A Degree of Doubt: Does the Path from University to a Good Career Still Add Up?

Dear Singapore,

I still remember the shape of the sentence before I could recite it back: “Study hard, get into a good school, get a good degree, get a good job and live a good life”.

It was less advice than an unspoken script, something taken for granted rather than argued for, like expecting buses to arrive every few minutes or fireworks to light up the sky every August. Nobody in my family sat me down and made the case for it, because nobody had to.

What is strange is realising now, at university, that the script does not quite land the way it used to. Not for me, and not for most of my friends. There is great uncertainty about how reliably it delivers on its promise.

We still want the ends it promises: meaningful and stable work, financial security, the ability to afford a decent home, and a good quality of life. What seems less certain is whether a university degree by itself remains a reliable pathway to these ends.

Rethinking the Value of a University Education

In recent years, reports that people were losing faith in universities have emerged in some countries. For example, the 2026 British Social Attitudes survey found that the proportion of people who believed that a degree was not worth their time and money had jumped from 14% in 2005 to 34% in 2025. The same survey found that the proportion who believed that people who attended university ended up much better off financially than those who did not fell from 50% to 36%.^[i] At the same time, advances in artificial intelligence have prompted renewed debate about what students need to learn, how universities should teach, and whether traditional qualifications will continue to provide the same advantages in the future.^[ii]

The picture in Singapore is more measured. TODAY’s 2023 Youth Survey reflected that a large majority of local youths expected their children to obtain a university degree, and that having a degree was still necessary to achieve success in Singapore.^[iii] Moreover, fresh graduates from universities in Singapore continue to receive significantly higher first-year salaries than their polytechnic and Institute of Technical Education (ITE) counterparts.^[iv] Together, these suggest that the (perceived and actual) benefits of a degree remain high. We are not, as far as I can tell, a generation of would-be university dropouts nor opt-outs in waiting.

However, what may be changing is not the value of a degree itself, but expectations of what a degree can accomplish on its own.

My parents’ generation could reasonably assume that having a good degree would lead to a good job and life, but I doubt that my generation can assume the same. Globally, the number of students in higher education has increased by 2.5 times in the last two decades, making it harder to stand out in the labour market with just a degree.^[v] Likewise in Singapore, the proportion of university graduates has steadily risen from just 23.7% in 2010 to 33% in 2020, and is set to grow further.^[vi] Employers are also placing greater emphasis on skills. Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower reported that academic qualifications were not the main consideration in hiring for a substantial proportion of vacancies in 2025.^[vii] 

None of these suggest that a degree no longer matters. Rather, it may mean that a degree is increasingly one part of a broader portfolio that includes internships, technical competencies, professional certifications and practical experience. Realising this, I have also started to treat my university education in a similar way. It is an important foundation, but it sits alongside other experiences through which I can develop and demonstrate what I know and can do.

The Growing Appeal of Alternative Pathways

Parents, too, seem to be recalibrating. A 2025 survey by Milieu Insight found that only 38% of Singaporean parents considered a university degree “moderately important” as alternative paths such as apprenticeships and entrepreneurship gain popularity and legitimacy.^[viii] Majority of respondents also said that the rise of non-traditional careers like YouTubers and TikTokers have made degrees seem “less essential for success”.^[ix] If both parents and youths are rethinking if a degree is the only pathway to a good job and life, it seems that we should take alternative pathways more seriously.

Indeed, alternative pathways are increasingly seen as legitimate and desirable thanks to social media. People who have chosen to take unconventional paths can now share their experiences directly with large audiences and amass huge followings. These content creators often make use of short-form videos to share intimate details about their lives, at times going viral and raking in hundreds of thousands of views. In Singapore, for example, a bus captain who turned down offers from the top three local universities attracted much interest after documenting his career journey on social media.^[x]

Beyond making alternative pathways more visible, these stories may also reflect and reinforce a broader shift in attitudes towards conventional education and employment.  While there have always been cases of youths dropping out of university, or even earlier at the secondary school level, such decisions were associated with financial constraints or poor academic performance. Increasingly, however, some youths appear to be opting out of traditional educational pathways not out of necessity, but because they are unconvinced that these routes align with their aspirations, values, or preferred lifestyles. The virality of these alternative success stories and pathways at least suggest that they do resonate with some segments of society, even if not everyone who follows these stories aspire to take a similar path. Nevertheless, their growing visibility could help broaden societal conceptions of what a “good job” and “good life” might look like in Singapore, and challenge the notion that a degree is necessary to get a “good job”.

