52% Of Professionals Have Regrets About College Degree: Survey

Nearly a Third of Grads Regret College Entirely, and Financial Pain Is the Main Reason

A college diploma has long been sold as the surest path to a better career. For millions of people who took out loans, logged the hours, and walked across a stage, that promise is starting to feel hollow.

More than half of working professionals (52%) say they have some level of regret about their college degree, according to a new survey from Kickresume, an AI-based career platform. Within that group, 29% regret getting their degree entirely and 23% have slight regrets, while 21% wish they had chosen a different subject. That’s a lot of people second-guessing one of life’s biggest financial decisions.

The survey, which gathered responses from more than 1,000 professionals globally, arrives at a moment when degree-holders themselves are questioning the value of their credentials: 55% said a college diploma is becoming less important within their own industry.

What Drives Degree Regret

Money is the sharpest edge of the problem. One in five respondents (20%) said their degree will never feel financially worth it. For those who didn’t finish college, the primary reason was financial strain: 26% of dropouts said they left because they couldn’t afford to stay. Others departed to take a job opportunity (23%), switched fields (16%), or stepped away for mental health reasons (16%).

Even among those who finished and found work, the payoff timeline stretches long. While 28% said the degree paid off within two to five years and another 18% saw a return in less than two years, a significant portion waited far longer: 15% said it took six to ten years, and 8% said more than a decade. Only 8% reported having no financial costs associated with their degree at all.

Some fields carry more regret than others. Science-based careers topped the list, with 71% of graduates in those fields reporting regret. Law graduates came in at 65%, and those in education followed at 64%.

Work Experience Is Winning the Career Debate

When respondents were asked what had most helped their careers, work experience came out on top by a wide margin. Thirty-six percent named it as their most valuable asset. Another 30% credited a combination of experience and education. Networking was cited by 14%, while only 6% said holding a degree as a credential was the decisive factor, and another 6% pointed to the actual knowledge gained in school.

Despite those attitudes, the data complicates any simple conclusion. A majority of degree-holders (55%) said they needed their diploma to land their current job, even as many of those same people express regret about the path they took to get there. Forty-eight percent of respondents reported no regrets at all.

Classroom knowledge does appear to have staying power for many graduates. Thirty-six percent said they use what they learned in college every day. Another 13% apply it weekly. Only 8% said they never use what they studied.

The ‘Degree Ceiling’ Is Still Real for Many Without One

For people who never earned a degree, skipping higher education carries its own professional costs. Sixty-three percent of non-degree holders said not having one had somewhat limited their career trajectory, with 26% describing that effect as noticeable. Still, 37% said it hadn’t mattered much, including 17% who said it had no impact whatsoever.

At the same time, appetite for education hasn’t disappeared among non-graduates. Seventy percent of respondents without a degree said they are either open to or actively considering enrolling in the future.

Among those who skipped college altogether, 47% went straight into the workforce or an apprenticeship. Of degree-holders who weighed in on the trajectory of credentials, only 21% believe a diploma is growing more important in their field.

Peter Duris, CEO and co-founder of Kickresume, offered a measured read on the results. “It’s hard to know what the right decision is at such a young age, but it seems like degrees still do open doors, with 63% of people without a degree saying not having one has somewhat limited their careers,” he said. “Our data shows that 26% drop out for financial reasons, and one in five feel like their degree will never pay off.”

For all the regret in the data, Duris also noted persistent demand for learning. “There is a hunger for knowledge, as we found 70% of those without a degree are open to or actively considering studying in the future, while 36% say they use what they learned at college every day,” he said. “A degree is still a starting point, but it’s real-world experience that increasingly defines a career.”

Whether a degree is worth it may have less to do with the diploma itself and more to do with the field, the debt load, and what a person does after graduation. For millions of workers already on the other side of that decision, the math isn’t always adding up.

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