JONATHAN JANSEN: Where you study matters as much as what you study
'The market screens degrees based on whether you achieved that qualification at the University of Zululand or the University of Cape Town. Nobody wants to deal with this elephant in the lecture room'
IT IS the kind of social media posting that irritates: “My brother has a PhD in chemistry and he is unemployed.” I am not sure why people post this kind of information but I have a hunch. A PhD graduate is supposed to have a job. If not, there must be some unfairness in the system, such as discrimination. This is evidence that there is no payoff to advanced degrees. So, to the person who posted this information on Twitter, I would like to share a few home truths. First of all, graduate unemployment in South Africa is strikingly low. Whereas unemployment in general runs at more than 25%, that figure is less than 5% for graduates. That is good news.There must be other reasons for your brother's predicament. There are credible research sources that show over and over again that the more formal education you achieve, the more likely you are to get a job; and the more you study, and gain qualifications, the better your earnings. Those are the facts and they affirm the value of continuing...
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