AE Consultant Book assessment

Is studying abroad worth it? What the data says

Education consultancies are not short of encouragement. What they are usually short of is numbers. This page sets out what the published evidence actually shows about qualifications, earnings and employment — including the parts that do not favour studying abroad.

Sources: Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Last reviewed September 2026.

The short answer

Qualifications raise earnings and reduce unemployment, consistently and measurably. The difficulty in Pakistan is not the value of a degree — it is finding the first job after one.

  • 32.8% of Pakistani graduates aged 20–24 are unemployed, against a national rate of 7.1%
  • A US bachelor's graduate earns 63% more per week than someone with only a high school diploma
  • Unemployment falls at every step up the qualification ladder, from 6.1% to 1.8%
  • But international graduates are employed at lower rates and lower salaries than domestic graduates in the same countries — the advantage is real, not unlimited

The problem, in one chart

PBS, 2024–25

Graduate unemployment in Pakistan, by age

Share of graduates in the labour force who are unemployed. Roughly one in three graduates aged 20 to 24 cannot find work.

Graduate unemployment in Pakistan, by age Share of graduates in the labour force who are unemployed. Roughly one in three graduates aged 20 to 24 cannot find work. Full figures are given in the table below the chart. Aged 20–24: 32.8%Aged 20–2432.8%Aged 25–29: 24.8%Aged 25–2924.8%Aged 30–34: 15.3%Aged 30–3415.3%Aged 40–44: 5.3%Aged 40–445.3%

The rate falls sharply with age, which tells you something useful: the crisis is concentrated in the first years after graduation. Most Pakistani graduates do eventually find work — but the early years are hard, and that is precisely the window in which a foreign qualification and the right to work abroad change the picture.

View the figures as a table
Aged 20–2432.8%
Aged 25–2924.8%
Aged 30–3415.3%
Aged 40–445.3%

Source: Gallup Pakistan Digital Analytics, analysing Pakistan Bureau of Statistics Labour Force Survey 2024–25 microdata.

What a qualification is worth

BLS, 2025

American data is used here because the United States publishes the cleanest annual series linking qualification, earnings and unemployment. The pattern it shows — each step up the ladder pays more and carries less risk — holds across every OECD country that measures it.

What each qualification is worth, per week

Median usual weekly earnings by highest qualification, United States, 2025. A bachelor's degree earns 63% more than a high school diploma; a master's, 94% more.

What each qualification is worth, per week Median usual weekly earnings by highest qualification, United States, 2025. A bachelor's degree earns 63% more than a high school diploma; a master's, 94% more. Full figures are given in the table below the chart. All workers $1,268Doctoral degree: $2,307Doctoral degree$2,307Professional degree: $2,294Professional degree$2,294Master's degree: $1,876Master's degree$1,876Bachelor's degree: $1,578Bachelor's degree$1,578Associate degree: $1,135Associate degree$1,135Some college, no degree: $1,062Some college, no degree$1,062High school diploma: $966High school diploma$966Less than high school: $770Less than high school$770
View the figures as a table
Doctoral degree$2,307
Professional degree$2,294
Master's degree$1,876
Bachelor's degree$1,578
Associate degree$1,135
Some college, no degree$1,062
High school diploma$966
Less than high school$770
All workers $1,268$1,268

Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Education pays, 2025. Current Population Survey, workers aged 25 and over in full-time wage and salary work.

Unemployment falls as qualifications rise

Unemployment rate by highest qualification, United States, 2025 — the same categories as the chart above, measured a second way.

Unemployment falls as qualifications rise Unemployment rate by highest qualification, United States, 2025 — the same categories as the chart above, measured a second way. Full figures are given in the table below the chart. All workers 3.4%Doctoral degree: 1.8%Doctoral degree1.8%Professional degree: 1.9%Professional degree1.9%Master's degree: 2.6%Master's degree2.6%Bachelor's degree: 2.8%Bachelor's degree2.8%Associate degree: 3.0%Associate degree3.0%Some college, no degree: 3.8%Some college, no degree3.8%High school diploma: 4.3%High school diploma4.3%Less than high school: 6.1%Less than high school6.1%

The 2025 figures are 11-month averages excluding October, because of the federal government shutdown, so they are not strictly comparable with other years. The pattern, however, has held in every year the survey has been run.

