Neil Faulkner from Lovemoney.com reported today that more than 1 in 10 graduates are unemployed after leaving university. This is the highest proportion of graduate unemployment the UK has seen for 17 years. His article begs the question; “Would you pay £6,000 a year for an undergraduate education only to be unemployed at the end of it?”
Whilst unemployment levels in graduates soar, following the Government spending review a large proportion of universities are going to charge £6,000 a year for students to attend university, due to the recommendation that the current cap on fees is abolished. At £6,000 a term, students who study for 3 years are likely to walk away from university with debts of £18,000….and then let’s not forget the fact that a great number of students also take on further debt to manage their lifestyle and living costs. So the question is, is university really worth it? Let’s look at a few deciding factors:
Average graduate earnings
Graduates often start off earning a similar amount to non-graduates; however this changes quickly over the years.
Again, quoting Faulkner, in 2008, a typical 21-year-old graduate earned just £17,472 a year, while a non-graduate with A levels earned £15,912 a year.
However, the typical 33-year-old graduate earned £37,960 a year, while the typical 34-year old non-graduate earned just £27,768 a year.
Average extra lifetime earnings
On average, graduates earn an extra £160,000, or 23% throughout their lifetime.
Subject matters
There are wide variations in average earnings depending on the subject studied at university. Arts graduates for example, earn just £35,000 extra on average during their lifetimes compared to non-graduates, whilst medicine graduates (unsurprisingly) earn a massive £340,000 extra, on average, during their lives.
Earnings grow steady in early years
Regardless of which degree you take, earnings for graduates do grow at a constant rate in the first few years.
Do degrees always pay off?
Well not always no. Without a degree you can still always earn more than the average graduate, particularly if you are able to secure a training place with a big company. Degrees are also expensive and can leave you with a lot of debt which can take years to pay off. And don’t forget, not all undergraduates go on to complete their course, with 20% of students dropping out of university before they complete their final assignments.
Its not all doom and gloom for graduates however! Despite the rising statistics, graduates are less likely to be unemployed overall, and the average financial benefit is greater for a graduate than a non-graduate. In addition, research shows that women gain greater financial benefits from university than men, as women who don’t go to university tend to earn a great deal less than men who choose not to attend.
To help boost your university success rate, check out the Words Worth Reading student and job seeker packages.
No comments:
Post a Comment