Law ranks fourth in degree salary stakes
New research has shown that ten years after graduating, male law students earn less on average than their peers who left university with degrees in engineering, economics and medicine—but around 20 per cent more than their own female classmates.
The Institute of Fiscal Studies analysed the tax data and student loan records of 260,000 former students to generate its latest list of high-earning degree qualifications, concluding that law students enjoy the fourth highest median pay a decade on from graduation of any of the other popular qualifications included in the study.
However, male lawyers have been fairing far better than their female peers. While the mean annual salary for male law grads was calculated as £31,100 ten years post-graduation, the mean for female lawyers is a near £5,000 step behind at just £26,200.
Outperforming law grads in the salary stakes are students who obtain degrees in medicine, engineering and economics, the mean salaries for which dominated the top of the IFS league table. The highest earners are those with degrees in medicine, with mean salaries sitting at £55,300 for men and £45,400 and women.
In second and third were economics and engineering grads respectively. Ten years on, students who obtain economics degrees earn a mean salary of £42,000 if they’re men and £38,200 if they’re women. Male engineering grads earn a mean salary only a fraction lower of that of male lawyers, but more than women with law degrees, at £31,200, while female engineers earn a mean salary of £23,200.
Source: Global Legal Post
