offers the option of pursuing their degrees in Singapore via the PSB Academy. As for the US, top searches are for Harvard University and Stanford University. 

Want a more credible way to assess overseas universities? Look at how universities rank globally. You’ve probably heard of ranking lists such as QS and Times Higher Education — the QS ranking relies heavily on reputation surveys, such as what employers think about a university, while the Times ranking gives more weight to research reputation. There is a third university ranking system known as the Shanghai ranking, which takes into consideration how many alumni and faculty members have won awards such as Nobel prizes.

Want a range of perspectives on universities in Singapore and abroad? Join the conversation on the KiasuParents forum!