phd graduate starting salary uk

• PhD Salary in UK – Explained
• Funding a PhD

What Are PhD Salaries?

The average cost of undertaking a PhD in the UK is approximately £20,000 per academic year for UK students and £40,000 for international students. To help offset the cost of this, many students question whether undertaking a doctorate comes with a PhD salary.

The salary of a PhD student is governed by three factors: whether they’re assisting in undergraduate teaching, assisting in research, or have secured a PhD with a stipend. Depending on which of the three categories a student falls within, they will receive an income during their studies, however, the amount will differ by a substantial amount.

To help show you how you can fund your postgraduate degree and how much you can expect to earn whilst doing so, carry on reading below.

Types of PhD Salaries

There are three types of PhD degree salaries:

• Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTAs) . In exchange for a salary, you’ll be required to assist in the delivery of one or more courses over a number of years. This includes, but is not limited to, marking student tutorials, supervising lab experiments and providing support to undergraduates during office hours. Besides this, you may have to teach a small section of the course itself. You can discover more about GTAs on King’s College London’s website.
• Research Assistantships (RAs) . In exchange for a salary, you assist a departmental professor with their research. In the ideal scenario, the professor you work with should also be your PhD supervisor and the research you’re asked to support with relates to your own doctoral project.
• Stipend via Studentship: A stipend is a non-repayable grant provided to doctoral students to help support their studies. A studentship covers a student’s tuition fees whilst a stipend covers a PhD student’s living costs. This includes outgoings such as rent, food, bills and basic travel. Unlike Graduate Teaching or Research Assistantships, stipends rarely have duties attached to them. The only expectation of receiving a stipend will be that you maintain continuous progress within your degree.

It’s worth noting these earning opportunities can be also be combined. For example, it’s possible to be a research assistant whilst also committing time to teach undergraduate students.

Average PhD Salary in UK

The average PhD student salary for teaching assistantships will vary depending on the level of responsibility you’re taking. However, to provide figures, past doctoral students have reported receiving approx. £10/hr for marking tutorials, £15/hr for leading laboratory sessions and up to £20/hr for leading undergraduate classes and tutorials.

The actual amount you can earn from teaching assistance will depend on the rate your department offers and the hours you can realistically take on. If you’re on a Graduate Teaching Assistantship programme, they will require you to dedicate a set number of hours per week. If you’re not on a GTA but would still like to earn an income through this scheme, you will likely need to commit several hours per week consistently. Although this can be a great way to earn whilst you study, you need to make sure you manage your time effectively as to not become overwhelmed by taking on an additional commitment.

The average salary for research assistantships will vary depending on the field of the doctoral degree you are enrolled in. Usually, these positions pay between £25,000 to £30,000 per year, however, it’s possible to come across positions which sit slightly outside of this. As a general rule of thumb, STEM assistors are paid more than non-STEM assistors.

In the UK, PhD students can receive a stipend which varies between £15,000 and £18,000 per annum. As part of the studentship your stipend is provided under, your tuition fees will also be paid for. UK tuition fees will vary between universities but are approximately £4,500 per year for doctoral courses starting in 2021/22 as per the UKRI recommendations .

Although £15,000 to £18,000 per year is the typical range for a stipend, some can be far greater than this. For example, Wellcome Trust , a research-charity based in London, offers an annual stipend of up to £23,300 and £26,000 for doctoral students located outside and within London, respectively.

Are PhD Salaries Taxed?

PhD stipends are tax free. Therefore, you don’t need to pay any income tax nor do you need to make any national insurance contributions. This means you’ll keep all the money you receive from an annual stipend. However, this is not the case for Research Assistants.

In the UK, Research Assistants are employed as university staff members and are paid a direct salary as opposed to a stipend. As a result, it will require you to pay tax on your earnings and make national insurance contributions.

To put this into perspective, for the 2019/20 UK tax year, you’re required to pay a 20% tax on any income above £12,500 but less than £50,000. You’re also required to make national insurance contributions of 12% of your weekly earnings over £166 but less than £962. This means that an annual Research Assistantship salary of £30,000 will equate to a take-home salary of £23,938 per year.

How to Get a PhD Stipend

To find research positions which offer stipends, we recommend you search our PhD database and filter by ‘funded’ positions.

Besides this, you can also secure a studentship from UK Research Councils or directly from your university as a scholarship. Independent organisations, such as charities and research trusts, and innovative firms within your industry also offer funding. You can read our PhD studentship guide to see how these work or our Where to find a PhD guide for further ideas.

Finding a PhD has never been this easy – search for a PhD by keyword, location or academic area of interest.

How to Get a Research Assistantship PhD

Unfortunately, research assistantships opportunities aren’t as common to come across compared to PhD stipends. Besides this, when they are available, they’re predominantly in STEM subjects such as computer science and engineering. The reason for this is these subjects usually have access to greater research grants and have a greater volume of practical work available.

To find a research assistantship, we recommend that you contact the university departments who host the courses you’re interested in directly. This is because research assistantships help professors with their research, and while they may require help, they may not be openly advertising for it. They may, therefore, be able to create a role for you within their department or put you into contact with one of their colleagues who already has an open position.

International Students

It’s worth noting that international students will have a harder time securing a funded PhD position than UK ‘home’ students will. This is largely because there are usually fewer funding opportunities available to international students, which as a result also attract significant competition.

Besides this, if you’re an international student studying in the UK you will most likely than not be on a Tier 4 visa. Although a Tier 4 visa will allow you to work to earn an additional income alongside any studentship you may have, there will be certain restrictions on what you can and can’t do. For example, during term-time, you won’t be allowed to work more than 20 hours per week. For a full list of restrictions, please refer to the government website.

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PhD Salary UK: How Much Do PhD Students Get Paid Compared to Graduates?

Considering whether to stay in university as a PhD student or to leave and get a job? If so, you may be wondering “How much do PhD student get paid?” and “How does a UK PhD salary compare to a graduate salary?” .

In this post I delve into the details and reveal that the difference in take home pay between a UK PhD stipend and a grad position can actually be much lower than it first appears!

If you’re looking to know how much a PhD could boost your career and salary after finishing your doctoral degree I’d suggest checking out my post: Is a PhD Worth It ? See details here for how much people earn in academia after getting their PhD .

I also have a complementary post covering my monthly expenses as a PhD student. You may also wish to check out my guide to the application process , PhD FAQs and article on how I got a PhD scholarship .

February 2024 : This post has been updated to include figures for the 2023/24 academic year.

Do PhD students get paid in the UK? If so, how much do PhD students get paid?

Before we delve into the details let’s first cover whether PhD students get paid in the UK. Generally, yes, most PhD students get what is called a PhD stipend to support themselves during their PhD. Importantly, a PhD stipend (in the UK at least) is tax free .

It is worth noting though that not all PhD projects automatically include funding. Funding may also not be applicable for every applicant. For example sometimes it may only be available to home students i.e. those from the UK.

Therefore some students may resort to self funding their PhD. In STEM subjects self funding a PhD is pretty rare and often only happens because of limitations in funding eligibility. I’ve personally worked with a mix of funded and self-funded (often by parents) PhD students, though most are certainly funded by grants and scholarships.

If your project doesn’t already include funding, for most people I strongly advise trying to find funding rather than considering self funding. For more information on this check out my post on PhD Funding in the UK.

2023/24 UK PhD Salary

• PhD salary outside of London: In 2023/24 most new PhD students in the UK will receive a PhD stipend worth at least £18,622 per year .
• PhD salary in London : In 2023/24 most new PhD students in London will receive an increased stipend to account for cost of living , which is typically around £20,622 per year .

Notice that the PhD stipend for outside of London is at least £18,622 per year. I’ve seen several advertised at the London rate. There are also some available at an even higher rate. For example I know of CDTs in Bristol paying more like £24,000 tax-free.

Your PhD stipend will usually provide funding for 3.5 years, although it can occasionally be for 3 or 4 years.

These values are for most PhD studentships including those awarded by all UK research councils following the UKRI guidelines .

Certain scholarship schemes pay upwards of £25,000 per year, such as the £25,150 (2024/25 rate) President’s PhD Scholarships at Imperial. For details on how to get such a scholarship, check out this article where I go over how I got awarded my own PhD scholarship.

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network (ITN)  runs all across the EU. As well as nice training and exchange opportunities it pays a staggering stipend of approx £40,000 – £45,000 . The grant level is reviewed each year and increases if you have family dependents. I personally wish I’d known about it earlier and highly recommend anyone interested puts a reminder in their diary for when the next call opens!

Is a UK PhD stipend taxable?

Here is what PhD stipends look like compared to some fairly typical starting grad salaries in the UK:

At first glance a PhD stipend doesn’t stack up well against the higher wages of a graduate salary which can sometimes be twice this amount or more. But crucially PhD stipends for students are tax free !

