A degree is no longer a passport to success in today’s job market.

Going to university used to be a passport to future success, but that’s no longer the case. For some students, it’s still a good choice that leads to a successful career after graduation, but for many their degrees are worthless pieces of paper. Choose the wrong program and graduation is more likely to lead to disillusionment and debt than a steady paycheque.



Yet parents, guidance counselors, and politicians still push higher education as if it’s the only option for building a secure future. In this book, Ken S. Coates and Bill Morrison set out to explore the many educational opportunities and career paths open to Canadian high-school students and those in their twenties. This book is designed to help young adults decide whether to pursue a degree, enrol for skills training, or investigate one of the many other options that are available.

Bill Morrison was a professor and administrator at universities in Ontario, Manitoba, and British Columbia and a visiting professor in the United States before he retired in 2010. Morrison has published fourteen books, twelve of them in collaboration with Kenneth Coates. He lives in Ladysmith, BC.

Ken S. Coates is a prolific author, whose titles include Canada's Colonies, The Modern North, North to Alaska, and many academic books. He has worked on north-centred television documentaries and served as a consultant to northern governments and organizations. He is currently a Canada Research Chair in Regional Innovation at the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Saskatchewan. He lives in Saskatoon.