It took me three degrees and a diploma to figure out what I wanted to do with my life.

It began with philosophy at the University of Otago. About 30 seconds into my first lecture I realised it wasn't for me. Then I moved into zoology because I wanted to make nature documentaries, and from there to marine biology because I wanted to go to Antarctica.

A move to Auckland let me study clinical psychology, which is what I ended up settling on. I was 28 by the time I emerged from tertiary study, ready to enter the working world.

More and more of our young people are doing tertiary study, but is it worth it? Nigel Latta investigates.

Drifting between courses like I did was great for me, because it let me figure out what career I actually wanted.



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It helped that I went to university during what was probably the best time in New Zealand's history to study. I only paid $120 in course fees, and got a living allowance of $4000 a term.

If I wanted to do the same thing today, it would cost me around $130,000 in fees and living expenses. There's just no way I could do it.

Nigel Latta was able to buy himself a scooter while at university because his tuition was paid for and he was given a living allowance by the government. These days, students have it a lot tougher.

Young people these days don't have the luxury of living off the government while they float around figuring out what they want to do. There's a lot more pressure to pick a path when you get out of high school and stick to it.

In a way, that's kind of crazy. I didn't have a clue what I wanted to do when I was 18, and many of the young people I've talked to are the same.

But if we are going to ask them to choose a career at such a young age, we need to do a much better job of making them aware of all the opportunities out there.

As Kiwis we don't like to think of ourselves as snobs, but I think there is a kind of snobbery clouding the way we look at training and careers.

There's this idea that smart kids go to university, while all the rest can go and learn a trade. Perhaps because of that attitude, more and more of our young people are doing tertiary study. Currently 56 per cent of 18 to 24 year olds are attending tertiary institutions. A further 20 per cent are unemployed.

I don't want to knock tertiary study, because for many people, it's great. Research shows that people with degrees earn more, they're less likely to be unemployed, more likely to be in good health. They're also more engaged members of society. Universities are a great investment for the taxpayer, too, putting far more money back into the economy than they take in funding.

However, I think too many of our young people are drifting into study because it's expected of them, not because it's what they actually want to do. They rack up big student loans and come out with a degree they're not even sure they want - if they finish at all.

Not all degrees are created equal, either. If you look at study as an investment - which is increasingly how it's viewed by both students and the government - then something like a medical degree gets you a good return. You'll pay about $100,000 in fees but at the end of it you're basically guaranteed a job, and within five years you'll be earning more than that every year anyway.

A performing arts degree, for example, doesn't look so good on the balance sheet. If you can even get a relevant job, chances are you won't be earning any more than someone who didn't study at all. Of course, it's important to remember that a university education has all kinds of benefits beyond the financial.

We're failing to match the supply of graduates with the number of relevant jobs. For example, every year our universities churn out more law graduates than there are jobs in the industry. At the same time, we've got a real shortage of skilled tradespeople in this country, and it's only predicted to get worse. Apprenticeships are making a comeback to meet the demand, but not enough of our young people are enrolling in them.

That's not good for the country, it's not good for the building industry, and it's certainly not good for the young people who have spent four years and tens of thousands of dollars preparing for a job they'll never do.

Programmes that get kids out of the high school classroom and into real-life work environments are fantastic, and we need to do more of them. A 16-year-old's idea of what a job is be like is often very different to the reality, and if they can see that before they have to choose what to do after school, they could save years of fruitless and expensive study. They might also see a more attractive side to a career they didn't really rate.

Too often people think if they learn a trade they'll just be swinging a hammer their whole life. If they got some experience in the industry they'd see there are opportunities for management roles that come far sooner than if they studied management at varsity. They could operate complex, multi-million dollar machines - and get well paid for it.

Further complicating career decisions is this funny idea we've got that some jobs are higher status than others. Some people feel their jobs aren't glamorous, and they're almost apologetic when they tell you what they do. We get this idea that you're somehow a lesser person because you do data entry instead of being a graphic designer.

I think that's utter nonsense, and it's got to change. Work is a noble thing. Anyone who turns up every day to make something or do something is doing a good thing.

It is worth trying to find a career that's fulfilling on some level, though. It's a hell of a lot easier to get out of bed if you're not dreading going to work, and given we only get one life and you're going to spend a lot of it working, you should probably find something you like.

I was lucky because I went through university when I had the luxury of spending some time figuring out what I wanted to do. If we're not going to afford today's young people that same opportunity, then I think we at least need to provide them with a more unbiased view of all the options available to them.