Economic graduates earn 40 percent more than English graduates, new data from Emolument reveals.

Many students may be facing the prospect of further tuition fee increases, with the average student debt already falling at £44,000 for graduates. Young people are facing some difficult decisions about their education and what career they should pursue when they leave university.

Statistics have been gathered from crowdsourced data, submitted anonymously by over 55,000 individuals in order to access their own tailored salary benchmarking report for free. For the first time, candidates will be able to investigate what potential career options might offer in the short and long term.

Results from the report reveal that within five years of graduation, that average salaries of economics students are around 80 percent higher than those who studied Fine Art.

Average salaries within 5 years of graduation, by degree major:

Major Salary
Economics £45,000
Law £42,000
Mathematics & Statistics £39,000
Chemistry & Natural Sciences £38,000
Accounting, Business & Finance £37,000
Engineering £37,000
Computer Sciences £37,000
Physics, Life Sciences & Healthcare £36,000
Management & Strategy £36,000
Humanities (History, Geography, Politics…) £34,000
Modern Languages £32,000
Philosophy £32,000
English Literature £31,000
Media, Marketing & Communication £27,000
Fine Arts & Design £25,000

Earning potential is also influenced by the industries graduates enter. Degrees in Economics, Finance, Mathematics and Statistics are shown to be the best route into lucrative careers in the financial services industry. In contrast, students of humanities such as Geography, History and Politics are the most likely graduates to follow careers in charities, not-for-profit organisations and the public sector.

Majors Industries most likely to hire graduates by major
1 2 3
Business & Finance Financial services Industry Telecoms
Management Retail Telecoms Industry
Mathematics & Statistics Financial services Consulting Retail
Chemistry & Natural Sciences Public Sector Industry Engineering
Law Law firms Services, tourism, entertainment Telecoms
History, Geography, Politics Charity & Non-profit Public Sector Media & Advertising
Marketing & Communication Media & Advertising Retail Charity &Non-profit

COO of Emolument.com, Alice Leguay, says:

“Young people starting out on their careers have some pretty big decisions to make that will affect their lives in both the short and long term, so it is important for them to have access to as much information as possible to help them make smart choices. Having more transparency around the salaries in different industries and professions allows individuals to manage their own career and education more effectively, and work towards where they really want to be.”

 

 

 

 

Amie Filcher is an editorial assistant at HRreview.