Aiden,
Lol.. Thanks for getting me up to speed.
I put my foot in it there going off on a rant didn't I?

'Nothing wrong with going straight to the high value work'
I disagree at some level, given that someone is ALWAYS going to have to take out the garbage and clean the toilets.
I don't think anyone has any born right to be above that.

At some level this makes taking out the garbage and cleaning toilets the REAL high-value work.

I understand we need smart people at universities, but someone else has to forego that position to work in a farm or a factory so we can produce things to eat or produce things that we can use.

mkarsikko,
Sorry for being hard on you and its good to know you have put some hard work in to get where you are.
I hope you do well in your chosen field, and sorry I did not end up getting a chance to complete your survey in time.

Armchair,

Yes you put your foot in it. But by doing so you revealed a lot about the assumptions you make and the values you hold.

It doesn't make any difference whether or not the work is something that will always be needed. Work that almost anyone can do is generally low value. The real high value work is the work that enables things to be done that could not otherwise be done.

It's not about born rights, it's about efficiency. It's much better to avoid putting people who are capable of high value work into the situation where they're forced to do low value work, for this is likely to reduce the amount of high value work they will ultimately do, and it reduces the availability of low value work for those people who are incapable of doing high value work.

"I understand we need smart people at universities, but someone else has to forego that position to work in a farm or a factory so we can produce things to eat or produce things that we can use."
Then you don't understand at all. Studying at university isn't merely an alternative to a career in farming or manufacturing; it enables people to farm and manufacture more productively.

You seem to want more Australians to do the sort of work that Indonesians do for $2/hour. Tell me: what do you think Aussies should be paid for that sort of work, and why?