There are a few other financial perks that come with being a student so I was intrigued to find out how the two salaries really compared. The results may surprise you!

Below is a high level overview and I’ll delve into each of the numbers in depth later in the post.

Grad salary vs PhD salary starting numbers

As mentioned earlier, in 2023/24 a typical PhD stipend outside of London is at least £18,622 . Within London this will typically increase slightly to account for cost of living to around £20,622 . These rates rise every year for new students, but do not rise for each year of the PhD. So for new students considering starting in 2024/25 a UK PhD salary will likely be around £19,100 outside of London. 

For the sake of simplifying the comparison I averaged the 2023/24 PhD stipend to £19,622 for all PhD students studying in the UK.

A fairly typical grad salary, for someone qualified enough to be considering a science PhD, is around £30,000 . Of course this is an average salary so needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. As the number can vary dramatically it may be considered too low by some, but I think it’s a good benchmark accounting for different regions of the UK.

I’ve included higher and lower graduate salaries too in the summary charts for this post.

Salary Gap: £10,378

On the face of it the PhD student would be earning £10,378 less per year: around 35% lower! This is enough of a difference to put off a lot of potential PhD candidates who’ve likely spent the last few years building up student loans.

But unlike normal wages, PhD stipends are tax free so maybe things aren’t as bleak for PhD students as it seems? Let’s explore how they really compare.

Income Tax & National Insurance Contributions

The 2023/24 Personal Income Allowance is £12,570. This means that you can earn up to this amount and not pay any income tax. Earnings from £12,571 up to £50,270 fall into the basic rate bracket of 20% tax.

PhD Student Salary: PhD stipends are tax free and incur no income tax or national insurance contributions. Remaining stipend: £19,622

Professional Salary: On £30,000 you’d pay £ 3486 in income tax and NI contributions of £2004 . Remaining wage:  £24,510

Salary Gap: £4888 Income tax and national insurance contributions have immediately almost halved the difference in take-home pay from £10,378 down to £4888!

Student Loan Repayment

PhD Student Salary: Even with a PhD stipend you are officially an unwaged student so you won’t make student loan repayments as a PhD student. Remaining stipend: £19,622 [see footnote 1]

Professional Salary: The amount you may have to pay for student loan repayments depends upon when you started your undergraduate course. If you started your undergraduate course since 2012 you pay student loan repayments on earnings above £27,295. Meaning on a salary of £30,000 you’d pay £243 a year on student loan repayments. If you began your undergraduate course before 2012, repayments start on salaries above £22,015 and would be £541 a year . Most of you likely completed your undergrad degree recently so we’ll go with the more recent, lower, repayments. Remaining wage:  £24,267

Salary Gap: £4645

Council Tax

PhD Student Salary: Another cost that students are exempt from is council tax. Though be careful if you share a house with non-students since council tax must then be paid on the property. [2] Remaining stipend:  £19,622

Professional Salary: Council tax varies greatly between council boroughs, and depends on the property you live in. For example in Cardiff I lived in a one bed flat and the annual council tax was £1050 per year. During my PhD in London council tax for a lovely three bed house  in Clapham it was £1000! Now that I live in Bristol it is over £2000 per year for a three bed house. I’ll go to the liberty of saying on average it would be £1150 per year and would be divided between two people: -£575 each. Total: £23,692

Salary Gap: £4070

Private Pension Contributions

PhD Student Salary: Although universities pay a PhD stipend to students, you are not a member of staff and hence do not make private pension contributions. Remaining stipend:  £19,622

Professional Salary: Legislation has been phasing in making contribution to private pensions mandatory. The upside is that employers match your contribution up to varying percentages: sometimes up to about 10% of your salary. Additionally there are tax benefits to contributing so overall you could see it as boosting your salary looking at the longer term view. [3]

I believe there are troubling times ahead for 20-somethings and personally am not relying on a state pension existing by the time we all reach retirement age. Therefore I wholeheartedly recommend making a decently sized contribution at least up to the same amount that your employer matches. For the purposes of this comparison I won’t deduct anything for private pension since it’s not really being deducted so I’ll call this one a draw.  Total: £23,692

Student Discount

Ah the obvious one! Student discount may have been the first thing you thought of when you saw this article, but I’m not going to include it in this analysis.

A student card does allow a significant amount to be saved, not only on luxuries such as entry to attractions and deals in shops but also travel. For example in London, an 18+ student oystercard gets you 30% off travelcards. For a monthly zones 1-3 ticket this would save about £50 a month: over £600 a year!

The reason I’ve not included it? How much you use student discount depends on your circumstances and lifestyle and I wanted to keep the analysis widely applicable. Also, there are ways around needing to pay for travel at all: I started cycling to university every day in London .

Curveball: the £12,570 Tax-Free Personal Income Allowance

So far the recent grad is still earning an additional £4842 per year: almost a third more than the PhD student. Owing to the fact that PhD students are exempt from income tax, national insurance contributions, council tax and student loan repayments the gap in earnings has shrunk considerably.

One last calculation I wanted to try was to consider the scenario of a student earning some additional money on the side. It is a common thing to make extra money with teaching assistant, tutoring and consultancy opportunities. In fact I think every PhD student I know does at least a little. There are of course non-academic routes to make additional money too.

I have written a post about some of the ways that I make extra money , many of which are in fact available to non-students. Do be careful to check that this is acceptable at your institution. My favourite way to make extra money is matched betting which is tax-free for everybody. You can find my complete guide to matched betting here .

Tax-free side-hustle

Currently you can earn £12,570 tax free in the UK . Given that the PhD stipend itself is tax free, unlike an equivalent worker you wouldn’t pay any tax on extra earnings up to this threshold. This might sound insignificant but it’s not.

Admittedly, unless you’re very entrepreneurial, it is unlikely that you would make use of the whole tax-free opportunity. But earning several thousand pounds per year on top of the stipend is certainly common.

As pointed out by a reader, John, in the comments below: a consideration should be that that some universities limit how much paid work you can do per month. Even so, there are lots of ways to make money and your time as a student could even be a great time to start your own business .

I’ve been paid more than £25 an hour doing pretty simple work for the university , so these earnings can mount up quickly.

To illustrate the extra earning potential afforded to PhD students, let’s consider the most extreme case where the tax-free earnings are maximised.

Since 2017 there has been a £1000 tax-free trading allowance for workers in the UK , meaning even those in a normal taxable job can earn £1000 on top of their salary from side-hustle jobs. Therefore the grad will pay additional taxes on £11,570 instead of £12,570.

PhD Student Salary: An enterprising student maxing out the tax-free allowance could earn £12,570 a year and pay no national insurance either, leaving additional take-home pay of  £12,570 . With a PhD stipend of £17,062 the student would in total earn £32,192 for the year. They’d keep 100% of those extra earnings.

Again, yes it is unlikely that someone would really earn this much on the side but it is common to make at least several thousand throughout the year.

Professional Salary: As a grad on £30,000 per year in your main job, to have an equivalent side-hustle earning £12,570, in total you’d pay tax on £41,570. Income tax would be £5800: £2314 higher than on their base salary of £30,000. NI contributions would be £3335: £1331 higher. Plus student loan repayments would be £1284: £1041 higher. Student loan repayments really start increasing considerably when you’re earning more. These additional taxes and costs total deductions of £4686,  leaving the professional with extra take-home pay of  £7884 . Including their day-job the total they’d be left with is £31,576 .

For this extra £12,570 of work, the student would pocket 100% of it and the professional would keep £7884 ( 63% ). Looking at the pre-tax difference in their earnings: at face value the student would be earning £32,192 and the grad £41,570: a difference of £9378. Yet once taxes are considered the final result is two people with remarkably similar take-home pays: a difference of £616 in favour of the student!

Check it out:

Under these circumstances the student would in fact take home £616 more per year than the professional! I used the maximum tax-free allowance to highlight the point and yes it’s unlikely that many students will fully utilise it. Yet the point stands that any additional earnings are much better retained by PhD students.

If someone was running a fully-fledged business on the side then the difference becomes even bigger as the grad salary approaches the next tax bracket for earnings of £50,271 and above, at which point the rate of income tax doubles.

There are very few legal ways of making money which are tax-exempt for everyone. One of these rare cases is also my favourite way to make money on the side: matched betting. Intrigued? I’ve written a huge guide to it here . In this rare instance none of the grad’s extra earnings get eroded by tax.

Grad salary vs PhD student salary conclusion

Starting from a difference of £10,378 in salary, taxes and other outgoings have knocked £6308 off the graduate’s wage. This brings the difference in earnings down to £4070. This equates to £339 per month. More than nothing, but not a huge difference. And this doesn’t include any extra earnings on the side which the student can do a much better job of retaining.

