Here’s why employers say university degrees are still worth it, but not on their own

Students at the University of British Columbia Vancouver campus during the first week of classes in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022. Canada needs to recruit more international students in fields that are facing labor shortages and make it easier for them to become permanent residents, according to Royal Bank of Canada. Photographer: Taehoon Kim/Bloomberg via Getty Images

As roughly two million students return to Canadian colleges and universities this month, some are questioning whether a degree is still worth the time and money, as grads face a job market that is rapidly changing in the age of artificial intelligence.

Leeroy Mudhikwa, a Simon Fraser University student studying data science, is trying to broaden his skill base in case he is unable to secure a job after graduation. He has one year left in the program but spent his summer running a painting business, looking for ways to broaden his experience beyond his education.

“I learn how to hire people, you know, to recruit, learn how to run a business,” he said. “I really have enjoyed that aspect of it all.”

At the University of British Columbia, economics student Aiden Thomas says he is questioning whether continuing his studies is the best use of his time and money. “I feel like the worth of a degree is becoming less and less, of course, dependent on the specific degree,” he said.

A university education, plus something else

Tara Parry, a hiring expert and director of permanent services with Robert Half, says a university degree still has value, but increasingly it needs to be accompanied by practical experience and job-specific skills.

“A university degree is still worth it, but not on its own,” Parry said. “It doesn’t guarantee a job the same way it used to.”

A degree can demonstrate qualities employers value, including time management, managing a workload and being prepared and reliable, she said.

But employers are looking for more than education.

“It’s not just education alone, it’s skills,” Parry said. “It’s technical skills, it’s practical experience, it’s applicable experience as well as foundational knowledge.”

That could mean internships, co-op placements, apprenticeships or other opportunities to gain experience while studying.

For those pursuing a more general arts degree, Parry suggests looking for ways to gain relevant experience.

A degree will now cost you more

A university education is now more expensive than it was a generation ago.

Statistics Canada data for the 2025/26 school year shows Canadian undergraduate students are now paying $7,734 a year in tuition. 20 years ago, for the school year 2006/07, the average cost was $4,400. That’s an increase of nearly 76 per cent, which has outpaced inflation.

Roughly half of graduates have debt when they complete their studies, according to Statistics Canada, owing an average of more than $38,000.

With that in mind, does the investment pay off? The answer, at least in terms of average earnings, is still yes.

Statistics Canada data shows employees aged 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or higher earned an average of $44.67 an hour in 2024. That’s about 55 per cent more than workers with a high school diploma or less, who earned an average of $28.82 an hour.

Workers with post-secondary education below a bachelor’s degree earned an average of $34.38 an hour.

Bottom line, Parry says, is a degree still sets candidates apart. “If it’s apples to apples, down to two candidates, they will nine times out of 10 take the candidate that has the bachelor’s degree versus the one who doesn’t,” she said.