It may not be the question you want to hear at the beginning of a new year at university. After all, we are well aware of the expense of tuition fees and of maintenance loans rising. And that’s not to mention all the time we devote to our studies. But it is a question persistently asked, more often than not by those who have graduated, and one we inevitably must address: are degrees still worth it?

The requirement for degrees in the job market is declining – a degree is no longer a straightforward path to employment. This widening of the accessibility of employment is hardly a negative; acknowledging the value of apprenticeships and experience over more exclusive routes is progress. But it doesn’t need to be at the detriment of degrees.

“University is more than a stepping stone to employment”

As a history student, I am no stranger to the question of what I am going to do when I graduate. It is one I have asked other humanities students, and myself, and which I still have no answer for. For some, this lack of certainty suggests that my degree is merely a way to put off entering “the real world”, to continue living without the burden of a 9-to-5, and to have fun.

But if that was my sole reason for studying history, it is for no one else to tell me that my degree is a waste. University offers far more than educational skills. The life and social skills I have had to acquire since moving to university are invaluable, and are definitely grounds on which I would promote university to others. So I find the suggestion that, because I have no career lined up, my degree is pointless, obscene.

Not helped by the previous government’s plan to get rid of so-called “Mickey Mouse degrees”, and endless online articles listing university courses with the lowest employment rate, the suggestion that students are oblivious to the potentially falling career prospects of their degree is ridiculous, and the idea that this should deter them from pursuing a subject they love is even more so. That being said, it’s impossible to ignore that business owners are acknowledging that, as more people acquire university degrees, they begin to lose their meaning. Simultaneously, rising importance is being placed on practical experience.

“A degree is no longer a straightforward path to employment”

Despite this, university admissions are rising, with the number of 18-year-olds applying to universities in 2025 increasing 2.2% from last year. This is not a failure of prospective students who are “wasting money” or “delaying reality”. Instead, it is indicative of an eagerness to enter the “real world” gently, not to be thrust into employment, but to enter a safe space to learn life skills before you are left alone. It is this which makes university so valuable, and not just educationally so.

University is much more than just a stepping stone to a lifetime of employment. Degrees are broad: English is more than reading books, MML more than learning a language, history more than looking at the past. They all encourage debate and nuance, supporting your own views with evidence and engaging with counterarguments, learning to articulate yourself in essays and supervisions. These lessons are not restricted to the subject they are taught in: they are highly relevant in workplaces, becoming skills needed as much outside of education as in it.

In the age of the rise of AI and other technologies, critical and unique thinking is more important than ever. Crafting ideas independently and reducing reliance on online tools is a skill that must be nurtured, not discouraged. Even if the employment statistics of graduates are falling, the extensive positives of degrees must not be forgotten.