SINGAPORE: “Are degrees just a scam?” A frustrated fresh graduate recently posed this question on Reddit after noticing that employers today would “rather take someone with a diploma and years of work experience” than a newly minted university graduate.
On Tuesday (23 Dec), he turned to the r/askSG forum to share his growing frustration with the job market, pointing out that diploma holders these days frequently secure roles paying “the same or even more” than fresh university graduates.
While acknowledging that there are exceptions, he argued that most employers now seem far more interested in “work experience than academic qualifications.”
The graduate also pushed back against the familiar advice that degree holders should simply “start from the ground up and climb up”, saying it ignores the time and financial cost of pursuing higher education.
“For those of us who spent three to four years of our lives and thousands of dollars to get that paper cert, we got brainwashed into thinking that having a degree is better than having no degree,” he wrote.
He added that Singapore’s education system has long reinforced this belief, with students taught from a young age that success follows a rigid ladder: “PSLE to Express stream, then A levels or diploma, followed by a university degree.”
“All that, just to end up competing with someone who has a diploma and full-time work experience,” he said.
“Would it have been better for students to just start working after a diploma without pursuing a degree? If the outcome is going to be similar or the same, why waste money and time pursuing a degree?” he asked.
“It depends on what you think the degree promises.”
In the comments, many disagreed with the fresh grad’s sentiments, with one saying, “Lol it’s not a scam, to be honest. It’s just that many of the jobs being posted don’t actually need a degree holder to do them. Don’t get me wrong—when I say this, a lot of people will downvote, but it’s the truth.”
Another expressed, “I think it’s only fair that a diploma holder with 3–4 years of experience gets the same pay as a fresh grad. In my opinion, we only use a % of what we learn in Uni. The rest is really based on experience, EQ, who you know, and luck.”
“But long term, diploma holders probably have more encounters of being low-balled by employers, even if they’ve a wealth of experience and relevant skill sets.”
A third chimed in, writing, “It depends on what you think the degree promises. I think they do well at ensuring you maintain around average income levels for the rest of your life at a mid-level large firm if you work decently hard and don’t screw up. If you think they have promised you more than that, then yes, it’s a scam.”
A fourth added, “Depends on your degree. You don’t need a degree to do payroll or come up with ad campaigns. But you absolutely need one to defend someone in court or perform a heart surgery.”
In other news, a worker turned to Reddit to ask whether it’s really normal for teams in Singapore to spend ‘more time in meetings than actually doing work.’
On the r/sgCareers subreddit, the worker vented about the overwhelming number of meetings in his workplace. He explained that his days are filled with endless “catch-ups, syncs, stand-ups, updates, and alignment sessions,” leaving him little to no time to start on the actual tasks until late in the afternoon.
Read more: Local worker asks, ‘Is it normal for SG teams to have more meetings than actual work time?’
