Postgraduate Degree Boosts Salaries Significantly

25.05.2019

Female Graduates Still Earn Less

Earning a post-graduate degree - like a master's or doctorate - can significantly boost your pay-check, official income data from the UK suggests.

The 2018 graduate earning figures published by the UK Department of Education show that post-graduates between the ages of 21 and 30 years earn £9,000 (about €10,417) more per year than those with no degree at all, the BBC reported.

Those who further their studies after their first degree typically earn about £30,000 (€34,721) per year. Compared to those with "only" an undergraduate degree, there is a £4,500 (€5,208) per year gap.

However, the data also revealed some worrying trends. Namely that pay levels for all levels of education have faced a decade of stagnation and real-term decline.

In 2008, the typical young graduate was earning £24,000 - and by 2018, if it had simply kept pace with inflation, that would have risen to about £31,500. But the typical young graduate in 2018 was only earning £25,500, representing a significant drop in real-term earnings.

In addition, gender and ethnicity still play a part. Women, for instance, get the short-end of the stick. Female graduate earnings, up to the age of 30, average £24,500, but male graduates average £28,000.

Source: BBC