In El Salvador, according to the latest report on Higher Education Statistics by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in 2020, the university student population for first semester was 206,056. Of these, 177,512 (86%) chose to pursue university degree, while 1,495 (0.8%) enrolled in technical careers.

Currently many university programs offer the option to pursue an academic and technical degree simultaneously or to complete the technical degree first and  then complete the academic degree.

So where do these differences lie? The technical programs aim to train students with the practical ability to apply the knowledge acquired in different scientific or humanistic areas. On the other hand, the same Higher Education law establishes that university study seeks, in a multidisciplinary manner, to develop theoretical knowledge, acquiring greater relevance.

Therefore, the differentiation in the objectives behind these studies lies in self-assessment. What are the skills that we have best developed.

There are people who have a facility for manual work, which is extremely decisive in technical areas. On the other hand, there is the possibility that the analysis and resolution of more advanced social and theoretical problems will be easier for you, so a bachelor’s degree You can reinforce those skills.

Among the factors that differentiate these degrees of study are their duration. On the one hand, the technical degree, according to the law, must have a minimum duration of two years and those with a degree, engineering, among others, cannot have a duration of less than five years.

The decision of which degree you want to study will depend on what your long-term objectives and goals are and on analyzing and deciding on those own skills that you would like to continue developing and converting them into your source of work.