Certain university courses, particularly in the arts, humanities and social sciences, can be met with criticism, accused of low financial returns and of being “rip-off” degrees.

However, recent research provides a broader perspective on these judgements and the notion of professional “success.” While salary is a tangible indicator, it is far from the only one that can be used to assess the value of a degree.

Move over physics, chemistry, economics or law.

Today, you can study far more unexpected topics, such as bowling industry management, the science of beer, parapsychology or even the sociology of celebrity, with Lady Gaga, Beyonce or Taylor Swift as the subject of study.

In the United States and Britain, these surprising courses are flourishing on campuses. But behind their originality, they also attract criticism.

For some, they are pure “Mickey Mouse degrees”, ie, diplomas deemed pointless, poor value or even scandalously absurd in view of their supposed uselessness on the job market.

However, a British study sheds a more nuanced light on the matter.

It highlights criteria for ­professional success that go beyond financial returns. Conducted in Britain, this research analysed the responses of over 67,500 graduates of the 2018-2019 academic year, questioned 15 months after the end of their studies via the major national “Graduate Outcomes” survey.

The aim was to look beyond figures on income and to focus on graduates’ professional experiences: is their job meaningful for them?

Does it match their aspirations? Are they using the skills they acquired at university?

Professional satisfaction

The results may surprise those who take a purely financial approach: 86% of young people surveyed felt that their work was meaningful, 78% felt that it corresponded to their future plans, and 66% said that they were using the skills they had acquired during their studies.

These figures call into question the idea that only financially “profitable” degrees have value.

Of course, professionally- oriented courses such as medicine, veterinary science or teaching all score highly, particularly in terms of their relevance to the demands of the profession.

But when the data is cross- referenced with social origin, gender or educational background, many of the gaps between vocational and generalist fields of study start to narrow.

In other words, no university course condemns its students to failure.

Even the courses most maligned in the public debate – social sciences, communications, arts – generate a genuine sense of professional satisfaction.

And this is an aspect that rankings based solely on income all too often overlook.

The researchers acknowledge, however, that their work is limited to the first 15 months post-graduation and does not allow them to track salary trajectories or long-term job stability, as one of them explains in The Conversation.

But it does provide an unprecedented and representative snapshot of early professional life by field of study.

As such, it’s perhaps time to move beyond the perception of degrees in terms of financial returns.

Choosing a course of study out of passion, affinity or intellectual curiosity is not a mistake: it can be the path to a fulfilling and useful career.

To denigrate the humanities and social sciences, as former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak did, is also to undermine an entire sector of culture, which is vital and already under strain.

The real question, then, is not how much a degree can earn you, but what it can help build, for you personally and for society. – AFP Relaxnews