The increasingly competitive nature of the Graduate Job market means that deciding to do a degree requires more then a simple love of the subject. A degree is more commonly seen as an investment, an investment into increased future earnings.
Labour Force Survey
So how wise has your decision to study economics been? There has been a lot of research into this area, with numerous surveys and results. The Office of National Statistics conducted research into graduate earnings. There graph below shows the average percentage premium that graduates earned over those without a degree but with two or more A- Levels ( in simplier terms, if Martha and Cyril both completed 3 A-levels but Cyril went to University whilst Martha worked and then they both applied for the same job, it is the increased amount the Cyril will earn as a result of his degree compared to Martha).
Source: LFS Survey, ONS, 1994 - 2006.
This is an uplifting find. If you are a female economics graduate, you can expect to earn 68% more then a fellow female student who stopped at A-level. Economics also scores well when compared to other subjects - for example compare the results to the increased earnings of a Social Science graduate.
The Complete University Guide
So, as a percentage you can expect to get more but how much can you expect to earn? The Complete University Guide has formulated a table which shows averages earnings by degree. You'll be pleased to hear economics comes fifth, only being beaten by Medicine, Dentistry, Chemical and General Engineering. According to the Complete University guide, as an economics graduate you can expect to earn £23,060 (it is unclear within what time period). The average earnings of all 61 subjects in the survey is £19,054.46 earning economics graduates £4,005.54 above the average graduate and £8,728.98 over the average salary of a non-graduate. So, assuming you stay in the same job for 5 years with no increases or decreases in earnings, according to the Complete University Guide, you will have earnt £43,644.92 more then a non-graduate. Average Student Debt is over £17,500 (The Independant) but it doesn't take a degree in economics to realise that £43,644.92 is significantly more - making your degree seem more worthwhile.
Prospectus
The Prospectus site looks at possible earnings from a different point of view- not by your degree but by the job sector your first graduate job will be in. As Economists it is unlikely that we will go into ‘Sports and Fitness Occupations' with an average salary of £15,816 (average salary of full time, first degree leavers who entered full time employment in the UK). Our expected job ‘sectors' look quite promising, business and statistical professionals can expect to earn £21,626 and business and finance professionals could expect £21,157.
The site also looks into the type of organisation and the mean salary, in an accountancy or professional services firm your salary will be around the £24,250 mark whilst if you work in banking or financial services you can expect to earn around £29,000 - not bad for a graduate job! Of course, with economics finance, banking and accountancy are not your only options (have a look at ‘what graduates do'). The Prospectus site has more information on graduate earnings.
Economics Network Alumni Survey
The Economics Network recently competed an Alumni survey, asking past students of economics a series of questions regarding their studies and their current positions. The results showed that 43.8% of economics alumni were now earning £40,000+, up 7% on the results from the 2004 alumni. 80.9% earn over £25,000 (25% more then the 2004 survey) and, with over half of these in the £40,000 + bracket, the salary for economics alumni looks good.
A full report of the alumni findings will be available soon.
In Conclusion
All of these pieces of research come to different conclusions stating different starting salaries for economics graduates in different sectors. Which one you choose to take as true is entirely up to you, and not entirely necessary.All of the research highlights one key point; economics graduates can expect to earn above average starting salaries leading to a faster degree pay back period and a better rate of return.