If that's true, that means degree holders are no longer valuable. It is better to be chap fan sellers, air con installers, pipe installers, car workshop owners etc than wasting your money studying for degree. Though I doubt the statistics, knowing how the job market is like. The statistics might be flawed.

If the statistics is only on starting salary, then it is possible. There is no point to offer very high pay just because someone has a degree. There are people cannot perform using what they learn from the degree, but is more suitable for other jobs.

This post has been edited by vhs: May 22 2025, 05:15 PM

I know many SPM holders end up becoming quite rich because they don't climb the corporate ladders, but become entrepreneurs instead.

Wealth pyramid is the controlling factor. There is certain percentage will have higher income and a lot more percentage will have lower income. If the whole country wealth is low, then the lower percentage group will never get a higher income. For example, Malaysia can make 100% degree holders to have RM3000 starting salary easily, just by causing inflation to make RM3000 now worth only RM1500. Then all nominal income will go up, but the real value of the income still the same. To truly deliver real value to the starting salary, you have to generate real wealth at a national level, such as making 1 USD = 2.5 MYR. Then the value of RM will actually improve.

For those people who are suitable to be entrepreneurs but cannot study, being an entrepreneurs suit them better. I have known many not very educated people becoming rich because they are good at their own area. It is the same reason of why some degree holders never get to high paying positions. It is because they are not suitable at their line of work. Having a degree does not automatically guarantee you good pay if you cannot be good at your supposedly specialized areas. One of the biggest mistake is someone study in a field just because that field has good pay, but he himself finds the subject difficult and stressful and end up not being good at it.