According to graduate experts, a degree could carry with it unprecedented value during a recession.
The comments from Graduate Prospects come after research from banking giant Santander found that half of working adults who went on to higher education do not believe that it improved their career prospects.
However Charlie Ball, deputy research director of the higher education careers services unit at Graduate Prospects, said that despite the findings "it very much is still worth going to university and, if anything, in a recession even more so".
He had praise for one aspect of the report, which suggests that almost half of young people surveyed believed work experience to be just as important as higher education.
Mr Ball said: "Practical work experience is extremely beneficial to anybody, whether they be in higher education or not – so that's a very good piece of advice."
According to the Santander research, over two-thirds of men (67 per cent) and 55 per cent of adult women who did not opt for higher education say that it has not hindered their career development.
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Well, speaking from my experience. If you want to be a fully qualified charted accountant, you have to go to university. There's no if's and but's. Without a degree, you'll be hindered significantly, and firms will often only let you take the accounting techinician's course. People on that route sometimes are made to feel like second class citizens in the big firms - so I'd say that degrees are still as important as ever in the professional routes.
Simple supply and demand isn't it? If the recession is forcing companies to only hire the most able and well qualified then those that fit that criteria will come out on top.
I agree. Increasingly a degree is a must have and where you get it from and at what level is key.
Higher education degrees are increasingly in demand according to the QStopgradschool.com Masters and PhD applicants survey 2009.
Over 45,000 candidates and 250 of the worlds leading institutions work with QS and the World Grad School Tour and we have witnesed a marked shift from personal to professional drivers behind candidates decisions to puruse a masters or PhD.
However a great many people till spursue these qualifications for reasons entirely associated with personal development and any reports concering possible career impact have to be understood within this context.