13 May 2021 | 3 mins

When I left high school after completing my HSC, there was always this overarching stigma that uni is the better option and if you went to TAFE, you basically weren’t going anywhere in life. It was instilled in us by our teachers, parents and our peers. I think traditionally, there is an expectation to represent being the first in your family to get into university, or maybe the opposite - to become a qualified apprentice to pick up the family’s business.

There are pros and cons to either pathway. I scraped the ATAR I needed for my degree, whereas my friends who did not took the VET pathway. After a year of study, we ended up in the same classes (I progressed to my second year, they got enough credits) - so really, is there one better than the other?

 

It more so depends on what you want out studying - once upon a time, uni was where people went to get a white collar profession, so do you want content based study that is required for your dream career or a hands-on, industry experienced blue-collar position (VET or TAFE)? In the modern world, employers love a bit of both - knowledge and industry experience, and there is even crossovers where you can do both. But of course, sometimes you can’t do it all, so making sure you research what employers in your field are after is key.

At uni, the flexibility for paying for it is a little bit easier with HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP, whereas a TAFE or VET student may not always hit the criteria for it. If you're keen on a profession where you need a university qualification, sounds like the uni life is for you. It all depends on what you want to do because sometimes the traditional path of getting into uni straight out of high school is the best way to a good career path (e.g. nursing, law, engineering) and you can get started as soon as you graduate.

A lot of the time and from what I've gathered, the majority of companies and firms do not care what you've studied at university, as long as you're university educated, so I guess P's really do get degrees. TAFE and VET courses are generally a little cheaper than university and the government-subsidies make a massive difference. On average, a TAFE students graduate salary is normally $2,000 higher than a uni grad. According to surveys conducted by Training, they state that two out of three university graduates said that their degree did not prepare them for a job in their field, whereas 78% of VET grads found employment after graduating.

Pushing aside all the stats and figures around university and TAFE, look past the smokescreen and stigma behind both options. Figure out which is best for your future profession - what are their values, a degree or industry experience? We'll let you decide that one and even if you make the wrong decision, you can always slide into other courses or maybe use those credits for future study. We're so lucky to change and switch up in this country so your options are honestly endless.