Surprised how small the difference is? I certainly was whilst I was writing this.

Here is a chart for comparing a wider range of salaries:

This analysis doesn’t take in to account the extra earning power that gaining a PhD could bring, nor the potential lifestyle benefits of being a student such as autonomy and flexible working hours which it could be argued level the playing field even further. Plus the opportunities afforded to PhD students, which everyone should seize. And yes, student discount if you use it.

Furthermore if you consider the opportunity to make an additional £12k+ per year before incurring tax  any difference in earnings can become close to negligible!

I hope that this post has helped explain that the wage gap between UK PhD stipends and grad salaries is not as dramatic it first seems. Perhaps it’s even encouraged you to consider a PhD. If so I’ve written posts to help with your application and an article on how to improve your chances of securing a PhD scholarship . Also if you’re curious you can read about life as a PhD student along with profiles of PhD students around the world .

If you’d like personalised help with your PhD application I am now starting to offer a small number of one-to-one sessions. Please contact me to find out more or click here to book a call.

What do you think about this comparison between a UK PhD stipend and grad salary? Do you think there are any additional factors that I have overlooked? Please share your thoughts in the comments below and if you’ve enjoyed this post you can subscribe to hear about more content:

[1] Some people might say that by continuing studying you’re simply delaying your student loan repayment.  Considering most people don’t pay it off in the 30 odd years until any outstanding balance is wiped I think it’s fair to say that this doesn’t ring true.

[2] No council tax is paid on a property if all occupants are students. If you live with one professional they can claim the single occupancy discount of 25% but with two or more professionals the full council tax amount must be paid. If you share in a mixed group it is up to you how you divide it within the group. Ironically given the spirit of this post, last year I voluntarily did pay an equal (third) share of council tax given that my partner was moving to London specifically to live with me…

[3] If you go on to work for a university after your PhD you’ll be enrolled in the USS pension scheme where you’ll usually pay in 9% of your salary and your employer pays in 19%: yes, nineteen! For comparison most often the best private companies may match contributions up to 10%. Pension contributions are often removed from your pay packet before taxes. This effectively leaves you with a smaller salary and hence pay less taxes and national insurance contributions. Between this and your employer’s contributions overall your salary could be “boosted” by quite a bit, around 20% in the USS example, if you consider the pension as part of your long-term salary.

All calculations were carried out using the tax calculator on Martin’s Money Saving Expert. A fantastic website for all things personal finance.

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17 Comments on “PhD Salary UK: How Much Do PhD Students Get Paid Compared to Graduates?”

It’s probably worth factoring in that most HEIs limit PhD students to a maximum I’m of 10hours pw of external work. By my rough estimate, the student would have to earn £25 an hour to make the money you’ve described here. The side hustle, should probably be halved to reflect a more typical salary. Still a fair whack though.

Hi John, yes that’s a good point and I’ll update the post to reflect this. In my experience £25/hour is realistic, at least here at Imperial, though I appreciate it would rarely get fully utilised. Thanks again

Hello Jeff! I am a Sustainability Consultant from India, looking at PhD opportunities in UK. It would be great if we can connect and discuss a bit about your experience and journey. Looking forward!

Hey Akhyata! Great, yes let’s have a chat. I’ve emailed you to arrange it. Best wishes, Jeff

Hi Jeff! I love your article, I’m a pharmacist juggling the idea of a PhD. I would love to take up on your offer to connect.

Hey Kai! Great, I’ll email you now to arrange it.

Hi Jeff, I am a law grad very interested in further study and pursuing a PhD.

I would love the chance to chat to you further about this article and your experience!

Thanks in advance

Hey Clara, Yeah no worries. I’ll send you an email now to discuss.

Hi Jeff, I’m putting together a PhD proposal at the moment and would really appreciate your input on a few things about the process when you have some free time. Cheers, Ben

Hi Ben, sure no problem, I’m happy to try and help. Let’s discuss over email.

Hi Jeff, Thank you for taking the time to write the articles you do. On this particular article, you have saved us all quite a lot of time. With such a minimal difference even without an additional income, it makes a lot of sense, especially with an increase when you graduate.

Those from the UK can take a £24k loan from the Gov (as if they didn’t have enough debt already). Still, it could enable a student to focus more on academia, speeding up the process and increasing the quality of work.

Apologies Jeff, the stipend and student loan are not available at the same time.

Thanks very much for your comments Tyrone. I’m pleased you find the website useful!

If you can get funding, I agree that there isn’t much of a reason to not do a PhD.

I must admit I’ve never looked much at postgraduate loans, in part because I encourage everyone doing a PhD (in STEM at least) to pursue funding. We’re doing PhDs which can help wider society and it doesn’t make sense for people to have to sacrifice even more by adding extra debt if they can avoid it. Interesting to hear that you can’t take out a loan if you have a stipend, thanks for letting me know.

Perhaps of interest to you, there is a post going live tomorrow which should put the length of a PhD in context of someone’s whole career. In short it doesn’t sacrifice much of a career but of course but make a very useful addition!

If there are any other topics you want to see covered please do let me know.

Best wishes.

Tax Free is not a perk. If you are not paying tax in the UK you cannot contribute to your pension. This may not seem important now, but it will later. This is especially important for mature students who can really lose out if there is a break in their NI contributions.

Thanks for your comment Marie.

The point is that normal tax-paying jobs don’t actually pay quite as much more than PhD stipends once you consider tax. I agree that over the long term avoiding paying taxes is neither a good idea because of things like pensions, nor is it socially ethical. But I don’t think there is any harm in taking 3-4 years out for a PhD:

You have to pay NI for a minimum of only 10 years to qualify for some level of state pension in the UK. After this the pension received simply increases linearly with the number of years of contributions, up to a max of 35 years. With retirement age edging up to 70 that gives at least 45 years between undergrad and retirement so most people will comfortably qualify (for now) for the full state pension. I’d argue that there is ample time to earn some tax free money as a PhD student without having to worry about making enough NI contributions. You can even voluntarily pay NI to gain additional qualifying years on your record. More generally I’d suggest also to not rely on receiving the state pension, I’m not personally betting on there even being a state pension by my own retirement (nor do I want to retire at 70+) so it’s always a good idea to build up your own private pension and savings too!

Hi Jeff, I was looking for funded PhD projects in the Marie Curie network and found a few on the EURAXESS website, but they all require a Master’s degree to apply. I was wondering if there is something I am missing or if you know where to find PhD funding opportunities in the Marie Curie network with only a bachelor’s degree. Thank you.

Hi Alex, thanks for your comment. I must admit I’m not an expert on all of the different Marie Curie funding routes available. If you’ve already done an extensive search then it sounds like yes they all may require a Master’s. By the way, when I first wrote this post I believed that all PhDs funded by UK research councils (UKRI) were at the very specific levels as mentioned in the post. However, I now know that there are some exceptions. For example, the Interactive AI CDT here at Bristol pays a stipend of £22,106: quite a bit higher than the standard non-London rate. CDTs such as this one include a foundation year and not everyone has a Master’s, so it may be worth considering schemes such as this. Best wishes, Jeff.

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The employment of PhD graduates in the UK: what do we know?

• 17 February 2020
• By Sally Hancock

This blog was kindly contributed by Dr Sally Hancock, Lecturer in Education at the University of York. This blog features some of her research supported by a Society for Higher Education Newer Researcher Award (reference: NR201609). The dataset was prepared for analysis by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

In recent decades, the number of PhDs awarded by universities has steadily and in some countries rapidly increased. Across the world, governments have invested in PhD education as part of a broader strategy to develop knowledge-based economies. This agenda, supported by organisations such as the OECD and World Bank, states that future national prosperity requires both the creation, application and dissemination of knowledge, and a supply of highly skilled workers.

In the UK, PhD holders are similarly valued for their ‘ vital contribution to British industrial performance and improved economic productivity ’. There has been considerable investment both in skills training to prepare PhDs for employment outside of academia and more recently, through the introduction of loans to attract more individuals to doctoral study. If the government is to achieve its ambition of increasing expenditure on research and development to 2.4 per cent of GDP by 2027, it is estimated that a further 25,000 PhD students will need to be recruited.

The expansion in doctoral education has not been viewed positively by all. Some question whether there are already too many PhDs and ask whether there are sufficient employment opportunities outside of the academic sector. Several studies suggest that many PhD students continue to prefer academic employment , leading to harsh competition in the academic sector and frustrated ambitions. The mismatch between PhDs’ career expectations and realities has been cited as one of the factors underpinning the relatively poor mental health and wellbeing of this group.

