Discover the degrees for financial success for students and the best places to pursue them.
So competitive is the current employment landscape, selecting the right degree is crucial, with a decision having the potential to greatly influence both financial security and career fulfilment. However, with a vast range of choices, how do you ensure you or your child selects the correct path?
Dentistry
With study focused on treating oral health issues and among the top-paying fields in the UK in 2023 – promising a lucrative healthcare career – graduates start with an average salary of £39,500 and have a variety of job options, from general dentists or oral surgeons.
Over 90% of graduates land jobs within six months of completing studies, with leading UK institutions for dentistry including Sheffield University and Queen’s University, Belfast.
Dentistry not only pays well but also ensures job security and, of course, the chance to significantly improve patients’ health and happiness.
Medicine
Not too dissimilar to its dentistry cousin, studying medicine concentrates on diagnosing, treating and preventing diseases, offering a chance to positively impact the lives of people, both locally and internationally.
Medicine graduates can look to open up their career on around £34,000, with a vast choice of general work (junior doctors), through to specialisms such as cardiologists.
With experience, that salary can grow significantly, with the best British universities including Brighton, Exeter and Glasgow. A vocation in medicine is not only rewarding financially, but also gives the opportunity for advancement – an ideal path for those passionate about healthcare and aiding others.
Veterinary Medicine
The theme of care continues, but this time for animals as training and education zones in on creature health and welfare. It’s a career dedicated to caring for animals, promoting their well-being and encouraging responsible pet ownership. With earnings for graduates averaging £35,000, potential increases to beyond £70,000 as experience grows.
The universities of Liverpool, Nottingham and Central Lancashire are noted as having excellent veterinary prospects.
Economics
Exploring how the financial systems of the world operate and evolve, economics offers a diversity of careers, from roles in finance, government and trade, to others impacting global economic health and growth, right through to accountancy.
Most graduates can expect around a starting salary of around £35,000, with the potential to push quickly into the upper tax bracket with the right career.
Leading institutions include Portsmouth, Coventry and Lancaster – a degree that offers a solid basis for a life in financial analysis and, with it, career security.
General Engineering
This degree involves using science and maths to design and maintain systems and structures, another with a multitude of paths spreading across many industries. Initial pay for graduates is around £31,000 a year, with experienced engineers earning up to £75,000 due to high demand for technology and infrastructure improvements.
Staffordshire, Sheffield and Leicester all host renowned engineering courses, with specialties such as aeronautical, chemical, electrical and civil.
Mathematics
We all use maths from an early age but continuing that exploration into numbers and calculations can lead to well-paid jobs in fields like finance, data science and analytics. If a pipe-opener of £28,500 sounds good, this is the field for you.
The universities at Bath, Coventry and Loughborough lead the way, offering problem-solving skills applicable across many industries.
Law
For longevity of career where demand is always high, law and the legal profession offers ample opportunity, with graduates either moving into traditional roles, or pursuing more vocational and holistic angles by which experience and expertise can be put to good effect.
The Oxbridge universities, plus LSE, UCL and King’s, are the example-setters in the UK, with the average graduate wage around £28,000, but harnessing the potential to make many multiples as time and knowledge progresses in degrees for financial success.
