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Top end graduates and their earnings
6th November 2007
Top end graduates and their earnings<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
There is much debate about the private returns to accumulating human capital. What are the likely rewards from delaying one’s entry into the labour market to take a degree or complete full-time vocational qualifications beyond the age of 18? How wide is the gap in earnings between those with degrees from the top universities in tough subjects and graduates of lesser-known and perhaps less highly regarded institutions?
The Financial Times this morning has an article on the latest survey of graduate earnings from the Higher Education Statistics Agency which highlights the wide spread of graduate earnings for people less than three years on from completing their studies.
They report that
‘A small cadre of elite graduates – about one in 30 men but one in 100 women – are earning more than £50,000 barely three years after graduating. The numbers testify to the high rewards that can be earned at a young age by top graduates, particularly those who work in the City and related professions. In contrast, the figures show more than one in five male and more than a quarter of female graduates in full-time work are still on less than £17,500 a year 3½ years after graduating – well below full-time average earnings of about £22,000.’
The median salary of <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />UK domiciled graduates who were working full-time at the Longitudinal Survey stage was £23,000
Geoff Riley
Geoff Riley FRSA has been teaching Economics for over thirty years. He has over twenty years experience as Head of Economics at leading schools. He writes extensively and is a contributor and presenter on CPD conferences in the UK and overseas.