What happens next?

If alternative pathways continue to gain visibility and legitimacy, what might the future look like? I offer some possibilities below.

First, a university degree may become just one of several important signals of capability. Some employers are already turning to other indicators to determine if an individual is the right fit. For example, the IBM Apprenticeship Program is intended for individuals who do not have degrees, but who have requisite knowledge in the technology domain, to join the company. Through the program, they receive mentorship from experts in the field and get to earn digital credentials, valuable experiences that could fast-track their professional development.^[xi] Similarly, Tangent is a local incubator for unconventional entrepreneurs. On their website, they state that the people they look for cannot be determined by just an academic transcript, and they accept individuals who could have “excellent grades, average grades, or no grades at all”.^[xii] What these show is that a degree is no longer the primary signal of competence and employers increasingly look at skills, certifications, and demonstrated capabilities.

Second, alternative institutions may emerge to compete with universities. These alternatives could be offered by private sector players like big MNCs or non-governmental organisations such as foundations, which offer different combinations of education, mentorship, professional experience and financial support. For example, the Thiel Fellowship offers $250,000 to young people willing to drop out of college to “build new things”. Their reasoning is that while college is good for learning about what has been done before, it could also discourage people from doing something new.^[xiii] To date, the Thiel Fellowship has achieved a 13.79% unicorn hit rate across 290 Fellows, and many Fellows have gone on to found notable companies: Ethereum (Vitalik Buterin), Anthropic (Chris Olah), and Figma (Dylan Field).^[xiv] While such programmes are highly selective and cater to particular types of talent, they illustrate that alternative models of learning and talent development could become increasingly established and rival traditional university education.

Third, social attitudes towards non-traditional pathways may continue to evolve. While university credentials may continue to carry prestige in Singapore, public perceptions of educational and career success are not fixed. In some entrepreneurial communities overseas, like Silicon Valley, pursuing unconventional educational pathways may be celebrated rather than stigmatised. Individuals who deliberately opt out of university education may be perceived as independent thinkers, risk-takers, and innovators, making them highly valuable in the eyes of entrepreneurial and big technology firms.^[xv] Rather than signaling failure, deviation from conventional pathways could signal ambition and a willingness to challenge established norms. As more of such unconventional success stories gain prominence, the prestige associated with different educational and career pathways could gradually shift.

What might these developments mean for a society like Singapore, where the university degree remains deeply embedded in our understanding and expectations of educational and career success? University credentials continue to carry significant prestige and degree holders still enjoy strong employment outcomes by most measures.^[xvi] Unlike in some countries where confidence in higher education and its return on investment has begun to erode, most Singaporean students are unlikely to opt out of university anytime soon. The emergence of alternative pathways does not necessarily mean that conventional ones will lose their appeal.

Yet the more interesting question is not whether the degree will become completely irrelevant, but whether it would continue to command the same confidence as the default pathway to a good career and successful life. What may emerge is a curious paradox: university enrolment remains high even as faith in the degree as a guaranteed pathway to success weakens. Students may continue pursuing degrees but increasingly cruise through them with the help of AI, and prioritise other kinds of credentials to build up a more robust portfolio of experiences outside and on top of university. In such a future, the university degree may retain its importance even as people’s aspirations and priorities begin to change.

My generation has stopped assuming that there is only one path to a good life, and we are watching, with a mix of caution and hope, anyone who claims to know a better way.

Sincerely,

A University Student

Gwyneth Ser was an Intern at the Centre for Strategic Futures (CSF). This piece was written by Gwyneth, with input from Angel Chew, Senior Assistant Director at the CSF, and Lim Yun Hui, Senior Foresight Analyst at the CSF.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not reflect the official position of the Centre for Strategic Futures or any agency of the Government of Singapore.

