Five years on, Ms Gibson has just finished her medical science degree and is looking for a job in her field, while Mr Stewart leapt straight from school to full-time work.

They are happy with their choices, and neither based their decision about their post-school lives on potential future earnings. Ms Gibson has juggled study and work since finishing school, moving from full-time study to full-time work and now to a part-time combination of both.

''Most people have to make that decision between finishing university fast and staying at home, or living off Centrelink and struggling. If you want to live out of home, you have to either study part-time or study and work but then people can't make it to classes when they do [work].''

She dismissed the idea that a degree would mean she could earn up to $1.5 million more over the course of her career.

''I didn't go to university so I could get a job that would earn me more money. I just knew I wanted to do this course. I think some people can make a lot of money from science, but not many do.''

Her former classmate Mr Stewart has had three full-time jobs since leaving school and couldn't be happier. After a stint in retail, he moved to the Australian Taxation Office and an IT support job.

He wouldn't rule university out, but said he had been lucky since finishing school.

''I wasn't motivated to study when I finished school. I didn't do particularly well, I had reasonable grades, but I was motivated to start working and I don't regret it: it's what worked for me,'' he said.

''I started in some low-paying jobs, but now I'm financially quite comfortable.''