To degree or not to degree, based on the UK’s latest graduate earnings data

We’re past the halfway mark into 2025, and yes, a university degree is still worth it.

An analysis of government data on graduate earnings by Universities UK (UUK) found that graduates in England typically earn more throughout their lifetime compared to those who could have continued in education but chose to work instead.

Tracking the earnings of those aged 17 to 31, the analysis showed that graduates rapidly catch up with and overtake non-graduates, despite spending fewer years working, and this difference is sustained throughout their careers.

Some of the data show that:

• Graduates earn at least 20% more than non-graduates once they are in their mid-20s. By age 31, graduates typically earn 37% more.
• Between the ages of 23 and 31, average earnings grow by 72% for graduates compared to 31% for non-graduates.
• Graduates aged over thirty are more likely to be in work than those without a degree.

But that’s not all, nor is it the entire story. 

Do your graduate earnings cover the money it took to pursue university? We sure hope so. Source: AFP

Why you shouldn’t trust every stat about graduate earnings

There has been much criticism of any form of graduate earnings data. There are two highlighted by Times Higher Education:

Firstly, the Graduate Labour Market (GLM) statistics – the annual publication which presents labour market conditions for graduates, postgraduates, and non-graduates living in England – by the UK government’s Department for Education (DfE)

The issue with the statistics here is that it doesn’t consider the prior educational attainment of university graduates. This makes it difficult to assess the contribution of their degree to their earning power. This is something the DfE has acknowledged and is planning to stop reporting this data completely, suggesting the alternative of the Longitudinal Educational Outcomes (LEO) release instead.

But LEO has its own share of shortcomings.

Also curated by the DfE, LEO connects individuals’ education data with their employment, benefits, and earnings data to create a large, anonymous collection of data about individuals.

However, it doesn’t “include comparative statistics for non-graduates with breakdowns by prior academic attainment and other student characteristics,” according to the DfE.

So, what does this all mean?

Not all who attend university find success. Source: AFP

To degree, or not to degree?

The job market today is very different from what it was like when pursuing a university degree first became a common venture.

Take MBAs, for example. What was once lauded a “golden ticket” to high-paying jobs isn’t as snazzy as it used to be a few decades back. Dropping out of university or college seems to be a norm with the “younger generation,” and even those with seemingly great degrees – like engineering or healthcare – are opting for different career opportunities instead.

What you pursue in university isn’t the be-all-end-all for your career, especially when universities nowadays have to make sure students are well-rounded with not just technical industry-specific knowledge, but with the soft skills required to succeed in the role they land in too.

Between the quick changes in the job market’s demands and AI throwing a wrench in many industries, it’s no surprise that more students are being pulled two ways on what they should do about their future.

Not every student thinks about their future and potential graduate earnings when deciding to attend university. Sometimes, the first thing that comes to mind is to simply enjoy life as a university student. Source: AFP

A university degree is what you make of it

We’d like to tell you for certain that a university degree can boost your graduate earnings and help you secure your future, but as you’ve seen, all the stats paint vastly different pictures.

What we can say with confidence is this: a university degree is more about your graduate earnings.

A 2024 study conducted by King’s College London’s King’s Policy Institute showed that 87% of graduates would choose to do an undergraduate degree again, though nearly 40% of that cohort would do a different degree.

Study International has spoken to many, many students over the years, and there’s no denying the common saying that “your university days are the best times of your life” because, from what we’ve heard and experienced ourselves, it really is.

And it’s hard to escape the obvious: obtaining a university degree remains the best route to high pay. Among the richest tenth of 21 to 30-year-olds, more than three quarters have a degree, according to data from the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE).

Still, Vivienne Stern, Chief Executive of UUK, puts it simply:

“Earnings are not the only measure of a valuable degree – and lots of people choose careers because they care about them, not just for the money,” says Stern. “However, this new analysis conclusively shows that it is overwhelmingly worth getting a degree.”