Endnotes:

^[i] Sally Weale, “Third of People No Longer Believe Degree Is Worth the Time or Money, UK Poll Shows,” The Guardian, June 2, 2026, https://www.theguardian.com/education/2026/jun/02/shrinking-graduate-premium-sours-views-on-university-poll-shows (opens in new tab).

^[ii] Jay Caspian Kang, “Will A.I. Make College Obsolete?,” The New Yorker, May 5, 2026, https://www.newyorker.com/news/fault-lines/will-ai-make-college-obsolete (opens in new tab).

^[iii] Deborah Lau, “TODAY Youth Survey: Large Majority Say Having a Degree Is Still Necessary to Succeed in S’pore, Expect Their Children to Attain It,” CNA, October 17, 2023, https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/today-youth-survey-university-degree-5604671 (opens in new tab).  

^[iv] “University grads’ median pay is $4.2k, double the $2k of those with ITE, secondary education: Study,” The Straits Times, December 5, 2022, https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/community/university-grads-median-pay-is-42k-double-the-2k-of-those-with-ite-secondary-education-study (opens in new tab).

^[v] UNESCO, Higher education: figures at a glance, https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000394112 (opens in new tab).

^[vi] Justin Ong, “S’pore Population Better Educated across Age, Ethnicity; Women Make Greater Strides,” The Straits Times, June 16, 2021, https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/spore-population-better-educated-across-age-ethnicity-women-make-greater-strides (opens in new tab).

^[vii] Ministry of Manpower, “Job Vacancies Report 2025,” news release, March 20, 2026, https://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/press-releases/2026/0320-job-vacancies-report-2025 (opens in new tab); Angelynn T., “80% of Jobs in S’pore Don’t Look at Your Degree Anymore, Especially the Ones That Actually Pay Well,” Vulcan Post, April 1, 2026, https://vulcanpost.com/910464/singapore-degrees-dont-matter-jobs/ (opens in new tab).

^[viii] “Mental Well-Being Overtakes Academic Grades in Parents’ Priorities,” Singapore Business Review, https://sbr.com.sg/hr-education/news/mental-well-being-overtakes-academic-grades-in-parents-priorities (opens in new tab).

^[ix] Ibid.

^[x] Gawain Pek, “S’pore Bus Captain, 23, Turned Down Offers from 3 Local Unis to Pursue His Lifelong Passion for Buses,” Mothership, September 13, 2022, https://mothership.sg/2022/09/young-bus-captain-singapore/ (opens in new tab).

^[xi] IBM, “The IBM Apprenticeship Program: No Degree? No Problem!,” IBM Careers, https://www.ibm.com/careers/blog/the-ibm-apprenticeship-program-no-degree-no-problem (opens in new tab).

^[xii] Tangent, “Tangent Is an Incubator for Unconventional Entrepreneurship,” accessed October 26, 2026, https://tangent.org.sg/ (opens in new tab).

^[xiii] Thiel Fellowship, “Thiel Fellowship,” accessed October 26, 2026, https://thielfellowship.org/ (opens in new tab).

^[xiv] Molly O’Shea, “How the Thiel Fellowship Created $750B+ in Value,” Sourcery, August 29, 2025, https://www.sourcery.vc/p/how-the-thiel-fellowship-created (opens in new tab).

^[xv] Rikki Schlott, “Silicon Valley Hiring Tech Mavericks and Trailblazers without College Degrees—and Some Are Getting $100K Checks to Drop Out,” New York Post, February 7, 2025, https://nypost.com/2025/02/07/tech/silicon-valley-hiring-tech-mavericks-and-trailblazers-without-college-degrees/ (opens in new tab).

^[xvi] London School of Business and Finance Singapore, “When a Diploma Is Not Enough,” November 7, 2025, https://www.lsbf.edu.sg/blog/education-and-careers/when-a-diploma-is-not-enough (opens in new tab).