Higher education ‘not all about salaries’, say students

Just one in three students and recent graduates say they decided to go to university to get a higher salary, with 8 out of 10 saying that the government should do more to promote the broader benefits of university.

In a poll commissioned by Universities UK, students said that they decided to go to university for a variety of reasons, including an interest in their degree subject (56 per cent) and for the enjoyment of studying and learning (48 per cent).

Fifty per cent said that higher education was “a first step in building a career”, while 84 per cent said their future salary was not the only factor they considered when deciding to go to university. Those surveyed cited work-life balance as their top consideration (53 per cent) when choosing a job, ahead of earning potential and financial benefits (42 per cent). The findings are based on interviews with 767 undergraduate students and 1,513 people who graduated in the past 5 to 10 years.