Apprenticeships and university degrees represent two different earning trajectories. Apprenticeships start earning immediately (typically $30-45k during the apprenticeship), then jump to qualified-trade salary ($65-110k typical). Degrees forfeit 3-7 years of earnings during study and incur HECS / course fees, but graduate to higher starting salaries with steeper subsequent growth in many fields. Which path comes out ahead lifetime depends on the specific trade and degree, plus assumed wage growth differentials.

Trades typically have a 5-10 year head-start in cumulative earnings — by year 8 (when a trade has 4 years of qualified earnings on top of 4 years of apprentice wages while a uni grad has just started their first job), the trade is materially ahead in lifetime cumulative income. The university path catches up via faster annual wage growth (typically 4% vs 2.5% for trades) but doesn't always overtake within a 40-year career. Specialised trades (electricians, plumbers) and self-employed contractors often substantially out-earn salaried university graduates over a full career.

The calculator above projects both paths over your career length and shows the lifetime difference. Self-employment and small-business ownership in trades can flip the calculation materially — most successful tradies eventually run their own business or contract independently, which often doubles or triples salary equivalent. The non-financial side (work environment, physical demand, geographic flexibility, career progression flexibility) matters too. For uni-specific ROI see our Uni Degree ROI Calculator.