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A Graduate Job Paid £120,000 More Over Last Decade

08 Apr 2011

A Graduate Job Paid £120,000 More Over Last Decade As much talk currently surrounds whether it is now worth going to university as the costs involved spiral, it’s worth looking at how quickly such costs could be recouped when you find a graduate job.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has just released figures which show that, on average, those working in graduate jobs earned £120,000 more over the course of the last decade.

The average wage for graduates over the period was just a fraction short of £30,000. That contrasts with an average salary of less than £18,000 for anyone working in non-graduate positions.

Jamie Jenkins, a statistician for ONS, said of the graduate job salary findings: “This analysis shows there is a big difference between average earnings for graduates and non-graduates. We also see a big difference between them by age, with graduates’ earnings not peaking until they are in their early 50s. After this age, average wages decreased, as the higher earners leave the labour market earlier.”

Totalled up over the typical working life, a graduate job could bring you over half a million more pounds than a non-graduate job might.

So, although the cost of going to university is increasing, financially speaking it looks like the extra costs could easily be offset by the benefits of landing a graduate job after leaving university. See if you can find a graduate job now that could net you an extra half million pounds over your working life using our Graduate Job search page.

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