Does a university undergraduate degree lead to a ‘good job?’ It depends what you mean

Universities are central to Canada’s economic growth.As a result, governments (which partially fund them), employers (who hire graduates) and students (who pay tuition fees) have come to view universities as a tool to achieve their own goals: economic growth, a productive workforce and good jobs after graduation.Yet, the increasing focus on training undergraduates for specific jobs or as economic entrepreneurs — not only in traditional professional degrees in STEM, such as engineering but across all university programs — shortchanges all parties involved.Is education only to be ‘endured’?Positioning jobs as the paramount outcome of a degree strips away opportunities for students to explore their passions and interests and instead frames education as something they must endure — as they focus on packaging themselves as marketable brands.Even while the spectre of employment precarity and debt hang over students, and despite trends towards work-ready undergraduate programs, it’s often only after students have earned an undergraduate degree that they know their career aspirations — and seek education to bolster a workplace role that fits them.

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