VietNamNet Bridge – More and more university graduates return to school to study further for master’s degree, simply because they cannot find stable jobs.

Unemployment produces high-qualification workers

Finishing the Dong A people founded university in Da Nang City at an “excellent grade,” Nguyen Thi Hoai B still could not find a job. She decided to become a postgraduate of the business administration faculty of the Da Nang University, because she was tired of sitting idle.

“The degree granted by people-founded universities is not highly appreciated by employers. Therefore, I decided to study further for a higher degree level, which I hope can help find a good job,” she said.

Also according to B, there are over 10 students in her class, and most of them are new university graduates.

Tran Minh N decided to become a postgraduate at the linguistics faculty of the Da Nang University after he failed to find a job within three months long.

“I just attended the entrance exams to the training course on September 21. I hope I pass the exams. I still cannot find a job anyway, so I’d be better to study further while waiting for my opportunities,” he said.

According to the Post-university Training Division of the Da Nang University, more and more postgraduates at the schools are those who have just finished the university.

An officer of the division said most of the students are very young, who attend the training courses partially because they want to upgrade their knowledge to become more competitive, and partially because they stay redundant.

Also according to the officer, in 2010 and earlier, only 15-20 percent of university graduates continued the study for master degree. Meanwhile, the proportion is some 50 percent now.

Of the total 1,800 candidates, who attended the entrance exams in late September, 200 were found as born in 1990, which means that they just finished university, and nearly 1,000 born in 1988-1989.

Every year, the Da Nang University opens one or two new training majors for higher education level. The school now offers 29 majors for master degree and 18 for doctorate.

It is estimated that 1,000 masters are produced by the school every year. Other universities, including people founded schools, also have provided training for master degrees. As such, the number of masters produced by schools is very high every year.

Master degree brings better job?

Dr. Phan Cao Tho, Deputy Head of the Post-university training division of the Da Nang University, while commenting that Vietnamese young people tend to study more to have deeper knowledge, said that learners should think carefully before registering to follow post-graduate training courses.

Most of students think that they would get better jobs if they show the master degree instead of the university degree to the employers. However, in fact, a lot of employers just recruit workers after considering the candidates’ ability, not their degrees.

Meanwhile, education experts have commented that in the current difficult conditions, when enterprises and agencies have to cut down expenses, they hesitate to recruit the workers with high levels of degrees, because they have to pay higher for the workers, including the wages, allowances, and insurance premiums.

Le Chi Mai