Half of Thais work in jobs unrelated to their degrees

Almost all graduates find their degrees ‘very useful’

What you study at university is unlikely to be what you end up doing as a career, with latest YouGov research showing that half (52%) of Thai graduates work in jobs unrelated to their degrees. The remaining half (48%) work in jobs related to their degrees.

This isn’t the same across all degrees, however. Those who studied health and welfare are more likely to end up working in a related field, compared with those who studied humanities. Three quarters (76%) of those who health and welfare ended up working in jobs relevant to their degree, as opposed to just a third of those who did humanities (33%).

Other factors also seem to affect whether someone moves into a job linked to their degree. Those who studied abroad (3%) are more likely than those who studied locally (97%) to work in jobs related to their degree (66% vs. 48%). Older Thais (aged 45 to 54) are also more likely than their younger compatriots (aged 25 to 34) to work in jobs relevant to their degree (56% vs. 48%).

Overall, two thirds (66%) of Thais find their degrees ‘very useful’. A third (30%) find them somewhat useful, and the remaining 3% find them useless. Those who studied health and welfare are more likely to think of their degrees as very useful compared with those who studied marketing and advertising (82% vs. 59%).

When choosing a degree, a third (34%) made the decision on choosing their field of study on their own. The rest were influenced by their parents (31%), friends (24%) and teachers (15%).

The vast majority (97%) of Thai graduates agree that having a university degree is important. Assuming the position of an employer, over one in six (16%) would be unwilling to hire someone without a university degree. Under half (46%) would be willing, and the remaining two in five (38%) thinks it makes no difference.

Jake Gammon, Head of Omnibus APAC at YouGov Omnibus commented: “For those currently figuring out which field of study to go in to, it could be comforting to know that it might be unrelated to one’s future career. No matter what field of study, almost all graduates agree a university degree is important, and a significant percentage would be unwilling to hire someone without one.”

***Results based on 1,233 Thai graduates surveyed by YouGov Omnibus