The existing evidence on PhD employment is, however, relatively limited, as PhDs have historically received far less attention than undergraduates. Research suggests that PhD graduates enjoy both higher earnings and higher rates of skilled employment, but this varies significantly by field of study and national context. Developing a reliable evidence base for the UK context is therefore particularly important amid plans for further investment and growth. Over the last decade, reports by Vitae have demonstrated that a diminishing proportion of PhD graduates will secure academic employment. Nonetheless, there is a wealth of qualitative data which suggest the enduring preference of academic careers among PhDs, together with a reluctance to consider ‘alternative’ careers.

In an effort to better understand the outcomes of PhDs, and especially what happens to those who leave the academic sector, this new study made use of the best available data on PhD employment in the UK. These data are collected through the Destinations of Leavers of Higher Education Longitudinal Survey (Long DLHE) which records activity three-and-a-half years after graduation. While HESA does not regularly publish findings on PhD employment, DLHE data have been analysed for this purpose before, most notably by Vitae.

The dataset analysed for this study, however, was different in that it incorporated additional information on PhD holders’ academic and demographic characteristics, linked from the Student Record. Put simply, this allows PhD employment outcomes to be examined in relation to factors such as PhD subject and institution, prior qualifications, age, gender and ethnicity. In total, the dataset includes just under 5,000 UK PhD holders, who graduated in 2008/9 or 2010/11 (a response rate of 39.5 per cent)

Considering first the promises of the knowledge economy, the Long DLHE offers some optimistic indicators. PhD holders’ report higher average earnings than those with a first degree or Master’s only. However, there are notable variations in earnings by the subject, with Arts and Humanities PhD holders earning significantly less than all other subject areas. PhD graduates also report higher rates of skilled employment, though we should note that definitions of ‘skilled work’, and what counts as PhD-level skilled work in particular are highly contested.

Employment outcomes by sector

Turning to consider employment outcomes by sector, figure 1 demonstrates that the vast majority of UK PhD holders (70.1 per cent) have left the academic sector three-and-a-half years after graduation. Of those who remain in academia, one-third are undertaking research, while two-thirds occupy the role ‘higher education teaching professional’. This distinction is admittedly problematic in that it conflates those employed with teaching-only contracts with those in more conventional academic positions (combining teaching, research and administrative duties). Unfortunately, the Long DLHE data cannot generate a more detailed insight into the roles PhD holders are undertaking in academia.

Of those who have left academia, just over half (53.8 per cent) report that they are still engaged in research, with the rest (46.2 per cent) stating that they no longer undertake or work with research. Logistic regressions conducted to predict which PhD holders secure research roles outside academia suggest that PhDs from Russell Group institutions, scientific subject areas (biological sciences; biomedical sciences; physical sciences and engineering), and male PhD holders are significantly more likely to secure research employment. This suggests that while there is evidence of a science-focused knowledge economy in the UK, the recognition of Arts and Humanities and Social Science PhDs – and their research skills – across non-academic sectors is less clear. These findings also suggest that gender and institutional prestige are associated with forging a research career outside of the academy.

While the Long DLHE affords broad insights into the employment destinations of PhD holders, it ultimately provokes more questions than it can answer. Critically, the Long DLHE imparts very little on decision-making or other circumstantial factors that may explain why a particular career pathway unfolds as it does. Perhaps the observation that PhD graduates who are no longer employed in research, whether in academia or beyond, report significantly lower career satisfaction is evidence enough that withdrawing from research is not the intention for many.

If doctoral expansion and the policy promises underpinning this continues, it is vital for the UK to develop better methods to capture the contributions of PhD holders. Following the initiatives of other nations , stakeholders of the UK doctorate ought to prioritise longitudinal methods of data collection, which are rich on demographic and decision-making information.

Appreciate the initiative and the mental wellbeing of the researchers.

This seems to be valuable as well as interesting research.

Does it imply that fewer people doing PhD’s in Arts subjects would be a good thing?

To be honest, if you look at the UK, having a PhD – unless you have one in the hard sciences – does not lead to higher earning potential. Experience counts the most and to give an example, my friends who did not always have degrees own houses etc. What is not factored in is the loss of 5 years earning potential at Masters to PhD level when other people are gaining experience. You have to be in a fairly decent position to get a house or have a partner earning a good salary (which you didn’t have to have in the past). Young academics are in their 30s, yet degree holders have had a decade to get promoted by the same point.

Although I left the country for a few years, my PhD was respected abroad (Social Sciences) but if you look at the data, a hell of a lot go into teaching. I find the Social PhD is so specialised, that not enough of the skills acquired are transferable. Also, the cost has to be factored in and I would say unless you are funded, it is not worth undertaking a PhD for any kind of financial gain. But I went in knowing this to some extent.

Work is being done to make PhD holders employable but depending on where you live, the jobs market may not cope with higher qualifications. I feel that unlike other countries, we do not celebrate the PhD because if it is not matched by a higher salary, your family will not respect you anymore so for having one.

Having worked with doctoral level students for some years in enterprise, they have tremendous potential but are typically located in highly academic environments where this is often not recognised. Add to this the very nature of a PhD, they often miss the opportunities to build and grow a business, or contribute to the growth of a small business. Entrepreneurial people, for example, have to make pressured decisions with incomplete evidence.

Thus joining the dots of a researcher’s competencies and aligning them to the interdisciplinary environments where team working is essential, has thus far demonstrated significant interest.

Sadly, I can count on one hand the people I know who are capable of doing this well.

I’m about to finish my PhD in STEM. As an international student and not having a good reason to stay in the UK like family, the only reason to stay here would be to find a decent research job. Is there any in the UK? Not the traditional tenure track role, but only doing research. Looking at the research job market in Germany for example, MPI or other research institutes offer so much that the UK has nothing to offer compared to them. I like staying but it look like the UK doesn’t have much to offer!

I’m from a working-class background born in the North West of England. I joined the British Army aged 16 without any school qualifications. During my active service career in the Parachute Regiment [serving two intense tours of Northern Ireland], I started taking photographs and began working as a unit photographer. After six years of military service, I left the British army to further my education and enrolled at the University of Brighton getting a 2:1 in editorial photography. Since graduating in the mid-1990s, I worked continually as a freelance photographer, working for national newspapers and magazines, at home and abroad In 2015, I took on a Ph.D. scholarship to better my life and yes, I did expect to get work or at least get on the ladder within an academic institution. I’ve applied for many posts since obtaining my Doctorate and have not got a single interview. The more rejections I get, the more it impacts my mental health and wellbeing. Only recently I applied for an associate lecturers position, at a London university where I have exhibited my photographs, even given lectures on my “professional practice” as a photographer in the past, and know many of the staff working at this university [of which I have contributed my photographs for there book publications]. What is most peculiar, is that I was given a job back in 2018 [when I was finishing my Ph.D. with minor corrections] as an associate lecturer at this very London university. They informed me months later that I was to be placed in the “talent pool”. Although after what seemed like treading water in this imaginary London university “talent pool” for months on end, I was not even called in for a lecture to students. But having a mostly stoic attitude to life, I, therefore, applied again for the same job as an “associate lecture” position at the very same London university. The most recent time I have been rejected, which was less than a few weeks ago [3 November 2021] weeks ago, the person whom I know at the photography department at this very London university kindly emailed me back [as I was slightly disgruntled from not even being asked in for an interview (yet again), but also given any feedback as to why I was not even given an interview despite having my all-singing Doctorate. This was their response: “We had almost 100 applications, all of which go to each of the six Course Leaders to shortlist, and that shortlist is dependent upon applicant’s skills but also have to marry to the Course needs for that year. I am not involved at that stage as it is at Course Level. When they have selected their shortlist according to their needs I do a quick check to make sure there are no conflict of interest or any anomalies – there were not – and then the interview processes begin. As you can see, it isn’t wholly on best qualified in general, rather who on that list is appropriately qualified and who directly fits the Course need. We only feedback in detail to those that were shortlisted – I know that is tricky for all other applicants – but that is the norm and with nigh on 100 applicants, you can see why. In terms of your own trajectory, the Ph.D. when shortlisting for established, rather than hourly-paid staff, is the gold standard. So it is worthwhile and I am sure worthwhile beyond the wholly instrumental. But I get the pragmatics and the frustrations. I do think being hourly-paid brings its own frustrations too… there are no hours guarantee and that can also lead to people understandably feeling undervalued. Some of our hourly paid will do only 15-20 hours across an entire year – that can be tough.”

In all honesty, I have to ask myself tirelessly, was six years of my life working on a Ph.D. to better my life, really worth it? Obviously, it’s marvelous that you can use “Dr” before your name, although many ignorant people [and there are many in the world] who unless you are a clinical Doctor, being a Doctor of Philosophy means nada. Which is a great shame and is a reflection of British society [I work for a veterans charity in the UK, who are clearly confused by all Doctors of Philosophy, and indeed philosophy in general terms, dare I even put it before my name, is a general feeling here].

