The best degrees for bringing home the bacon

LOOKING to earn as much as possible immediately after graduation? You may want to study computing at the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine.

New figures from the Department for Education have revealed graduate earnings for every higher education institution in Britain, broken down by subject.

They show that students who graduated with a computing degree from the university in 2017/18 already had an average annual salary of £43,100 one year later.

That’s more than any other subject at any other university in the country.

At the other end of the scale, graduates in performing arts from Teesside University were earning just £10,200 on average their first year after completing their course.

Regardless of the university they attend, performing arts graduates typically earn less than others after graduation.

Across all higher education institutions in Britain, the average salary for the subject was £13,900 one year after graduating - the lowest earnings of any subject.

That compares to £36,900 a year for those graduating with a medicine and dentistry degree, which is the highest, and nearly double the average earnings of performing arts graduates.

Computing sees the most variation between universities when it comes to average salaries.

While those graduating in the subject from the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine were earning £43,100 on average one year later, those from Teesside University were earning just £17,200 on average.

Meanwhile, the gap was smallest for those studying medicine and dentistry, who typically saw high salaries no matter which university they graduated from.

Those graduating in

the subject from the University of Dundee were typically earning £39,100 a year, while those from the University of Central Lancashire were earning £32,800.

This analysis looks at median earnings, and only includes universities that had a minimum of 50 graduates in 2017/18 for that particular subject.