Graduates from the country’s top universities will earn an extra £177,000 over the course of their career once the costs of studying have been deducted.
The earning potential of those who do a master’s degree is even greater. They will earn on average £317,000 more than those with no degree. Those who take a doctorate will be wealthier still with a career premium of £409,000.
The figures were revealed in an analysis by the Russell Group, which represents 24 leading research universities, and London Economics. It is the first to strip out all the costs associated with studying, including tuition fees, student loan interest payments, living costs and the years of earning forgone by going to university. After tax, the figure for graduates is roughly £88,000 extra.
Unlike other studies into the topic of graduate earnings, salaries were compared with people who had good enough A-levels to go to a top university but chose not to, rather than the general workforce.
The calculations on post-graduate education will be particularly welcome to the growing numbers of young people staying on at university, and their parents, who often wonder if it is worth their value. The number of students taking post graduate courses shot up more than 16,000 to 90,600 in 2016-17, a 22 per cent increase, with universities reporting that numbers will be even higher this year.
According to the report many young people think that they need a second qualification to help them stand out in a crowded graduate labour market. This data suggests they may be right.
The report comes as universities are under considerable pressure to show that they are providing value for money for their undergraduates.
