{"id":12833,"date":"2025-02-20T09:09:28","date_gmt":"2025-02-20T01:09:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.infinitysolutions.com\/?p=12833"},"modified":"2025-02-20T09:09:28","modified_gmt":"2025-02-20T01:09:28","slug":"education-fee-planning-is-an-undergraduate-degree-enough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.infinitysolutions.com\/blog\/education-fee-planning-is-an-undergraduate-degree-enough\/","title":{"rendered":"Education fee planning: Is an undergraduate degree enough?"},"content":{"rendered":"

With UK graduates facing fierce competition for a limited number of high-skilled jobs, is the solution a postgraduate degree and how does this affect your financial planning?<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2018Hellish job market\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Today\u2019s graduates in the UK are facing what was described in January by The Telegraph<\/a> newspaper as a \u2018hellish job market\u2019. It was reported that applicants have a 1 in 140 chance of landing the jobs that they apply for.<\/p>\n

In addition, increasing numbers of graduates are working in occupations where graduate-level qualifications are not needed because the number of graduates in the labour market has outstripped the creation of high-skilled jobs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Historically, individuals with a university degree could expect to earn more over their lifetime compared to those without a degree. This \u2018graduate premium\u2019 represents the financial benefit of higher education, often calculated as the difference in salaries between graduates and non-graduates.<\/p>\n

While traditionally seen as a strong financial incentive to pursue higher education, the graduate premium has been called into question in recent years as tuition fees rise and job prospects fall.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rise in demand for postgraduate degrees<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before you abandon all plans to put your children through university, figures still seem to suggest that a degree will<\/strong> improve job prospects.<\/p>\n

According to the UK government’s\u00a0graduate labour market statistics in 2022\u00a0<\/a>both graduates and postgraduates continue to have higher employment rates than non-graduates. However, postgraduates are around 12% more likely to be in a professional role than first-degree graduates, with 78% of all working-age postgraduates from the year surveyed in high-skilled employment, compared with 66% of all working-age graduates.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s one reason why growing numbers of British graduates are opting to continue or return to their studies by taking a postgraduate degree.<\/p>\n

In 2022-23, 37,000 more graduates took postgraduate degrees than in 2018-2019, even though the sums to do so can be eye-watering.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Having graduated from a first degree with average debt of \u00a344,940<\/a>, postgrads are looking at additional fees of anything upwards of \u00a317,000<\/a> for a master\u2019s, with some costing much more, especially for those not eligible for home fees.<\/p>\n