University vs Job UK: The Real Money Maths
A UK degree now costs roughly £100,000 once you count lost earnings. For some subjects it still pays. For others, a 21-year-old plumber is already ahead and the gap widens.
Median UK earnings 5 years after graduation, by subject
Source: Department for Education LEO data. Non-graduate under-30 UK median is ~£28,000.
True cost of a UK degree in 2026
| Item | Per year | Three-year total |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition (England) | £9,535 | £28,605 |
| Maintenance loan (max) | £10,544 | £31,632 |
| Lost earnings (entry-level) | ~£18,000 | ~£54,000 |
| Loan-financed total | £20,079 | £60,237 |
| Full opportunity cost | ~£38,000 | ~£114,000 |
Plan 5 adds a 9% surcharge on income above £25,000 for 40 years on top.
Key takeaways
A UK degree now costs roughly £100,000 once you add fees, maintenance and three years of lost earnings. Most graduates never repay it in full because Plan 5 acts more like a 9% graduate tax than a normal debt.
The graduate earnings premium is real but wildly uneven. Medicine, dentistry, engineering and computer science pay back the cost easily. Creative arts and many humanities degrees from non-selective universities often do not.
Apprenticeships and skilled trades start earning earlier, accumulate compound interest sooner, and avoid the loan entirely. A 21-year-old plumber on £35,000 with three years of pension contributions is often ahead of a 21-year-old graduate at career-day-one.
The right answer is subject and route specific, not yes-or-no. The honest test is whether the career on the other side of the degree pays enough above the graduate threshold to clear the loan and recover three years of compounding.