Education - follow your passion

- At the end of the day, it is not your education that decides your salary. It is your skills

This is demonstrated in a research project, which is the result of a three-year partnership between CBS’ Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR), the University of Southern Denmark, and the Danish Business Research Academy backed by the Tuborg Foundation.

The pay differential is established before commencement of study

Having great mathematical skills is the pathway to making money, without regard to your degree – be it in humanities or natural science. This is the sensational conclusion of the research project. The project focuses on the qualifications, which will be in demand on the labour market in the future.

- Up to now, we have perceived the pay gap between human and natural sciences candidates as a consequence of their education. But now it turns out that the pay differential is already established before their studies begin. Future students with language skills have already lost the pay battle before they decide if they want to be an engineer or a rhetorician, says Tage Koed Madsen, Professor at the University of Southern Denmark and Chairman of the think tank of the Danish Business Research Academy.

The research result puts the debate on the future educational policy in a whole new light. Would it be wise to promote the mathematical skills of Danish schoolchildren? Or should we discuss why companies reward employees with a logical talent?

Entrepreneurs must be able to turn their hands to anything

Research also focuses on what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur. And it is evident that education is not that essential. - Research documents that entrepreneurs with both education and experience from ‘real life’ make considerably more than entrepreneurs with just a formal education under the belt, says Anders Sørensen, Professor at the Centre for Economic and Business Research, CBS, and one of the researchers behind the project.

The result is a significant contribution to the ongoing debate on entrepreneurship on the timetable and the Government’s strengthened efforts to boost entrepreneurship training.

Contact: Lonnie Høgh, Journalist, tel.: +45 27 51 70 34