British engineering graduates earn almost as much as doctors
Among British graduates, only doctors earn more than engineers, new figures have revealed. Engineering graduates earn an annual average of £42,016 – slightly behind doctors on £45,604 but almost twice as much as arts graduates, who earn an average of £21,944 – according to the figures released by the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This puts engineers ahead of architects (who earn an average of £34,996), business and finance graduates (on £30,004), and mathematicians and computer scientists (on £34,008). Graduates with humanities degrees earn an average of £27,976, while those with arts degrees earn £21,944.
The figures also reveal that 93% of engineering graduates are male, compared to 47% of doctors, 78% of architects and 77% of mathematicians and computer scientists.
Just 7% of British graduates work in the manufacturing sector, compared to 21% who work in banking and finance, and 41% who have careers in public administration, education and health. The percentage of non-graduates who work in manufacturing is 13%.
Perhaps surprisingly, given the engineering skills shortage in the UK, a relatively large proportion of engineering graduates (11%) are unemployed. This compares with 5% for doctors, 7% for media and information studies graduates, and 8% for technology graduates.
