Is it worth it? Average wage for sub-degree holders drops 20pc, now paid similar to secondary school graduates
Observers question whether programme is worth pursuing if students have no intention of obtaining a degree
The median monthly income of workers with sub-degrees had dropped by almost 20 per cent over the past two decades, and workers with only secondary school education made almost as much last year, a latest study found.
The salary drop came as Hong Kong’s private residential property price index hit 296.8 last year, an increase of 177 per cent from 1995.
Researchers from think tank and political group New Century Forum, led by cultural sector lawmaker Ma Fung-kwok, said this showed that sub-degree holders did not enjoy Hong Kong’s economic growth and that it might not be worth it to pursue sub-degrees – that help students get into university – unless students wanted to obtain a degree.
“The level of the drop is really shocking,” Cliff Tang Wing-chun, vice-convener of the group said. “Hong Kong’s property prices keep shooting up but [sub-degree holders] cannot have a share in the economic growth.”
The study on figures – adjusted for inflation – released by the Census and Statistics Department found that sub-degree holders in 1995 had a median monthly income of HK$20,463, compared to HK$16,898 last year, which is a 17.4 per cent drop.
It’s a tragic reality that you earn the same income after spending so much money and two years on the courses
A more detailed look into the figures found that 20 to 24-year-olds among the holders – likely fresh graduates – saw a 10 per cent drop in their income from HK$12,141 in 1995 to HK$10,934 last year.