Therefore I conclude: was doing a Ph.D. really worth it? Fineanchly no. My “scholarship” was 15 K a year. I don’t know why I put my own family through such heartache and pain. I even had to leave my home in England and move to Northern Ireland for the first year, which really impacted my young family. And to think that after all this heartache and struggling, I am struggling even more. I have to be both mindful & truthful here: the Jury is still out…

As a former Merchant Navy Officer and 12 years as a Bomber Command Navigator. I then worked as a Professional Navigator for Irish, and South African Airways. I finally Matriculated as a mature student at Oxford University in September 1979 and obtained a PHD in Astrophysics from Oxford in 1984. I then worked at the University of London Observatory at Mill Hill where I wrote the software for the Tycho project carried on the Hipparchos satellite of the European Space Agency. I also spent some time in industry as Principal Engineer in the advanced system study group at Racal Avionics, returning to lecture in aeronautics at London Guildhall University. As a Professional Navigator both at sea and in the air I am now a Member of The Royal Institute of Navigation. Publications: D Phil Thesis. (Including various astronomical papers.)

‘Some Aspects of Extra-Galactic Astrophysics’ Oxford University. 1983. Brasenose College.

The Numinous Legacy. Modern Cosmology and Religion. 2002. (see Amazon Books.)

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• PhD Employability and Earnings

Written by Ben Taylor

PhDs provide you with an opportunity to pursue original research in your area of specialism, allowing you to eventually become a genuine expert.

But will a PhD help you get a job or earn a better salary? And what are your career prospects in and outside of academia?

This page uses data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and the UK Government to give you an idea of PhD employment rates and earnings.

On this page

Will a phd make me more employable.

A PhD is a versatile, well-respected qualification that can prepare you for a range of careers – both within and outside academia. Transferrable skills like project management, research capabilities and public speaking will be valued by employers across a range of sectors.

Data from the UK government shows that, compared to those among taught Masters graduates, PhD employment rates are higher . This information is based on the Graduate Outcomes survey by HESA that contacted graduates from the 2019-20 academic year 15 months after finishing their courses.

Bear in mind when looking at the data on this page that it isn’t a guarantee that you’ll enjoy the same benefits from your PhD. After all, it’s historical information – but it can be a good way to gauge future prospects.

Will a PhD help me get a better job?

According to HESA, the vast majority of PhD holders are employed in professional occupations. In fact, if you have a PhD you’re around 6% more likely to have a professional role than someone with a taught Masters.

There is a fairly small difference when it comes to the most senior roles – managers and directors – with Masters graduates slightly more likely to hold these kinds of position.

Will a PhD increase my salary?

Another factor you might think about when considering a doctorate is whether it’ll improve your earning potential.

Looking again at the Graduate Outcomes survey from HESA, it does seem that PhD holders are more likely to enjoy higher earnings than people with a Masters degree.

As you can see in the table below, those with a PhD are more likely to earn more than £30,000 per year than their Masters counterparts. 88% of PhD respondents to the survey replied that they earned above £30,000, compared to 62% of Masters graduates.

Another source of information on salaries for PhD graduates in the UK is HMRC’s postgraduate outcomes dataset. This uses tax data rather than relying on people who respond to a survey (like HESA’s Graduate Outcomes), so can be a particularly useful way of measuring earnings.

The table below is from the 2019-20 tax year and compares the median earnings from several different periods after graduation.

How many PhD students become professors?

Although there aren’t any datasets that show how many PhD students go on to become professors, there are surveys that reveal the proportion of PhD holders who continue their careers in higher education.

Analysis by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) reveals that about 20% of PhD holders are classified as ‘higher education teaching professionals’ three and a half years after finishing their programme. An additional 10% remain in academia and are involved in research.

Just over half of those people who had left academia after completing their PhD ended up working in a research role. It’s also worth bearing in mind that STEM PhD holders are more likely to find work in a research role than Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences students.

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Master, PhD and Postdoc Scholarships

• PhD Salary in UK

The United Kingdom boasts some of the world’s most prestigious universities and research institutions, including Oxford University, Cambridge University, and Imperial College London. However, it’s essential to recognize that PhD salaries in the UK can vary significantly based on the institution and funding source. In this post, we provide an in-depth exploration of PhD salaries in the United Kingdom, encompassing stipends and scholarships. Towards the end of this article, you’ll find a comprehensive list of UK PhD scholarships.

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Average Salary for PhD and Postdoc Positions in the UK

When discussing salaries, we focus on fully-funded PhD positions. It’s crucial to note that self-funded PhD students typically do not receive a salary. An exception exists for students who secure funding from their home countries or other institutions. The salary information presented here pertains to PhD students remunerated by British institutes for their doctoral studies.

It’s important to highlight that the salary (stipend) is not a fixed value and varies based on the funding source and host university. According to the Research Council UK, the minimum Doctoral stipend is £15,285 per annum. Importantly, stipends are tax-free. However, international students requiring a visa to study in the UK must also account for health insurance, as mandated by the UK government. This requirement applies to individuals who:

• Are nationals of countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA)
• Are applying for a visa to work, study, or join family in the UK for more than six months (excluding permanent residence)

Healthcare Surcharge (Health Insurance) for PhD Students

The healthcare surcharge is a fixed annual fee. As per the UK government, this fee amounts to £400 per year. Consequently, for a 3.5-year PhD program, you’ll pay £1,400 as a lump sum when applying for your visa. Additionally, a £348 visa fee applies. Therefore, the total cost when applying for a visa and healthcare surcharge comes to £1,748. This payment ensures full coverage by the National Health System (NHS) during your study period in the UK.

After graduating, you can extend your visa for two years to seek employment in the UK. The UK government has introduced a new initiative enabling eligible students to work in any career or position for two years post-completion of their studies.

Salary of PhD Positions Funded by Marie Curie Early Stage Researcher

Returning to the topic of salaries, PhD positions funded by Marie Curie Early Stage Researcher (ITN PhD positions) offer significantly higher pay than other positions. A Marie Curie Early Stage Researcher in the UK can expect an annual salary ranging from £30,000 to £35,000. This is double the typical stipend in the UK. For further insights into the Marie-Curie Program, please refer to our dedicated post.

Average Salary for Graduates Holding a PhD in the UK

A PhD in the UK opens doors to higher salaries, enhanced opportunities, and increased employability. On average, graduates with a PhD in the UK earn annual salaries ranging from £33,000 to £55,000, based on data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

While pursuing a PhD in the UK can be a significant financial investment, the potential benefits are substantial, especially for those aspiring to work in academia or engage in research and development.

Fully Funded PhD and Postdoc Opportunities in the UK

Fastepo provides a dedicated section for Fully Funded PhD and Postdoc opportunities in the UK, featuring:

• Different Funded PhD Programs in UK
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Fastepo Team will update all types of academic positions (the latest ones) when they become available. Moreover, be sure to follow our Facebook page to stay up-to-date on new positions. We have PhD and Postdoc related videos on our Youtube channel if you don’t like reading text.

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PhDs hit hardest as inflation erodes value of graduate salaries

Department for education figures also show that uk course with highest average salary after five years pays seven times more than the course with the lowest.

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Continued inflation means that UK graduates are earning less in real terms than they used to and those with PhDs are particularly affected, figures suggest.

The  Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) data set  for the 2021-22 tax year shows that the median salary for UK first-degree graduates five years into their careers was £29,900 – up 3.8 per cent from the 2020-21 tax year.

Median salaries also rose to £36,100 for graduates of master’s degrees, and to £41,200 for PhD graduates.

However, when wages are adjusted for inflation, 2021-22 graduate earnings  actually decreased compared with the previous tax year across all levels .

The real-terms value of first-degree graduates’ salaries fell by 2.3 per cent, and by 2.8 per cent for master’s students – but the biggest decrease of all came for the most qualified students.

When adjusted for inflation to 2015-16 prices, the median PhD graduate salary five years after graduating was £35,600 – down from £37,100 in 2020-21. This 4 per cent drop was the largest in the seven-year period of research.

This meant that obtaining a PhD was worth £9,800 more in median earnings than an undergraduate degree and £4,400 more than a master’s – both of which are the lowest on record.

The real median earnings of PhD graduates also fell by 5.8 per cent for those 10 years after graduation – to £38,700.

The Department for Education cautioned that the 2021-22 tax year overlapped with the pandemic, when some support programmes such as the furlough scheme were coming to an end.

Previous studies have  suggested that doctoral graduates will only start to benefit financially from their PhD more than 30 years after embarking on their studies .

Researchers found that the costs of taking a PhD – including doctoral fees, the years of lost income and the loss of accrued experience in employment – could mean that PhD graduates are worse off financially for decades.

Separate figures published at a provider level  reveal that the course with the highest average salary five years after graduating is seven times larger than the course with the lowest.

