The 17 best-paying university subjects to study if you’re a woman
But more than 10% of male graduates from three universities — LSE, Oxford, and Cambridge — earned more than that figure in the same period.
The academic gender pay gap was prevalent further down the university league table, too.
“Even if we do not focus on the very top, a large number of institutions (36 for men and 10 for women) had 10% of their graduates earning more than £60,000 a year ten years on,” an IFS statement said.
Along with highlighting the gap between male and female grads, the report also shows the median raw earnings by subject for female students who graduated between 1999 and 2005.
While the numbers may seem low, they take into account women who may not have gone into a profession directly related to the subject they studied.
Check out the rankings below:
No. 17. Creative Arts
Median Earnings: £12,400 ($17,600)
For Men: £16,700 ($23,700)
Sadly, for women and men, a career in arts doesn’t pay very much unless you’re at the very top, like Tracey Emin.
No. 16. Communications
Median Earnings: £15,400 ($21,800)
For Men: £20,900 ($29,600)
Communications still seems to be a man’s world, but there are exceptions, like Denise Morrison, who was the CEO of Frontier Communications before becoming the boss of the Campbell Soup Co.
No. 15. Architecture
Median Earnings: £17,600 ($24,900)
For Men: £26,400 ($37,400)
Another important profession with surprisingly low pay, it’s hard to name many famous architects these days, but Zaha Hadid — who died in March — was one of them.
No. 14. Agriculture
Median Earnings: £18,200 ($25,750)
For Men: £20,100 ($28,500)
A profession in which women and men’s pay is relatively equal, agriculture is an increasingly tough degree to put into practice in the UK. But farming can still be a lucrative career if you can manage to run your own business.
No. 13. Social Science
Median Earnings: £18,400 ($26,040)
For Men: £25,500 ($36,100)
Social sciences like anthropology are getting taken more seriously by students and academics alike, but the pay — particularly female pay — hasn’t really caught up yet.
No. 12. Engineering and Technology
Median Earnings: £19,800 ($28,020)
For Men: £29,100 ($41,2100)
There’s no getting around it: With a pay gap like that, engineering has a gender problem — particularly in the UK, which has the lowest female proportion in Europe. But any who do get into the industry can expect a healthy wage.
No. 11. Business
Median Earnings: £20,000 ($28,300)
For Men: £24,900 ($35,300)
Boardroom gender inequality has been a big issue in recent years, and although diversity is increasing, there’s still a big gap in pay. EasyJet boss Carolyn McCall is one of only a handful of female FTSE100 CEOs.
No. 10. Math and Computer Science
Median Earnings: £20,400 ($28,870)
For Men: £25,900 ($36,700)
Long thought of as a ‘boys’ subject, more female students are that realising numbers don’t belong to any gender, but the earnings gap is still pretty big for the time being.
No. 9. Linguistics
Median Earnings: £20,800 ($29,440)
For Men: £21,600 ($30,600)
The study of language is a big earner for women, which probably explains why it has the smallest earnings gap on the list.
No. 8. Physics
Median Earning: £21,200 ($30,000)
For Men: £27,700 ($39,300)
Like mathematics, physics classes can often seem like a boys’ club, but thankfully that’s changing. Space agency NASA’s employees are almost 50% female.
No. 7. Allied Health
Median Earnings: £21,300 ($30,150)
For Men: £26,400 ($37,400)
Defined as healthcare work that isn’t directly related to nursing or medicine, such as physical therapy or diagnostics, these highly skilled professions will always be solid earners.
No. 6. Education
Median Earnings: £21,300 ($30,150)
For Men: £28,000 ($39,700)
The strikingly high earnings gap is more likely because of higher-education gender divergences than primary- or secondary-school careers. But it’s still surprising given how notoriously demanding the profession is.
No. 5. Biology
Median Earnings: £21,900 ($31,000)
For Men: £22,800 ($32,300)
The second-smallest earnings gap on the list is in a science subject, good news for an area where women are hugely underrepresented. As history begins to recognise the impact of more female scientists, perhaps more female students will sign up.
No. 4. Law
Median Earnings: £23,300 ($33,000)
For Men: £28,000 ($39,700)
Law is a tough profession, but shifting the earnings gap seems even tougher. Nevertheless, it’s very well-paid no matter what your gender.
No. 3. Language and Literature
Median Earnings: £23,800 ($33,700)
For Men: £26,300 ($37,300)
Some of the biggest book phenomena of recent times have been written by women, not least the “Harry Potter” series by JK Rowling. Languages are also massively in demand at UK companies, so a degree in that often pays for itself in no time.
No. 2. Economics
Median Earnings: £33,000 ($46,700)
For Men: £39,900 ($56,600)
Some may argue over whether economics is an art or a science, but everyone can agree that a degree in it pays very well. With women like International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde (pictured) making waves, it’s a lucrative subject for both genders.
No. 1. Medicine
Median Earnings: £41,100 ($58,000)
For Men: £50,700 ($71,900)
The best-paying degree for women and men is medicine, perhaps because it usually leads to a very specific, highly skilled, and highly paid profession. While the top 10 female earners who studied economics earned more than those who did medicine, the latter had a higher median average, making it a great subject to study.
