When I finished year 12, there was only one path before me: university. I remember a vice principal at school saying something to the effect of “It’s ok to go to TAFE” but there was a subliminal “but” at the end of the sentence. Why would you? Only numpties would choose to go to TAFE.
Thirteen years later, I look back at that inflection point and wonder whether I would’ve been better off doing some vocational education in my formative years. Two factors lead me to that line of thinking: firstly, my career as a software developer has almost nothing to do with my degree and secondly I have done > 5 certificate level courses in recent years and loved them.
Let’s explore the first point: the disconnect between university studies and career direction. I’m not alone in working in a field that is counter clockwise to my degree: 21-46% of graduates are in the same boat. Although a select few know exactly what they want to do at the tender age of 17, most do not. How can you know if you’ll enjoy being an engineer if you’ve never tried the job out first? A week of work experience in year ten hardly suffices.
For me, it wasn’t until I’d spent four and a half years completing my honours degree in environmental science before I decided I didn’t want to do any of the things I had been trained in. I didn’t want to do research in a lab, I didn’t want to work in policy - I got the greatest pleasure out of writing software, a skill I had largely taught myself in my mid teens. I still wanted to work in the sustainability sector and have been fortunate to find a job in that area but it would be hard to argue that my degree was responsible for my getting the job. I can’t think of a single unit that is directly relevant to my day to day work. Many of my colleagues are in the same boat - only 3 of the 10 programmers in my team studied computer science. Our degrees are obliquely related to the job at hand: some did electrical engineering, one studied humanities, another did health science.
That’s not to say that studying computer science would not have been helpful. There are some problem domains that I struggle to get my head around as I lack the theoretical underpinnings. However, it’s difficult to know upfront what to study to prepare yourself for the next 40 years of work. New technologies and techniques are constantly emerging in the software sector. Continual professional development is indispensable.
That leads me to my second point: out of all the professional development I’ve done in the last few years, by far the most enjoyable has been a Cert II in Electrotechnology that I took to learn some of the electrical engineering fundamentals that my job entails. It was a one year long, blended learning course with the theory component conducted online and seven days of practical sessions at Mt Druitt TAFE. Despite it being Cert II level, I found it quite challenging. I got 100% on my first year uni physics exam but was deemed not yet competent in my first crack at my TAFE theory test for DC power. There were mathematical concepts I had never encountered before (e.g. polar arithmetic) and more to the point, it actually made maths fun because I saw the purpose of it. I had gritted my teeth through complex number equations in year 12, never understanding why it was useful. In this electrotechnology course, I saw why: you need complex numbers to be able to calculate phase angles for alternating current circuits.
The practical component brought the theory to life. I didn’t have to accept Ohm’s Law at face value: I tested it with alligator clips and voltmeters. Logic theory wasn’t just symbols on a page: I built digital circuits that implemented truth tables. I even learnt how to spot weld sheet metal and how to sharpen a drill bit. It was much more fun than most of my uni practicals. The instructors for my TAFE course had worked in the industry for 40+ years - they knew their stuff and the class size was small enough that I got plenty of support. In my digital circuits practical, there was only one other student.
With that level of personal tuition, you’d expect to pay a hefty sum. My uni degree cost me a good $30,000. This TAFE course cost me $1000. Some might argue that the high price tag of a uni degree is worthwhile because the economic returns justify it. I question whether this is the case. If I had done a one year TAFE course in web development after finishing year 12, I would have been able to break into the industry at 19. This is not a theoretical proposition: I started working as a freelance software developer immediately after completing my honours year at uni despite having no relevant qualifications or work experience. It was easy to find work on freelancing sites like Upwork.com and I then leveraged the work experience I garnered to get a “proper” job 18 months later. With a Cert II/Diploma under my belt, it would’ve been even easier. These days it is very common for people to get junior web developer jobs after completing a six month Diploma of IT at Coder Academy or other vocational educational providers. One of my colleagues did just that. If I had started as a junior dev at 19 (or even 17), I’d be much further along in my career today. Work experience trumps education any day in the software game. The cumulative economic benefits of three extra years of work experience are vast. It’s the difference between becoming a senior developer at 26 vs 29 with the attendant compounding financial benefits. A uni graduate starts out their career at the age of 22 with a salary of $60,000 and a $30,000 HELP debt. A 22 year old TAFE graduate with 2-4 years of work experience would be earning $80,000 with two years of savings in the bank and no educational debt.
You might argue that this phenomenon of degree-less upward career mobility is unique to the software industry. After all, you can’t practise medicine with a Cert II. My argument is not that degrees are worthless but rather that they are not always the best starting point. Someone wanting to study medicine might benefit from doing a cert III in Allied Health Assistance, getting some work experience working in a health clinic and then if they enjoy dealing with patients and taking blood, taking the plunge into a med program. A would be engineer could do a cert III in Engineering, work as a draftsperson for a while and then transition into a bachelor’s degree. This alternative entry approach to university is scorned as the dummy’s way in for people who couldn’t get the marks. In reality, it might be the smarter way to go if it means that you are 100% certain that you want to follow the path because you’ve already tried it out. I’d much rather pay for a year’s worth of TAFE than 1-2 years of uni fees.
Interestingly, some of my fellow Cert II in electrotechnology students already had uni degrees: there was a law graduate and a biochemistry major who had both found out the hard way that a big degree doesn’t guarantee you a big job. They were changing careers to become apprentice electricians at age 25.
If I had a ministry of magic time turner, I know what I’d do. I’d go back to the 18 year old me and whisper in his ear: “It’s ok to go to TAFE”.
My latest TAFE adventure is doing a Cert III in carpentry. Every Tuesday I traipse out to the St George campus of TAFE NSW and enjoy a day of learning about construction theory and working with hand tools (power tools come later). It's a nice way to get away from the computer and learn some new skills. Once I'm further along, I hope to put the skills to use in building my own home.
I'm also doing a Cert IV in training and assessment with TAFE digital. Once I finish that, I'm planning to apply to be a TAFE teacher to complete the circle ;)
