People who have a tertiary qualification aren’t using it in their current job, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics
Latest figures show that 21 per cent of people have jobs that don’t require their current university or TAFE qualifications, an increase from the 2018-2019 period of 17%.
About 38 per cent of Australians aren’t using their highest qualification, but their job is in a similar field.
Bachelor of pre-medicine 2023 graduate, Ms Siegert, is one of these Australians.
After missing out on a Master of Medicine, Ms Siegert completed her Certificate III in Pathology Collection earlier this year.
“It’s not directly related to my degree, as a bachelor of pre-medicine, it’s in a completely separate field. But both in healthcare,” Ms Siegert said.
“I could work as a pathology collector without having done a pre-medicine degree.”
After Ms Siegert completed her Certificate III in Pathology Collection she struggled to find work.
“It definitely got to the point at the end where I was like, even with all that help I was ready to look for something that wasn’t in my (certificates realm),” Ms Siegert said.
People will also opt for a different field if they need to take a pay cut, are no longer interested in their field of study, or are comfortable in their current job.
Are people using their non-school qualifications? by UOWTV
The Inequality Report for the 2022-2023 financial year has reported that Australians under 35, living out of home, own seven per cent of the country’s wealth combined.
However, the 2023 Youth Barometer report, released late last year, also showed that the cost-of-living crisis disproportionately impacted young people. It reported that 44 per cent of Australian young people experienced unemployment.
Ms Siegert has relied on her savings from a previous hospitality job to support herself, before she successfully found a pathology collection role after a few months of looking.
“I applied for hospitality jobs and all that. I just really didn’t want to work in it, but I was starting to feel like oh maybe I really am going to have to,” Ms Siegert said.
