Biggest earners and biggest losers from degrees

By ITS Education Asia

Here is an extremely interesting article from the BBC about those who do and do not benefit from taking a degree.

Higher pay still makes it financially beneficial to go to university for most students in England, says research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies. But 20% are worse off after paying for courses, says the study commissioned by the Department for Education.

The study on projected earnings, based on tax data, shows wide variations in the financial winners and losers between different subjects.

• For women, the financial gains of studying creative arts and languages are "close to zero"
• Medicine will bring an extra £340,000 for women, economics £270,000 and £260,000 for law
• Men studying creative arts subjects are projected to lose £100,000, compared to their counterparts who did not go to university
• For men in the top-earning subject areas of medicine and economics, the likely gain is £500,000
• For both men and women there are low financial returns for graduates in English and biology
• Individual universities are not identified, but more selective universities tend to lead to bigger earnings

These gains and losses are counted after the cost of going to university has been deducted.

This includes £9,250 per year in tuition fees, loans for living costs, interest charged on loans and lost potential earnings from studying rather than being in jobs.

The average student graduates with about £50,000 in debt.

This should be a warning to young people to choose their degree wisely. Simply choosing a subject that interest you is no guarantee to a good paying career.

 

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