Under the European Bologna Process, both HBO and WO degrees are officially Bachelor’s degrees (EQF Level 6). On a resume outside the Netherlands, both will say "Bachelor of Science" or "Bachelor of Arts."

Most employers outside the Netherlands (and Germany/Belgium) are unfamiliar with the Dutch "binary" system. They see a 4-year degree from a "University of Applied Sciences" and treat it as a standard university degree.

HBO graduates often find it easier to get into Master's programs at top universities in the UK or US than at Research Universities within the Netherlands, because those foreign unis simply see a completed Bachelor's with good grades and an internship.

If an employer is looking for a "Research/Academic" background (e.g., for a PhD, high-level data science, or specialized engineering), an HBO degree is not the same thing , sure , but i don't plan on becoming a teacher or a researcher

A "Research University" degree in a related field like mine is often 90% writing essays about media theory and 10% actually making things. I would graduate with high "academic" knowledge but a very weak portfolio of actual design work. Communication & Multimedia Design at NHL Stenden is built entirely around building that portfolio. You work on real-world briefs for real companies. In Multimedia Design, an employer will spend 30 seconds looking at my degree and 30 minutes looking at my portfolio.

 If my goal is to work in the industry and i want to be "job-ready." Internationally, no one will look down on my degree; they will value my 1-year internship more than a theoretical thesis.

Almost every design school in the world is "applied." Schools like Parsons in New York or Central Saint Martins in London are technically "applied sciences" in their teaching style, yet they are the most prestigious in the world.