It was a fascinating read this morning seeing what happens to our university graduates. It's the first longitudinal study of uni students followed nearly 9000 students who graduated in 2011 to find out how they’re going 5 years later.

The results are: They’re doing OK, but not brilliantly.

So, nearly 30 percent owe more than 30 grand on their student loan 5 years after graduating, showing that for some it’s a long slow road to get back to a zero sum level with no debt before you plunge back into debt to buy a house or some other asset.

What was interesting is that only 15 percent of them were overseas - so it’s a myth that students had run overseas to avoid debt. This is because they have to pay interest on the loans if they’re out of NZ more than 6 months. So our so called best and brightest are staying at home to pay off debt and contribute to our economy - that’s good.

They’re aged between 25 and 29 and 30 per cent of them have had kids. That confirms what I’ve been thinking, that this current generation are having kids earlier compared to mine.

Half of them are earning under 50 grand.  The average wage in New Zealand is $55,000.  40 per cent are earning  under $40,000.  Then again, 40 per cent are earning over 50K compared to 25 per cent of people the same age without some letters after their name.  But they’re not massively more employed than those without a degree. 81 per cent versus 77 per cent.  So a degree doesn’t mean you’re instantly more employable than others.

What was eye opening is that a quarter of our uni graduates admit they studied the wrong thing.

It made me think about my uni days. Out of 7 middle class, relatively bright Grammar boys, 4 went to uni.  3 of us got degrees. 1 still works as an architect And the other 2 no longer work in their field.  The guy who studied irrigation is now developing commercial property.  The lawyer is now a landscape gardener.  One guy who didn’t even go to uni is now a chief designer at Fisher and Paykel healthcare.

There has been a thought abroad for decades now that you have to get a degree to get ahead in this life, which has resulted in an explosion of our university population.  But the truth is that you have to follow your passions to get jobs you excel at and enjoy.

So are university degrees over valued?  Are too many people going to uni getting into debt, and finding themselves at the end of it no better off than if they’d followed their gut instinct and started earning at a younger age? And should we be promoting other skills such as trade and hospitality training more to give youngsters more options?

Or am I wrong, and the disciplines you learn studying at university invaluable for succeeding in whatever comes next?