University of Sunderland graduates in allied health were earning the lowest of all courses and higher education providers – taking home a median salary of just £14,600. This was followed by £15,300 for creative arts graduates from the University of the Highlands and Islands , and £16,100 for health and social graduates from Plymouth Marjon University .

In contrast, computing graduates of the University of Cambridge earned an average salary of £99,600, and those from Imperial College London , £86,100.

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Average graduate salary UK

Gaining a degree require years of hard work and thousands of pounds in university tuition fees, but are graduates getting a good deal once they enter the job market?

We have analysed all of the public information available to find out what the average graduate salary is in the UK in 2022, along with additional information on which subjects or universities are most lucrative, and which regions graduates can earn the biggest starting salaries.

Key graduate salary statistics 2022

• The average graduate salary in the UK in 2022 is £24,291.
• Medicine & dentistry degrees offer the highest average starting salaries at £35,000.
• London graduates earn the most across all UK regions with an average salary of £28,634, whilst grads in Wales earn the least at £22,420.
• Rothschilds offers the highest paid graduate scheme with a £65,000 starting salary.
• Male graduates earn an average of 6% more than their female counterparts.
• Graduates earn an average of £7,000 per year than non-graduates
• The total outstanding amount of student debt in the UK surpassed £177 billion in 2021.

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The average starting salary for a graduate in the UK for 2022 is £24,291 – this is a 5% decrease from 2021 (£25,466).

Graduate salaries per subject

The subject studied at university is an important factor in the starting salary achievable by a graduate.

Below are the average starting salaries for graduates in each subject area, which is further divided into high-skill, medium-skill, and low-skill. These skill levels are defined by HESA and relate to the technical ability involved in the role. For example, in education a low skilled role could be a teaching assistant and a high skilled role could be a head teacher.

Average graduate salary per region

The table below shows the average starting graduate salary for every region in the UK. Note that the region indicates where the location where the graduate has gained employment as opposed to the location of the university they studied at.

London tops the starting salary list for graduates with an average starting salary of £28K , whilst Wales offers the least at £22K. However, cost of living differences across region may decrease the purchasing power of some of the higher salaries here.

“The average salary being advertised online is £5,002 greater than the average salary actually being achieved by graduates.”

Average graduate salary advertised

According to Glassdoor, the average graduate role in the UK is offering a salary of £29,293 – this is £5,002 more than the average graduate salary being achieved.

This could mean that advertised salaries are being inflated, or that in some cases “graduate roles” may also require candidates to have work experience in the job description , which employers are prepared to pay more for. Either way, entry-level graduates jobs are paying less in reality, than what is being advertised online

Best paying universities

The university which a student attends can have a huge impact on the starting salary they are able to achieve. This is likely due to a number of factors including the subjects available at each university, the standard of teaching and the reputation a university has amongst employers.

This table shows the top ten universities in the UK with the percentage of graduates who achieved a starting salary of £51,000 or higher.

University College of Estate Management is specialist remote learning institute offering courses in real estate exclusively, which could account for its position in this table. London School of Economics and the remaining universities on the list offer a broader range of course subjects.

Highest paying graduate schemes

The highest paying graduate schemes in the UK sit within finance and banking, and pay more than double the average starting salary for grads.

Below are the top 10 highest paying graduate schemes currently available in the UK.

• Rothschilds – Private Finance – £65,000
• JP. Morgan – Investment Banking – £58,000
• Goldman Sachs – Investment Banking – £52,000
• The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) – Investment Banking – £54,000
• Barclays Capital – Investment Banking – £50,000
• White and Chase – Legal Services – £50,000
• British Petroleum (BP) – Oil and Gas – £49,000
• Baker McKenzie – Legal Services – £48,000
• The Phoenix Partnership (TPP) – Software – £45,000
• Aldi – Retail – £44,000

Highest paying public sector graduate schemes

Careers in the public sector are considered to be safe and secure with many of them offering good financial rewards and job stability over the long term.

These are the 8 highest paying graduate schemes in the public sector.

• MI5 – Technology graduate development programme – £34,366.00
• Intellectual Property Office – Telecoms – £33,101.00
• HM Revenue & Customs – Tax Professional Programme – £30,880.00
• National Audit Office – £29,978.00
• NHS – Health Policy Fast Track Scheme – £28,966.00
• Civil service – Fast stream – £28,000.00
• Government Legal Profession – £28,000.00
• The Forestry Commission – £25,594.00

Graduate gender pay gap

Male graduates who obtained first-class degree qualifications and entered full time jobs in the UK in 2019 were paid an average of £26,000 compared to women who were paid £24,500 – a 6% difference .

On average, male graduates at the age of 25 earn 5% more than the average female graduate . By age 30, the gender pay gap in annual earnings stands at 25%.

The graph below from StandOut CV shows the portion of graduates and their earnings for men and women.

A key takeaway from this graph is that the gender pay increase with higher paid roles, to the point where at the top end of the scale, only 3% of female graduates earn over £51,000 compared to 7% of men .

Graduates becoming CEOs

Chief executive officer (CEO) is the top job available in large organisations and consistently ranks amongst the highest paying jobs in the UK with an average salary of £81,102 and many CEOs earning well in excess of this figure.

Recruitment firm Forward Role analysed over 260,000 LinkedIn profiles to discover which universities and degrees were propelling the most graduates to this sought-after position.

The top 20 universities producing the most CEOs

Which degrees produce the most CEOs?

Graduates VS Non graduates

Data from the Department of education shows median salary for graduates over their entire working career is £34,000 – whereas the median lifetime salary for a non-graduate is £25,000. This means that graduates earn an average of £7,000 per year more than their non-graduate counterpart s and this results in a lifetime earnings gap of £321,000.

The cost of university

Whilst a degree is likely to land you a higher paid job, the cost of gaining one is becoming increasingly expensive in the UK.

Tuition fees are the biggest cost a student will have to bear (in addition to living costs) which pay for the key elements of course delivery such as lectures, campus facilities and student support services.

Tuition fees across the UK are as follows and will vary depending on where the student’s home region is:

• England: up to £9,250 per year
• Scotland: Up to £9,250 per year
• Northern Ireland: up to £9,250 per year
• Wales: Up to £9,000 per year

Student debt

Most students take out Student Loans to finance their studies which were introduced by the government to make gaining a degree more accessible.

Here are the important numbers around student debt in the UK.

Average student loan debt UK

The average outstanding amount of student loan in the UK, split into regions is shown below:

• England: £45,060
• Wales: £27,600
• Northern Ireland: £24,720
• Scotland: £15,170

When student loans have to be paid

Student loans do not have to be paid back until the graduate is earning over a threshold set by the government.

Below are the repayment thresholds for each UK region.

Student debt repayment time

In the UK it takes an average of 29 years and 4 months for graduates to pay off their student loans .

According to the UK Government, it is expected that just 25% of undergraduates will repay their full student loan.

Outstanding student debt UK

According to data released by the Student Loans Company, the total outstanding amount of student debt in the UK surpassed £177 billion in 2021 . By 2050 they expect the figure to reach £560 billion.

Student cost of living

In the pursuit of gaining a lucrative degree, students will often live away from home for the first time and encounter numerous living costs from rent and utility bills, to takeaway food and nights out socialising.

The average university student shells out £810 per month according to a leading student website’s survey.

In addition to the above, NatWest’s Student living index unveiled the following facts:

• 54% of students rely on their student loan to pay their rent and 37% rely on parents or family, whilst only 13% use their own income .
• Average student monthly rents across the UK have increased by 18.5% since 2020
• 27% of UK students have found themselves running out of money by end of the semester

For more analysis on how graduates compete in the UK job market, including employment and unemployment numbers, see our full UK graduates statistics analysis.

Most expensive Uni towns

Whilst the average student rent across the UK sits at £421 per month, some towns and cities can cost a lot more.

These are the top 5 most expensive town/cities for student accommodation in the UK.

Cheapest Uni towns

At the other end of the spectrum, these are the university towns with the 5 lowest student rents.

