After four years of study, Cameron Carr had hoped 2020 would be the year he bid farewell to university and began his career in the media.
The 21-year-old has volunteered at the University of Western Australia's student-run Pelican magazine for two and a half years, and before coronavirus he hoped to use this experience to land a paid job in a regional newsroom.
But when COVID-19 sent the economy into disarray and media organisations around the country shrank, he chose to apply for further study and delay his entry into the job market, even though it meant a climbing HECS–HELP debt.
"[It's a] bit of a shock to be doing a fifth year here. I never really anticipated staying longer than I had to, so to speak," he said.
"[But] I'd rather not just spend a year just working or not really doing anything towards a career, so I thought the best thing to do is probably just to keep studying."
Commerce student Brook Lewis has found himself in a similar predicament, after he was itching to enter the workforce at the start of the year.
"I definitely didn't want to stay here any more," he said.
"I thought by October I'd be out, I'd get a job and that would be it."
Mr Lewis said he planned to undertake postgraduate studies after spending a few years in a job, but said coronavirus had thrust his plans forward.
"No one takes the decision lightly to pay $30,000, $40,000, $50,000 in one to two years of their life studying," he said.
"But I just feel that for me, where I want to go, the industry I'm in and the current climate, it makes sense right now to spend that extra time and money."
Warning over 'studying for studying's sake'
The pivot to postgraduate studies appears to be a trend among WA universities.
At Curtin University in Perth, domestic postgraduate applications for semester two this year have risen 34 per cent on 2019.
The University of Western Australia and Notre Dame have seen a rise in applications too, but did not provide an exact percentage.
Research from the Centre for Social Impact encouraged final-year university students to keep studying so they could enter the job market when there were more opportunities.
But labour market economist Conrad Liveris warned that not only was further study expensive, in some fields of work it was not necessary.
"Studying for studying's sake isn't going to help anyone," he said.
"The idea that further study is just always a good idea is just incorrect.
"So people have to be really considered about it, and whether that's going to enhance their future career opportunities.
"There are some discounts going on at the moment from the Government, but it's still a really significant cost that's there. It's also time, there's an emotional and labour cost there as well."
The average postgraduate course in Australia costs between $20,000 and $50,000.
