Choice of degree can be determined by highest salaries - survey
With rising living costs, UK university tuition fees of over £9,000 per year (or higher for international students) and the future burden of student debt, many A-Level students will understandably looking to get the best value for their degree courses when or if they embark on them after their results today.
Inevitably there are certain degrees that can lead to jobs that, on average, offer higher salaries than others.
Dentistry is listed as the profession most likely to offer the best value according to thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk, with an average starting salary of £39,467.
Birmingham University offers a Dental Surgery BDS starting in September over five years leading to a single honours degree. Annual course fees for UK students are £9,250. Even then though there is another one year compulsory foundation training programme in order to work within the NHS.
Their website says: "Through our multi-million-pound dental school and modern learning environment, our BDS Dental Surgery programme is designed to facilitate the development of core real-world clinical skills and patient care experiences, leading you to a highly successful career in the world of dentistry."
Standard entry onto the course is three A grades at A-Level including in chemistry and biology. The university also offers routes into medicine, where the average starting salary for a graduate is £34,012. The MBChB medicine surgery degree it says offers 'A model 21st century education and student experience, enabling you to be a leading doctor, meeting and addressing the demands of modern healthcare."
Wolverhampton University offers a BSc (Hons) in Medical Physiology and Diagnostics which can be done over three years full time or six years part time. Described as an innovative course designed for those who like to work hands on with people rather than in a laboratory, fees again start at £9,250.
Always a popular profession, veterinary medicine offers a starting salary of £34,890 and the Midlands has one of the leading universities for training in Harper Adams, Newport. They offer a range of courses from extended degree to undergraduate study, taught postgraduate and research degrees. They have also invested millions in a working farm which houses livestock include 390 dairy cows and 280 followers, 230 pigs, two sheep flocks and an intensive beef unit.
One of the courses they offer is an undergraduate degree in Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, which is split between Harper Adams and Keele University. It is held over five years but entry requirements are tough, with applicants needing two As in their A levels including Biology and Chemistry and a third subject of their choice at B grade.
The website does stress it's not all about the money and recommends considering other factors when making a university decision including what you are interested in and what you might want to do as a career. It also stresses no subject area guarantees as particular job or salary.
So here are the top 10 careers, according to starting salary.
1 Dentistry
Average starting salary: £39,467.
2. Medicine
Average starting salary: £34,012
3. Veterinary Medicine
Average starting salary: £34,890
4. Economics
Average starting salary: £34,135
5. Engineering
Average starting salary: £30,809
6. Maths
Average starting salary: £28,498
7. Physics & Astronomy
Average starting salary: £28,125
8. Computer Science
Average starting salary: £27,500
9. Business and Administration
Average starting salary: £26,496
10. Architecture
Average starting salary: £25,500
