Finance
How Much Will Your Degree Earn You?
Published by Gbaf News
Posted on May 1, 2018
11 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Gbaf News
Posted on May 1, 2018
11 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
As final year students prepare to enter the workforce, Fresh Student Living compares the difference in salaries across various industries in the UK to reveal the most valuable degrees.
New research by CV-Library analysed more than 5,400 graduate job postings, revealing that the average salary for a university graduate is £24,804.
Depending on your degree, graduates can enjoy a wealth of career paths and salaries once you leave university and further into your career. According to Save the Student, this is the earning potential of students with the following degrees:
Art (creative, visual and performance)
For those wanting to get into Creative Arts like design, music, visual arts and performing, the opportunities are endless, however, salaries will vary. Typically, the starting salary for a Museum Curator is around £18,000 while those interested in digital art like graphic and digital design can expect a higher salary starting at £15,000–£19,000 with the potential to rise up to £27,00 after some years of experience.
Banking and Accounting
Salaries for accountancy can vary depending on location, specialisation and size of the company, although graduates can still enjoy a decent starting package of £23,180. If you are really looking to start off with a highly desirable salary, investment bankers have been known to earn up to £45,000 right off the bat.
Business, Marketing and Management
These degrees can open plenty of doors for graduates and some well-paid careers in accountancy or investment banking as well as marketing, HR, retail management and media. A career in retail management could earn you a salary of between £17,000–£23,000, while a career in HR can start you off with a cool £19,000. Digital marketing degree holders can expect a starting salary of between £18,000–£22,000.
Computer Science
Your salary will depend on what career path you follow. IT jobs like programming, systems analysis, web design, UX design and more are in high demand and promise good salaries, which can range from £17,000 all the way up to £70,000.
Education
Teaching positions are always in high demand in England and Wales. Starting salaries for qualified teachers range from £22,917 to £28,660 for London-based positions.
Engineering
Depending on your specialty, engineering graduates can enjoy salaries that start at £25,000 for civil engineers to £27,696 for chemical engineering.
Humanities
These degrees are quite flexible in terms of job hunting, with possible options being media, teaching and marketing, to name a few. Starting salaries for those in publishing and journalism are around £19,000–£23,000, although unpaid internships are also a reality in this industry.
Law
Despite what many think, a law degree is not a quick ticket to a high salary. Law graduates will have to start from the bottom, while the most competitive firms can offer salaries between £22,000 and £45,000.
Life Sciences
The starting salary for a clinical scientist ranges between £26,250–£35,250, while biomedical scientists can expect anything from £22,000 to £28,500.
Medicine
Of course, a degree in medicine is as prestigious as it can get, although, like law, graduates, you must be prepared to start from the bottom. Unlike law, graduates are able to earn more faster and have access to better benefits. Graduate salaries for those going into adult nursing is around £22,000–£28,500, while junior doctors can earn £26,614 and specialists between £36,461 and £46,208. For animal lovers, veterinary medicine offers an average starting salary of around £27,721.
More students are graduating from college and university than ever before, which means students can expect to enter one of the toughest job markets yet. Therefore, students should equip themselves with the right tools to enter one of these in-demand careers:
Graduates should consider applying for a job as soon as possible, although most graduate jobs begin the September following graduation. Some top employers begin their application process up to a year before the start date, so it is advised to start applying the moment you know what you want to do.
The summer before your final year is the best time to start thinking about your career, researching your skills and qualifications, and considering variables like job location and salary. The September – January period is the key time for submitting your applications, but you should also start preparing for the long process of interviews and assessments, which usually begin after February.
Keep in mind that many graduate schemes are seasonal, so if you miss the application deadline, you may have to wait another year before reapplying. That said, some schemes do follow a rolling recruitment process, with various roles available throughout the year.
It is recommended to make use of a timeline when applying for any graduate jobs or schemes to avoid things falling through the cracks or missing an important deadline.
As final year students prepare to enter the workforce, Fresh Student Living compares the difference in salaries across various industries in the UK to reveal the most valuable degrees.
New research by CV-Library analysed more than 5,400 graduate job postings, revealing that the average salary for a university graduate is £24,804.
Depending on your degree, graduates can enjoy a wealth of career paths and salaries once you leave university and further into your career. According to Save the Student, this is the earning potential of students with the following degrees:
Art (creative, visual and performance)
For those wanting to get into Creative Arts like design, music, visual arts and performing, the opportunities are endless, however, salaries will vary. Typically, the starting salary for a Museum Curator is around £18,000 while those interested in digital art like graphic and digital design can expect a higher salary starting at £15,000–£19,000 with the potential to rise up to £27,00 after some years of experience.
Banking and Accounting
Salaries for accountancy can vary depending on location, specialisation and size of the company, although graduates can still enjoy a decent starting package of £23,180. If you are really looking to start off with a highly desirable salary, investment bankers have been known to earn up to £45,000 right off the bat.
Business, Marketing and Management
These degrees can open plenty of doors for graduates and some well-paid careers in accountancy or investment banking as well as marketing, HR, retail management and media. A career in retail management could earn you a salary of between £17,000–£23,000, while a career in HR can start you off with a cool £19,000. Digital marketing degree holders can expect a starting salary of between £18,000–£22,000.
Computer Science
Your salary will depend on what career path you follow. IT jobs like programming, systems analysis, web design, UX design and more are in high demand and promise good salaries, which can range from £17,000 all the way up to £70,000.
Education
Teaching positions are always in high demand in England and Wales. Starting salaries for qualified teachers range from £22,917 to £28,660 for London-based positions.
Engineering
Depending on your specialty, engineering graduates can enjoy salaries that start at £25,000 for civil engineers to £27,696 for chemical engineering.
Humanities
These degrees are quite flexible in terms of job hunting, with possible options being media, teaching and marketing, to name a few. Starting salaries for those in publishing and journalism are around £19,000–£23,000, although unpaid internships are also a reality in this industry.
Law
Despite what many think, a law degree is not a quick ticket to a high salary. Law graduates will have to start from the bottom, while the most competitive firms can offer salaries between £22,000 and £45,000.
Life Sciences
The starting salary for a clinical scientist ranges between £26,250–£35,250, while biomedical scientists can expect anything from £22,000 to £28,500.
Medicine
Of course, a degree in medicine is as prestigious as it can get, although, like law, graduates, you must be prepared to start from the bottom. Unlike law, graduates are able to earn more faster and have access to better benefits. Graduate salaries for those going into adult nursing is around £22,000–£28,500, while junior doctors can earn £26,614 and specialists between £36,461 and £46,208. For animal lovers, veterinary medicine offers an average starting salary of around £27,721.
More students are graduating from college and university than ever before, which means students can expect to enter one of the toughest job markets yet. Therefore, students should equip themselves with the right tools to enter one of these in-demand careers:
Graduates should consider applying for a job as soon as possible, although most graduate jobs begin the September following graduation. Some top employers begin their application process up to a year before the start date, so it is advised to start applying the moment you know what you want to do.
The summer before your final year is the best time to start thinking about your career, researching your skills and qualifications, and considering variables like job location and salary. The September – January period is the key time for submitting your applications, but you should also start preparing for the long process of interviews and assessments, which usually begin after February.
Keep in mind that many graduate schemes are seasonal, so if you miss the application deadline, you may have to wait another year before reapplying. That said, some schemes do follow a rolling recruitment process, with various roles available throughout the year.
It is recommended to make use of a timeline when applying for any graduate jobs or schemes to avoid things falling through the cracks or missing an important deadline.
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