HESA | Graduate outcome report – https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/graduates

Target Jobs | BestPublic sector schemes – https://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/public-services-and-administration/what-starting-salary-should-graduate

Glassdoor | Average graduate job salary UK – https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/Salaries/graduate-salary-SRCH_KO0,8.htm

UCAS | Tuition fees – https://www.ucas.com/finance/undergraduate-tuition-fees-and-student-loans

Glide – Highest paid graduate schemes UK – https://glide.co.uk/guides/highest-paid-graduate-schemes/

Forward role | Graduate CEO study – https://www.forwardrole.com/blog/2019/10/which-universities-produce-most-ceos

Natwest | Student living index – https://www.natwest.com/life-moments/students-and-graduates/student-living-index.html

Save the Student | National Student Money Survey – https://www.savethestudent.org/money/student-budgeting/what-do-students-spend-their-money-on.html

HEFCE | Nature and extent of undergraduates’ work experience – https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/5159/1/rd19_02.pdf

IFS | Gender differences in subject choice lead to gender pay gap immediately after graduation – https://ifs.org.uk/publications/15657#:~:text=At%20age%2025%2C%20the%20average,annual%20earnings%20stands%20at%2025%25

UK Gov | Average Loan Balance on entry into repayment – https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/992172/Average_loan_balance_on_entry_into_repayment.pdf

Cosmopolitan | It takes a depressingly long time to pay off your student loan – https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/worklife/campus/a12443209/how-long-uni-students-pay-student-loans/

UK Parliament | House of Commons Library: Student loan statistics https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn01079/

Statista | Outstanding debt of student loans in the UK 2013-2021 – https://www.statista.com/statistics/376411/uk-outstanding-student-loan-debt/

StandOut CV | Graduate statistics – https://standout-cv.com/uk-graduate-statistics

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Graduate salaries in the uk.

Micha-Shannon Smith

What is the average UK starting salary for graduates? This is a relatively simple question, but the answer is much more complicated - not least because it varies by region and industry

Graduate salary data is very difficult to track accurately and raises many questions, including:

• How many hours are graduates working a week?
• What currency are they being paid in?
• What other company benefits are they getting?
• Which exchange rate do you use?
• Which average do you use?

However, due to its importance in the decision making of employers, students and graduates, salary can still be a useful metric.

This article is regularly updated with the most recent data

What is the average graduate starting salary?

Institute of Student Employers (ISE) research indicates that the average graduate salary in the UK sits at £33,229 . 1 However, with ISE research primarily focusing on large businesses and graduate schemes, this figure is significantly higher than the average graduate salary reported by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

According to data from HESA’s most recent Graduate Outcomes survey of 2020/21 graduates, the average salary reported by first-degree graduates in full-time employment was £27,340 fifteen months after graduation.

While useful, it is likely that both of these figures are too general, with average salaries hiding key influences that factors like industry and region of employment can have on graduate earnings.

How does salary vary by region?

HESA Graduate Outcomes data reveals notable regional differences in reported salaries among 2020/21 graduates fifteen months after graduating. For instance, graduates who found employment in London reported higher salaries, on average, than those in any other region of the UK. The average annual salary for those working in London was £6,203 higher than those working in Wales (roughly £119 a week).

However, wide disparities between different local economies in the UK mean that costs of living vary significantly and this, in turn, means that salary and actual disposable incomes are not synonymous. 2

Where is the most affordable graduate destination?

Having a higher salary does not always mean more purchasing power for graduates. To put salary data into context, we can use housing prices as a proxy for cost of living to analyse which regions of the UK have the greatest cost of living to salary ratio. Assuming that house prices reflect the cost of living in an area/region, a lower median house price to median salary ratio in an area should mean greater purchasing power for graduates working there when compared to graduates employed in an area on the opposite end of the spectrum.

To put this into perspective, a recent graduate earning an average salary in London may need to work three times as long as a graduate earning an average salary in the North East of England in order to buy a house. 3,4

For more in depth analysis on the relationship between graduate salaries and the cost of living in UK cities, see Charlie Ball’s two part series .

Which are the best-paying industries?

The ISE and Graduate Outcomes disagree about which industries pay the most and what they pay. Comparing them is not straightforward, though, as there are differences in how industries are grouped. Built environment, for example, does not have its own category in Graduate Outcomes. Despite this, we can still see overlap with financial services, engineering, IT, and energy appearing on both.

A more detailed overview of average salaries for various occupations can be found by browsing  job profiles  on Prospects.

Over time we have seen wholescale changes in the labour market. For example, 40% of jobs today are in roles that did not exist 50 years ago. Yet, many of the industries on these lists are those that have been practised for centuries and have traditionally been well paid.

How much more do graduates earn than non-graduates?

Statistics from the Department of Education show that the median annual salary for UK graduates was £38,500 in 2022, this was £11,500 more than working-age non-graduates (£27,000), and £6,500 less than postgraduates. 5

Moreover, research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies on the impact of an undergraduate degree on lifetime earnings reveals that the discounted difference in lifetime earnings between graduates and non-graduates is £430k for men and £260k for women. However, once taxes and student loans are taken into account, the earnings premium declines to around £130k for men and £100k for women. This represents a gain in average net lifetime earnings of around 20% for both men and women. 6

Also in this series:

• Graduate salaries in context: what do they really mean?
• These cities give graduates the best value for their salary
• How graduate salaries vary by degree subject
• Student Recruitment Survey 2022 , Institute of Student Employers, 2022.
• Graduate salaries in context: what do they really mean? , Luminate, 2019.
• House price to residence-based earnings ratio , Office for National Statistics, 2023.
• For a more local view, see ONS data (Tabs 3c and 5c).
• Graduate labour market statistics , Department for Education, 2022.
• The impact of undergraduate degrees on lifetime earnings , Institute for Fiscal Studies, 2020.

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• #Graduate-premium
• #Labour-market

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Careers and alumni

• Graduate Outcomes

Advice and support

Skills and employability, become an entrepreneur.

A graduate degree from Oxford can greatly enhance your skills and career prospects. What's more, as a graduate student you'll have access to outstanding careers support and advice, as well as exclusive resources and opportunities.

Graduate outcomes

What do Oxford graduates do and where might an Oxford degree take you? The most recent  Graduate Outcomes Survey (GOS)  with data collected from 2017-18 research graduates approximately 15 months after graduation shows the possible routes and careers paths.

The survey was sent to 1,286 recent PGR graduates; 721 responses were received giving a response rate of 56%. Further details and key figures from the survey response data are shown below.

• Almost 80% of recent PGR graduates were in paid work for an employer; less than 3% were unemployed and looking for work.
• Almost all employed graduates were in graduate level jobs, mostly in education, research and development, or health industries. 
• More than half of those reporting said they took their job as it fitted with their career plans or was exactly what they wanted to do. 
• 52% of graduates in paid work for an employer were on a fixed-term contract lasting 12 months or longer, and 42% were employed permanently.
• Average annual salary was £41,600, with a median of £35,700 (from 320 graduates that disclosed annual salary in pounds).
• Almost 89% of graduates agreed their current work was meaningful and that they were utilising what they had learnt in their studies.

Survey results

Main activity 15 months after graduation.

Paid work for an employer: 79.6%

Engaging in a course of study, training or research: 6.1%

Unemployed and looking for work: 2.6%

Self-employment/freelancing: 2.6%

Caring for someone (unpaid): 1.9%

Running my own business: 1.8%

Doing something else: 1.7%

Developing a creative, artistic or professional portfolio: 1.4%

Taking time out to travel: 0.8%

Retired: 0.7%

Voluntary/unpaid work for employer: 0.7%

The main reason to take the job*

Fitted into my career plan/it was exactly the type of work I wanted: 57.4%

To gain and broaden my experience to get the type of job I really want: 13.1%

It was the best job offer I received: 8.6%

It was the right location: 7.0%

In order to earn a living: 5.7%

To see if I would like the type of work it involved: 4.9%

It was an opportunity to progress in the organisation: 2.0%

The job was well paid: 1.2%

Top industries of employment (accepting more than 10 graduates)*

Entered education: 45.8%

Entered scientific research and development: 13.6%

Entered human health activities: 7.3%

Entered computer programming, consultancy and related activities: 5.6%

Not known: 4.4%

Entered activities of head offices including management consultancy activities: 2.8%

Entered financial service activities (except insurance and pension funding): 2.8%

Entered activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies: 2.1%

Entered public administration and defence including compulsory social security: 2.1%

Top occupations (more than 10 graduates)*

Natural and social sciences professionals: 46.0%

Teaching and education professionals: 13.4%

Business, research and administrative professionals: 11.1%

Information technology and telecommunications professionals: 5.7%

Health professionals: 5.1%

Not known: 3.8%

Business, finance and related associate professionals: 3.0%

*Limited to respondents in paid work for an employer.

Further graduate destinations data:

Previously all undergraduate and postgraduate alumni have been surveyed approximately six months after they leave Oxford as part of the Government's Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey. 

The report includes:

• Overview of destinations
• Destinations by course
• Sectors and roles
• Employment locations in the UK
• Type of further study by division and department
• Type of further study by course.

The results of those surveyed between 2012-17 (those who left in the academic years of 2011/12 - 2016/17) can be viewed at  DLHE Survey 2012-2017 . 

Comprehensive careers advice and support for all our graduate students is available from our expert Careers Service.

The careers services available to Oxford students include:

• 1:1 meetings with a careers adviser
• 12 careers fairs each year, with 600+ exhibitors
• more than 200 events run by employers and careers advisers each year
• over 12,000 vacancies advertised on CareerConnect each year
• a wide range of skills and employability programmes
• exclusive internship programmes.