View the figures as a table
Doctoral degree1.8%
Professional degree1.9%
Master's degree2.6%
Bachelor's degree2.8%
Associate degree3.0%
Some college, no degree3.8%
High school diploma4.3%
Less than high school6.1%
All workers 3.4%3.4%

Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Education pays, 2025. Current Population Survey, workers aged 25 and over in full-time wage and salary work.

What these numbers do not prove

Three honest caveats, because a page of favourable statistics with no counter-evidence should make you suspicious of whoever wrote it.

Correlation is not the whole story. People who complete higher qualifications differ from those who do not in ways the data cannot separate — family resources, schooling, networks. Some of the earnings gap belongs to those, not to the degree.

International graduates do worse than domestic ones. Around 74% of international taught postgraduates in the UK are employed 15 months out, against 77% of UK graduates, and they earn less on average. In Australia, full-time employment for international undergraduates has been reported at roughly 52% against 74% for domestic graduates. Studying abroad improves your position relative to the first chart on this page. It does not put you on equal footing with a local graduate.

The averages hide enormous variation by field. A computing graduate and a graduate in a crowded humanities field face completely different markets, in every country on our list. Choosing the country before the course is the most expensive mistake in this process.

How to use this when deciding

  1. Work out the total cost, not the tuition. Tuition plus living costs plus visa fees plus the income you forgo while studying. Our country pages give the first three, with the official source for each figure: UK, USA, Canada, Australia and Germany.
  2. Check the post-study work rights, and their expiry. The UK Graduate Route drops to 18 months for applications from 1 January 2027. Canada's work permit now depends on your field if you take a college diploma. These change the sum materially.
  3. Compare against the honest alternative. Not "degree abroad versus nothing", but "degree abroad versus the same field in Pakistan plus three years of experience". Sometimes the second wins.
  4. Choose the course before the country. Field matters more than destination for what you will earn.
  5. Get the paperwork moving in parallel. The attestation chain and your English test both take longer than students expect, and neither waits for you to decide on a country.

Common questions

5 answers
Is studying abroad actually worth the money?
On the evidence, a degree reliably raises earnings and lowers the chance of unemployment — US Bureau of Labor Statistics data for 2025 puts median weekly earnings at $1,578 for a bachelor's graduate against $966 for someone with only a high school diploma, with unemployment at 2.8% against 4.3%. Whether studying abroad specifically is worth it for you depends on the total cost, whether you can work afterwards, and what the same qualification would have cost in Pakistan. For some students the honest answer is that a Pakistani degree plus experience is the better investment, and we will tell you when we think that.
Why is graduate unemployment so high in Pakistan?
Pakistan produces more graduates each year than its formal economy creates suitable jobs for. Analysis of the Labour Force Survey 2024–25 puts unemployment among graduates aged 20 to 24 at 32.8%, falling to 5.3% by ages 40 to 44. The bottleneck is entry: the first job is the hard one. That is the specific problem a foreign qualification with post-study work rights addresses — not because the degree is inherently better, but because it comes attached to a labour market with more entry-level demand.
Do international graduates do as well as local graduates?
No, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something. UK Graduate Outcomes data shows international postgraduate taught graduates at around 74% employment against 77% for UK counterparts, and in Australia full-time employment for international undergraduates has been reported near 52% against 74% for domestic graduates. International graduates also tend to earn less than domestic peers in the same roles. The gap is real. It is still, for most Pakistani graduates, a better position than the one shown in the first chart on this page — but you should make the decision knowing both numbers.
Does a master's really pay that much more than a bachelor's?
In the United States, yes: $1,876 a week against $1,578 in 2025, a premium of about 19%, with unemployment slightly lower too. But the gap varies enormously by field. In engineering and computing, a bachelor's plus two years of work often beats a master's with none. In research, academia, and much of healthcare, the master's is a floor rather than an advantage. Decide by field, not by the average.
How long does it take to earn back what studying abroad costs?
It depends on three things: your total cost including living expenses, whether you secure post-study work, and the salary in your field. A student who spends PKR 12 million on a UK master's and then works two years on the Graduate Route at a typical graduate salary is in a very different position from one who returns to Pakistan immediately. We will work the sum through with you honestly at the assessment, including the case where it does not add up.

Work the numbers through with us.

Bring your transcripts and your budget. We will cost out your realistic options end to end, and tell you plainly if the sum does not work.

Book an assessment

Assessment $100. We will tell you when studying abroad is the wrong move — that answer costs the same.

WhatsApp Book assessment