Best Masters for Employability and High Salaries in the UK

As human beings, we often want the best of everything...well, as long as the best thing isn’t going to cost an arm and a leg (and possibly several kidneys). When it comes to postgraduate education, I could say the ‘best’ Masters degree is the one that’s suited for you, which is as accurate as it is unhelpful.

I imagine what people really mean by 'best' is which Masters degrees get you work, and which get you a good wad of cash every year. If we can get both at the same time, we’re really off to the races.

No worries there, then. I’ve got plenty of real world stats here to show, mathematically, which kinds of degrees will be the ‘best’ by those two metrics. I wouldn’t only use this information to decide what Masters is best for you, but it’s still important. When life’s dealing you cards, stacking the deck in your favour makes perfect sense.

So…is this your card?

What are the highest paying Masters degrees?

To answer this question, we’ve collated official data from the UK Government’s Postgraduate Learning Education Outcomes (LEO) study. The figures below are the median earnings for people five years after graduation, so while it’ll give you a good idea of what to expect, I’d keep in mind that there’s no guarantee that you’ll get this kind of salary. It’ll still depend a lot depending on where you work (both geographically and which company).

#10 Materials and Technology

Average salary £36,200

Typical career destinations: oil and gas, nuclear energy, biomaterials and sustainability.

Search for Materials and Technology Masters.

#9 Politics

Average salary £36,300

Typical career destinations: local or national government.

Search for Masters in Politics.

#8 Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmacy

Average salary: £38,400

Typical career destinations clinical practice, drug design and community support.

Search for Masters in Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmacy.

#7 Mathematical Sciences

Average salary £39,300

Typical career destinations insurance, financial trading, big data and statistics.

Search for Masters in Mathematics.

#6 Engineering

Average salary £39,700

Typical career destinations: power and energy, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, construction (varies greatly depending on engineering specialism).

Search for Masters in Engineering.

#5 Business and Management

Average salary £40,900

Typical career destinations: human resources, finance, international business.

Search for Masters in Business and Management.

#4 Computing

Average salary £41,900

Typical career destinations IT, artificial intelligence, hardware manufacturing, software development.

Search for Masters in Computer Science.

#3 Medicine and Dentistry

Average salary £42,500

Typical career destinations: healthcare (to no one's surprise).

Search for Masters in Medicine or Dentistry.

#2 Economics

Average salary £45,600

Typical career destinations: investment banking, corporate finance, stock brokerage.

Search for Masters in Economics.

#1 Masters in Business Administration (MBA)

Average salary £64,500

Typical career destinations: finance, marketing, business analytics.

Search for MBAs.

Note typically taken by established professionals looking to build on their existing business experience.

What are the most employable Masters degrees?

We’ll be drawing on the LEO survey once again for our employability stats. Here are the top 10 for employability five years after graduation in the UK:

#10 Veterinary Sciences

% in employment or further study: 88.4%

Typical career destinations: clinical practice, research, academia.

Search for Masters in Veterinary Sciences

#9 Medicine and Dentistry

% in employment or further study: 88.4%

Typical career destinations: clinical practice, research, academia (again).

Search for Masters in Medicine and Dentistry.

#8 Education and Teaching

% in employment or further study: 88.6%

Typical career destination: education.

Note: Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and Masters in Education employment rates are very similar.

#7 Psychology

% in employment or further study: 88.7%

Typical career destinations: healthcare, education, human resources, social services.

Search for Psychology Masters.

#6 Medical Sciences

% in employment or further study: 89.8%

Typical career destinations: healthcare, pharmaceuticals, research, education.

Search for Masters in Medical Sciences.

#5 Sport and Exercise Sciences

% in employment or further study: 90.6%

Typical career destinations: professional sports, health and fitness, teaching, coaching.

Search for Masters in Sport and Exercise Sciences.

#4 Allied Health

% in employment or further study: 90.8%

Typical career destination: healthcare.

Note: umbrella term that covers subjects like Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Radiology and Orthoptics.

#3 Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmacy

% in employment or further study:91.1%

Typical career destinations: pharmaceuticals, research, academia, government.

Search for Masters in Pharmacology, Toxicology or Pharmacy.

#2 Health and Social Care

% in employment or further study: 92.0%

Typical career destinations: care management, community development, social work, health administration.

Search for Masters in Health and Social Care.

Note: Masters in Social Work is one of the most popular routes in this area, with NHS bursaries available.

#1 Nursing and Midwifery

% in employment or further study: 92.3%

Typical career destination: healthcare.

Full employability and salary statistics for Masters degree subjects

We’ve also included full tables of employability and earnings statistics for Masters subjects below:

Tips from the author

#1 Keep on top of shifting employment trends

Nursing and Midwifery Masters are the most employable degrees at the moment, but that’s not guaranteed to remain the case. True, people will always need healthcare (barring a robot uprising), but geopolitical events can still greatly influence how employable certain degrees are. Staying up to date with news is essential (as depressing as it might be sometimes).

#2 Beware the siren song of the MBA

Don’t get me wrong, MBAs are very useful programmes for people looking at senior management positions. The thing you need to remember, though, is that the earnings median is going to be highly skewed on this one. MBAs are studied almost exclusively by people who already have a good amount of management experience under their belt, so going straight from undergrad is unlikely to benefit you in the same way.

#3 Chasing employment and money exclusively may make you miserable

Masters degrees aren’t easy, and they’re a heck of a lot harder if you find the subject difficult to stomach. Sure, we all need to eat, but if you’re only considering a particular Masters due to its employment prospects, I’d advise you to reconsider. There's more to choosing a Masters than what you'll get at the end of it.

Frequently asked questions