Personalised advice

The  University’s Careers Service  is here to help you prepare for your future, whether you have a clear idea of what you’d like to do next, or no idea at all.

As a student, you’ll be able to book 1:1 careers consultations with experienced careers advisers to get impartial, confidential careers advice based on your needs. Specialist advisers can provide advice tailored for students with different requirements, including students with disabilities. 

Careers Services appointment are also available to alumni within two years of the course-end date, outside term time.

Resources and opportunities

As one of our graduate students, you’ll be able to take advantage of services available only to Oxford students. This includes talks from industry experts, skills workshops, updates from the Careers Service and access to CareerConnect .

CareerConnect is the University’s careers hub, available only for Oxford students and alumni. About 12,000 vacancies are advertised every year on CareerConnect.

Chances to meet employers

Many top employers visit the University as part of one of our many careers events held throughout the year. 

Our most popular fair, the Oxford University Careers Fair is held in Michaelmas term (October) and welcomes employers coving a wide range of sectors. There are also careers fairs for specific careers or sectors, such as the Law Fair, Finance Fair, Careers in Computing Fair, Science, Technology and Engineering Fair and Jobs for Mathematicians Fair.

Many of our departments have close links with industry and host visits from industry employers, allowing students to find out more about potential career options.

Support for DPhil students

The University aims to provide you with the best possible opportunities for personal and career development. You’ll receive tailored support through your division’s graduate school, including a broad range of training courses and workshops for developing both academic and professional skills. You may also benefit from skills training from the Bodleian Libraries, IT Services, the Language Centre, and researcher development across other divisions.

Your supervisor will help you to identify courses that will be most useful to you and build a bespoke programme of training and development based on your individual needs.

Teaching and demonstrating are a great way to develop a range of personal skills, and reinforce your knowledge of your subject. You may take up teaching opportunities within your faculty or department, particularly if you intend to pursue an academic career path.

Whether you plan to stay in academic research, or are exploring other options, the Careers Service offers dedicated services for researchers, including advice and resources on:

• exploring career options within academia and beyond
• making your DPhil count
• boosting your employability
• making applications.

This includes Career Management workshops to help you consider possible career paths, identify what you have to offer and focus on boosting your core skills.

At the annual Careers Conference for Researchers , you’ll have the opportunity to learn more about career paths that may be open to you and meet potential employers. At many fairs, the Careers Service runs Researchers@, a pre-fair hour hosted by a specialist careers adviser to help you get the most from the fair.

The Research Careers website is edited by DPhil students and researchers, working in partnership with the Careers Service. Here, you can find career profiles across a range of fascinating sectors written by researchers now working outside academic research.

Oxford is one of the top 10 universities in the world for graduate employability (QS World University Rankings 2020). Our graduate degrees are highly regarded by employers. During your time at Oxford, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to develop your skills and enhance your career prospects.

In addition to the valuable experience you’ll gain as part of your degree, our Careers Service can help you identify your needs and improve those skills through programmes that emphasise real-world experience and problem-solving.

Exclusive internships

You’ll be able to apply for internships offered exclusively to Oxford students. These are a great way to gain experience, build your CV and explore possible career paths. 

The Summer Internship Programme offers access to global internship opportunities during the summer vacation. Hundreds of 2- to 12-week summer internships are available in more than 40 countries (including the UK), and in a wide variety of sectors.

Here are just some of the exciting funded opportunities that have been previously offered:

• internships with world-leading international development organisations, such as the UN Development Programme and development charities in Africa, Asia and Latin America
• placements at multinational firms like Sony in Japan and boutique finance companies around the world
• scientific research internships with universities and institutes in India, Brazil, Russia, Germany, China and more
• teaching positions in schools around the world
• arts and heritage internships, from the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg to the Naval History Museum in Washington DC.

The  Micro-Internship Programme  offers convenient, short-term work placements with organisations in the UK and Europe. Placements can be research-based or professional, and host organisations range from investment banks and consultancy firms to tech start-ups and heritage sites. Your travel and lunch expenses will be covered, and they’re an excellent way to fit valuable work experience around your studies. 

Development opportunities

The Oxford Strategy Challenge (TOSCA) is a team-based experiential learning event with participants working on real strategy-focused client challenges over a week. It offers an opportunity to develop a broad range of transferable skills including teamwork, leadership, communication and business awareness. These along with the client relationship experience, will help you demonstrate your potential in applications, on your CV and in interviews.

Progressing from the Oxford Strategy Challenge, the Student Consultancy  is an innovative scheme that can help you gain demonstrable skills in consultation and collaboration, as part of helping local business, charities and community organisations with their real business challenges. Since the scheme’s launch, over 3,000 students have taken part, helping more than 250 clients.

As part of a team, you’ll work over eight weeks to address a strategic issue or business problem for a client organisation in Oxford or the surrounding area. Students at every level can benefit from the programme—you’ll have the chance to develop your skills in strategic thinking, self-management, team working, commercial awareness, problem-solving and communication.

For DPhil students, the Researcher Strategy Consultancy can help develop the core employability skills you’ll need to transition into analytical, business or policy roles in the public or private sector. Working in small teams over a 3-month period, you’ll address a strategic issue or business opportunity for a client organisation. The programme offers huge benefits, whatever your career plans.

Oxford has an excellent track record in fostering entrepreneurship and innovation. The University provides an ideal environment for starting a business, with a wealth of support, training and funding available to help you bring your ideas to life. 

Commercialising research

We're focused on the real-world impact of our research. We’re one of the UK’s most successful organisations for commercialising research through technology licensing, accounting for £1 for every £10 earned by UK higher education. 

Oxford University Innovation (OUI) has created over 160 spinout companies—more than any other UK institution—and was named best in the world in the 2017 Global University Venturing awards. These spinouts have raised over £1.9 billion in external investment since 2011, and now have a global turnover of over £600 million. The OUI’s new £500,000 fund, SE2020, supports the development and acceleration of spinouts where the focus is solving a social or environmental problem. 

Oxford Sciences Enterprises , a company in its own right, is the largest university venture fund manager focused on a single institution in the world, with £580 million under management.

You can visit our Started in Oxford page, or follow the hashtag  #StartedinOxford to find out more about the many exciting companies created here. 

Get involved

We believe that anyone can be an entrepreneur. Whether you have a great idea of your own or want to get involved with an existing project, at Oxford you can find like-minded people, build confidence, develop your business judgement and gain practical skills that will support your future.

Oxford is home to the largest student entrepreneur society in Europe, Oxford Entrepreneurs , which offers events, networking and competitions, as well as opportunities for pitching, funding and learning. 

There are opportunities to try out consultancy, including the   Consulting Services at OUI  and the   Student Consultancy from the University Careers Service. 

The Oxford Foundry  is a new entrepreneurial hub at the heart of the University. The Foundry is a centre for entrepreneurship and a thriving community where you can collaborate and exchange ideas while gaining skills in technology, leadership and personal resilience. Through its competitive accelerator programme, the Foundry supports and nurtures early-stage start-up teams affiliated with the University.

The  Oxford Hub is a charity aiming to help empower people to make positive change in their communities, with a network of student-run groups. If you have a project you’d like to incubate, you can apply for a ‘Try It’ grant of £500 or a ‘Do It’ grant of £5000. Through the scheme you’ll also be able to access support for your project and become part of a community of people tackling social and environmental issues in Oxford. 

For a comprehensive guide to what’s going on at the University, visit Enterprising Oxford . 

After your degree, you'll join our community of more than 300,000 Oxford alumni worldwide. Your membership of the University can have lifelong benefits, particularly for your career.

Careers advice and support

As an Oxonian, you can benefit from the University's support at every stage of your career, wherever you are in the world. Whether you're searching for your first job, thinking about a career change or hoping to network with others in your industry, we have a range of services to help you:

• search job vacancies on CareerConnect;
• attend our career fairs;
• career advice appointments available to alumni within two years of the course-end date, outside term time; and
• attend events tailored for alumni.

The Oxford Alumni Group Network  is a professional networking platform, designed to help you connect with Oxford alumni all over the world. You can use the community to:

• access the knowledge, expertise and connections of fellow Oxonians;
• find and post jobs exclusively within the alumni community;
• reconnect with other alumni;
• share your expertise, offer advice and become a mentor; and
• find out about events for Oxford alumni. 

Alumni groups

Oxford's alumni network is global: there are over 150 regional alumni groups in 90 countries . Alumni groups are a great way to keep in touch with fellow Oxonians and continue your relationship with the University, as well as providing opportunities for networking or careers mentoring.

• The Careers Service
• The Careers Service blog
• Research Careers
• Oxford Alumni
• Destination statistics

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Doctorate (PhD), Chemistry Degree

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