Research shows that it takes 33 years for a PhD to catch up with a master s income!

Mondo Education Updated on 2024-01-19

Recently, an article published in the latest issue of Studies in Higher Education showed thatIt takes an average of 33 years for Ph.D. graduates to catch up with master's graduates in terms of economic income

If the PhD graduate is a woman, works in the public sector, or earns a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) degree, the time gap is shortened to 28, 23, and 20 years, respectively.

Considering the cost of pursuing a PhD, including the cost of a PhD, years of lost earnings, and lost employment experience, the financial situation of PhD students for decades after graduation may be affected. Assuming that most PhDs retire after 36 years of employment, the return on income is not high, even if they can catch up financially.

The researchers analysed data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) in the UK Data Service databaseIt was found that the average salary of PhD graduates in the UK is 26 pounds (about 231 yuan) per hour, which is about £3 (about 27 yuan) higher than master's graduates, and this premium doubles if working in a management position.

The study also highlights the potential oversupply of PhD graduates in the UK, which increased by 51% from 383,000 in 2012 to 579,000 in 2021, however, only half of them chose to stay in academia and experience a 20% "wage penalty" compared to other industries.

The study highlights the challenges faced by UK PhD graduates, saying they need to strike a balance in an increasingly competitive job market, taking into account the time and money costs required to obtain this degree.

A few days ago, a post became popular, and a netizen posted:Can you believe it?A colleague of my company with a master's degree and a doctorate from a 211 school has less than 200,000 yuan a year, and the money is not so easy to earn at all!

Unexpectedly, as soon as this post came out, netizens said: This is difficult to evaluate!

Some netizens believe that with the addition of other seven-seven-eighty-eight, the salary is not low

"Men are afraid of entering the wrong industry", some netizens think that choosing an industry and choosing a company are very important

Some netizens also think,Nowadays, the economic situation is not good, and the salary is not necessarily proportional to the academic qualifications

In the era of "millions per capita" on the Internet, we will indeed be dazzled by consumerism and feel that it is not difficult to make money. But back to reality, looking at today's employment prospects are indeed not as good as before, college diplomas are everywhere, and a monthly salary of 3,000 can find a fresh college student. Many master's and doctoral graduates also find that the employment environment is very different from what they imagined.

However, when recruiting in the talent market, there is often a popular saying "Doctor sit, master stays, undergraduate waits, junior college you let it", at the school recruitment meeting, the employer will let the doctor sit down and talk in detail, and the master's degree unit will also consider, but high-quality positions, often the higher the education, the greater the advantage. The specific salary should also be combined with the region and industry, and when employed, we should also take a long-term view and choose the right industry, after all, there is a high degree of education, and the starting annual salary of 200,000 does not mean that the end is 200,000.

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