Highest paid graduates are some of the saddest, study finds

Graduates with degrees in Celtic studies or sports science report being the most content with their lives, even though their wages placed them in the bottom ten earners.

Undergraduate degrees boost earnings by 57% on average relative to non-graduates, study by PwC found (PA Archive)

Some of the highest paid graduates have the lowest life satisfaction, while those with a deep understanding of Celtic languages and Viking exploits are the happiest, new research has found.

Analysis by PwC showed undergraduates aspiring to earn high salaries should pursue degrees in medicine, economics, or maths.

However, graduates with degrees in Celtic studies or sports science report being the most content with their lives, even though their wages placed them in the bottom ten earners.

PwC's analysis of 35 undergraduate degrees revealed that there was overlap between the degrees that led to the highest levels of satisfaction and those that paid well. The profession with the third-highest satisfaction rate and the best earning potential was medicine.

The study also found undergraduate degrees boost earnings by 57% on average relative to non-graduates, but the highest earnings premiums are in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Law, and Economics.

Many of the courses with the highest graduate wellbeing are vocational or medicine allied, which generally lead to employment in the public sector. This includes both courses with high earnings premiums such as medicine and dentistry, and relatively lower earnings like education and nursing.

At the other end of the spectrum, there are also a number of courses where graduates earn high salaries but have have low or negative life satisfaction effects, including politics, computing and law.

The degree with the highest graduate wellbeing scores, Celtic Studies, is only offered in a handful of universities across the UK, including Cambridge and institutions in Wales.

At the Unversity of Cambridge there are 22 places offered each year for the subject - a undergraduate degree that is described as a “voyage of discovery” on the department’s website.

The full course name, Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic studies focuses on the history, material culture, languages and literature of the peoples of Britain, Ireland and the Scandinavian world in the earlier Middle Ages.

Barret Kupelian, Chief Economist at PwC said: “Today, more than 1 in 2 young people go into higher education, so it plays a key role in shaping the next generation of talent into the workplace. Rarely do students pick undergraduate degrees based solely on future earnings.

“Instead, they pursue subjects on  a mix of what they are passionate about and what is meaningful to them based on their personal experiences. This is why it is important to get a holistic view of the impact studying for a degree can have on individuals. Our analysis shows both positive financial and non-financial value to going into higher education.

“There is no one size fits all approach to happiness and career satisfaction, but the findings present an opportunity for businesses and employers to reflect on how they can improve their overall employee proposition.

“Fulfilment in a career is more nuanced than simply financial compensation so the professions that rank low on the wellbeing tables can improve non-financial factors, such as team culture and career development, to ensure they offer what new graduates are increasingly looking for from their future employers.”

Damien Ashford, education leader at PwC, added: “The economic and wellbeing benefits of education are incredibly important to individuals, the economy and society. Whilst our research shows how most people significantly benefit economically from higher education, it’s evident that there are also far reaching wellbeing benefits from participation in higher education.

“We need more people with higher level skills to boost productivity, and whilst higher education is one path, there is great value to all education options, including apprenticeships and further education. There is an important role for employers and educational organisations to ensure people have fair access and are supported to pursue their aspirations through whichever route suits them best.”