What Are The Highest Paying Degrees In The UK?
You never know, you might be studying one of the highest paying degrees in the UK.
University isn’t all about the highest paying degrees and which jobs they’ll lead to, but you can’t deny that it’s a pretty big deciding factor. Who doesn’t want to earn the big bucks once they graduate?
If you’re stuck on what to study at university, you’re not the only one. We’ve got the highest paying degrees and jobs to help you make a start on your decision.
Of course, don’t let wages or job prospects lead you to a choice that is far removed from what you actually want to do — this is purely a starting point to help you think about your choices.
And if you want to move to the big shiny city after uni, we’ve got how much you need to earn to live in London — spoiler alert, a lot.
Below are some of the highest paying jobs in the UK with a degree to help inspire your career decision.
If you’re not looking for a full-time, committed job, we’ve got the best online jobs for students that are flexible enough to fit around your studies.
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Top 10 highest paying jobs in the UK with degree
Money isn’t everything, but it certainly helps. No one is going to blame you for thinking ahead about your career prospects, especially trying to work out what might give you the best wage.
After all, you’ll spend a good few years, if not more, at university, so why not have a great paying career to look forward to?
These are the top 10 highest paying jobs in the UK with a degree, if they tickle your fancy, keep them in mind — you might end up earning some cash money.
1. Finance Manager
- Average Salary: £39,000
- Starting Salary: £27,000
- Highest Salary: £60,000
Financial Management is about making sure your employer’s organisation makes good use of the capital available. Duties include preparing tax returns and strategic ways of using the company’s money.
You don’t necessarily have to have a degree to become a Financial Manager but it can help. You will need specialist training from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the Institute of Financial Accountants. Some jobs will even fund your training provided you keep working with them (else you have to pay the fees back).
2. Medical Practitioner
- Average Salary: £65,070
- Starting Salary: £40,257
- Highest Salary: £119,133
There’s a huge demand for doctors in the UK, given the doctor-to-patient gap. Because of this, it’s become one of the highest paying jobs in the UK.
There are various pay grades for doctors ranging from a doctor in training to a consultant (who often earn over £100k+). You can work in hospitals or GP surgeries in the private or public sector too. You’ll need a degree in medicine, so it’s a lot of work but worth it.
3. Vet
- Average salary: £50,000
- Starting salary: £32,000
- Highest salary: £70,000
Becoming a vet, you’ll need a degree in Veterinary Medicine. It’s a tough and emotional job, hence why the pay is decent.
You’ll have to look after a variety of animals, deal with varying illnesses and complications, as well as see a lot of hard, emotional stuff, so you’ll need to think about that before applying to become a vet.
4. Orthodontist
- Average Salary: £98,777
- Starting Salary: £29,250
- Highest Salary: £200,000
Want a medical career but don’t want to be a doctor at a hospital or GP practice? Why not look into becoming an orthodontist? They’re dentists that specialise in tooth and jaw alignment. You get the same training as a dentist and extra training to be able to perform teeth straightening surgery and assess whether someone needs braces.
An Orthodontist is one of the highest paying jobs in the UK with a degree — so if you don’t mind teeth, consider becoming one!
An orthodontist or dentist isn’t usually the quietest of professions, considering you might be dealing with people on a daily, even hourly basis and getting up close and personal with their teeth. If you’re not the extroverted type, we’ve got the best jobs for introverts which might suit you better.
5. Architect
- Average Salary: £65,000
- Starting Salary: £34,000
- Highest Salary: £67,000+
Architects are the visionaries of the world we live in. They design buildings and structures, blending functionality and safety with aesthetics to help meet their clients’ needs.
They collaborate with builders and contractors to oversee designs, and they can make a very pretty penny, too.
6. Lawyer
- Average Salary: £61,000
- Starting Salary: £30,000
- Highest Salary: £150,000+
If you want one of the highest graduate salaries then becoming a lawyer may interest you. Even if you study law to become a paralegal you can still earn a very decent starting salary (then look into training as a lawyer after a few years of experience). Be sure to look at salaries across the UK and abroad to get a good idea of what you could be earning as a lawyer or paralegal. It’s certainly one of the best-paying jobs out there!
7. Back-end developer
- Average Salary: £46,725
- Starting Salary: £29,000
- Highest Salary: £75,000
If you’re interested in studying computer science, a back-end developer might be a career route for you.
A Back End Developer (or back-end dev) develops the applications a company will use. They develop them using various programming languages, so the developer will need to undergo lots of training in these languages in order to program solutions effectively.
8. Actuary
- Average Salary: £25,000
- Starting Salary: £70,000
- Highest Salary: £200,000
Actuaries evaluate financial risks and opportunities by applying mathematical, statistical, economic and financial analyses to a wide range of business problems. Actuaries work in many industries such as banking, corporate finance, insurance, investment management, healthcare and more.
You’ll need to undergo actuarial exams in order to work as one, which can take a few years, but the earning potential is incredible. It’s definitely for a numbers person who’s after a challenging career.
If you’ve got a degree in economics, you might have one of the highest paying degrees in the UK.
9. Chemical engineer
- Average Salary: £36,000
- Starting Salary: £28,000
- Highest Salary: £65,000
Chemical engineers help to design and improve processes that turn raw materials into useful products — fuel, plastics, medicine, food. Their job is to work out the safest and most efficient, cost-effective way to produce these.
A degree in engineering is needed, but it’s well worth it as it’s one of the highest paying degrees in the UK.
10. Chartered accountant
- Average Salary: £35,600
- Starting Salary: £23,700
- Highest Salary: £85,500
Chartered Accountants have achieved the highest level of qualifications in accounting and are able to advise on financial decisions within a firm or for a client. Depending on the size of the business they work for, they can be paid over six figures. They can also choose to work independently and perform accountancy services for multiple clients.
Highest paying Master’s degrees UK
Most of the jobs above don’t require a specific master’s per se (though can be studied to support your learning and application). In fact, most qualifications for those roles are done through a training provider, or require you to build a portfolio and gain work experience (e.g. to be a creative director).
If you’re after a job that allows for training and learning (like an apprenticeship), check out the best graduate schemes in the UK.
1. Masters in Finance
Most jobs you see that require heavy use of numbers are bound to pay high salaries. Some financial jobs require a degree (or desire one), like a financial analyst or management accountant. With a master’s in finance, you’re looking at starting salaries of £41,000+.
2. Masters in Computer Science
Again, a very number-based qualification to have but with a different way of working. Computer science is a broad field but usually consists of specialising in various programming languages, learning complex systems and refining existing systems within companies. In terms of starting salary with a computer science master’s degree, you’re looking at around £42,000 a year to start with.
3. Masters in Civil Engineering
Civil Engineering involves designing structures that serve the general public, such as bridges, dams, walkways and the like. It’s a highly in-demand career and starts with a salary of around £41,000+
4. Masters in Medical Sciences
There are absolutely tons of master’s degrees in medical sciences, but more often than not, practitioners must have a masters in this field. In fact, over 90.1% of postgraduates get employed. The salary range is broad, depending on the discipline and whether you decide to use your degree for something non-clinical instead. If you decide to pursue the clinical path, salaries will be high from around £30k-£40k+.
If you’re about to graduate and you want help prepping for your career and job journey, check out our graduate interview questions and answers to help you feel more confident, as well as competency-based interview questions.
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