To think most of the money is in the sciences?

[superstarheartbreaker]

I'm one of those kids who opted for both arts and a science ( Biology) at alevel. In the end I went for a degree in English lit and lang but now wish I'd completed a degree in Biological Sciences.
I loved biology but I loved English more. I'm a trained English teacher but it's soooo stressful and I reckon a degree in science would have been much more useful... To humanity as well as my pocket!

Is it? I was taking a guess, as such a lot of stuff gets outsourced nowadays, it's 15 years since I left the major diagnostics company I worked for. I've worked in both diagnostics and pharma and agree both very interesting, but always in R&D so quite remote from the commercial sides of both businesses.

I think you may be underestimating your benefit to humanity - teaching people to communicate well is huge.

If you look at the people who have the higest incomes then you might find a larger proportion of arts type subjects, since the children of the rich are likely to inherit positions regardless of the subjects they study.

But if you look at average salaries by degree subjects (so, more what the masses are likely to be impacted by) then medicine/dentistry, followed by various STEM subjects that are particularly industry favoured, dominate.

But to get those good salaries in STEM subjects you have to go into industry and do what is wanted in those jobs (which can often be very stressful), which not everyone wants to do. If you went into teaching with an English degree, you might well have gone into teaching or some similarly public service focused role with a STEM degree, and your salary wouldn't really be any higher. There are jobs you could do with an English degree that earn more than teaching (senior civil service, management consultant, chartered accountant) but you haven't pursued those paths, so you may not have pursued a more money oriented job with a STEM degree.

You are being totally unreasonable! My dh is a scientist. It is a publicly funded job so not well paid. Also incredibly insecure, all short term grants. Very hard to get permanent contract. Also long hours. Weekend working to keep experiments going. Dh gets to take very few hols. We usually have one ten day holiday a year, plus the time inbetween Xmas and new year. Teaching is a better package compared to that. Dh is only one of his scientist friends to still be one. Others got out as it is such a shit career. Even dh is now looking to try to move to private sector now.

I'd say engineering - especially up here in NE Scotland with the oil industry.

Oh I agree that there are huge opportunities in the development of automated diagnostic testing. I just wont be pushing my DDs into the testing itself. I see that as potentially a very short lifetime career. Quite literally going into work one day to find that you have been replaced by a machine.

Around the time I graduated with a first in Medicinal Chemistry, pharmaceutical companies were seriously consolidating, buying each other out and downsizing and DH was doing his industrial placement with one of them, working on software/hardware to automate much of the process.

I ended up teaching. I now earn diddly squat as a SAHM/Carer.

We're in the NE, so DH isn't on the big money with his programming skills, but his salary is comparable to an experienced teacher. There's more money if you can afford the flexibility to do contract work and actually get the work and, like in science, there's more money if you move into management, but a lot of managers seem to become de-skilled very quickly and end up pissing off those actually doing the bulk of the work. He prefers to be getting his hands dirty.

Academic scientist here - have some seriously wealthy colleagues whose research resulted in biotech spinoffs. Uni mates who went into the City/IT are also well off.

The humanities graduates I know who are doing OK financially all went into Law.

Definitely not Engineering if you want a high salary. And you end up working in parts of the country where the other half will find difficulty getting a professional job ( apart from teaching, social work). DH is a chartered engineer and DSs have used their ability at Maths to become economists rather than engineers or scientists. I suspect their decisions were influenced by their parents' incomes!

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

After I pick myself up of the floor laughing, no , there's no money in science. We're supposed to work out of a desire to help people, and find a treatment for whatever disease, not for money.

I earned more in the nhs than in academia. No stability either.

I'm now a sahm because my no a'levels, no degree husband earns more than me and my PhD from a very well respected uni.

I am a research scientist (biology) and my husband is an NHS scientist (again, biology discipline). We earn what I think is a good wage (£45k+ each), especially as we aren't constrained to London. We both have excellent pension schemes, I have unlimited holiday or sickness allowance, our maternity package is 6 months full pay, I work my own hours as and when required. Admittedly, that means occasional weekends, but I can cope with that.

You do need to progress to earn well. An undergraduate degree won't get you too far. And you do need to keep the money coming in, which Ive been lucky to enough to do.

But perhaps £90k per couple isn't considered a decent wage to you Londoners? Maybe I'm a little naive about what generally constitutes 'good money'? I earn approx the same as my best mate, who took her science PhD into teaching and is now an assistant head.

Very interesting thread to read!

I am currently doing an engineering access course and have been to-ing and fro-ing over my degree choices. I thought i had settled on aerospace engineering and accounting as my top two but this thread has had me rethinking. I am in NI and wont be moving for work as DC's dad lives here too so that limits earning potential but i very much want to make smart decisions now that will lead to best possible opportunities for earning.

Any advice from those in the know?

I studied economics, DH science, most of my uni friends, maths or computer science. I'd say everyone I know from university is either earning a very good wage, or has actively chosen a low-wage-high-satisfaction career path (eg, being an artist).

So I'd agree that a STEM or social sciences degree can lead you to decent earnings. However I also agree with MaidOfStars that it depends what you mean by a good wage! To me £45K outside London is definitely a very good income.

Nope, it's just manufacturing and as insecure as any jobs in the UK in that sector. DH with his chemistry PhD followed it up with an environment MSc after some slightly crappy jobs, that improved matters a bit but hardly making the big bucks. Science degrees are good because they are generally numerate so can allow a move into finance!

I did biomedical sciences and didn't know what to do with it. Went on to do a second degree in medicine. That proper skinted me for about ten years!

My DH works in scientific sales. He sells the type of chemical analysis technology talked about upthread (has sold loads of stuff to Liverpool John Moores). He makes stupid money, well, well into six figures.

DiaDuit - aero engineering is generally pretty well paid compared to some other types of engineering. Go for it!

Generally agree there's no big money in pure science as DD is discovering despite 2 degrees

Maths is the only subject which is linked to an increase in earnings so do a maths degree PhD level if you can then head towards the city and a career in finance if you want big bucks

DiaDult what engineering opportunities are there near you? Because if you already have a hard limit of some sort (like where you'll move to) you need to adapt to those circumstances.

Generally speaking, accountancy is proabbly one of the best wide-spread, middle-income careers generally available ot a graduate. But you may be able to find something that you may actually enjoy going to everyday if you can adapt to your local industry. Don't choose something that has only one local employer - it's high risk if you are not prepared to move.

The truth about earning a high income is that you either need to be entrepreneurial (and lucky, well connected etc.) enough to start your own business or move to an area with a high concentration in your area of expertise (which is why so many people move to London).

I am always surprised that it seems easy (from reading this thread and others) to get a high paid job in or around the city as long as you have the right degree - economics, business, law - surely there are a huge surplus who don't get that high flying hedge fund post.

Although many city firms recruit those with science and maths firsts.

Is it really a definite, because if you don't get that high flying job you can't afford to live there!

I don't think anyone has said all you need is a particular degree, just that some degrees make getting a well paid job more likely. There are plenty of STEM graduates who aren't earning a high wage, but there are a much higher proportion of arts graduates.

And while it's true that the city wages inflate the averages, STEM careers tend to be a bit better paid than arts careers. In general, for example, you'll earn more as a pharmacist than you will as an editor.