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Science students (mainly biology) not earning much money

Me and a few friends of friends were having a discussion today regarding salaries from different graduates....

They were claiming that science students mainly biology graduates do not make a decent salary... They all work in marketing... Is this true?

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Reply 1

bestofyou

I haven't checked the stats on this but generally most graduate jobs will see you earning between 18-25k but some may earn slightly more or slightly less. That goes for people how did sciences or humanities or whatever else.

However, generally anyone with a degree in a STEM subject will find employment much easier, so while a physics graduate may earn around the same as a history graduate, there are probably more physics graduate in jobs than those with a history degree.

As for working in marketing then it really depends on the degree and what the demand for it is and where you are willing to work. For example if you are only interested in a specific role and only in a specific area then you may well end up in a graduate job that doesn't care what the degree was in such as marketing (although marketing does prefer social sciences/business degrees just so you know), something like accounting would come to mind before marketing.

For example, if you did marine biology and want a job working with sharks in Cape Town, you'll likely not get anything. If you open your mind to anything from sharks in Cape Town to the National Trust in the far noth of Scotland, you'll likely get something.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 2

Aramiss18

I can't discuss biology but I can discuss science in general. I study chemistry (graduating in July) and was so unimpressed by salaries and opportunities that I applied and accepted a job in another sector. Very few chemistry jobs seem to offer more than 24k and lead to management positions. However science graduates do transfer well to other sectors, are highly regarded and so do have great job prospects relative to other degrees. But if you want to make headway in industry a PhD looks to be becoming more and more necessary.

It is very frustrating if you want to stay in chemistry and be financially rewarded at the level expected of someone with a masters degree. Companies seem aware that many science grads want to stay in their field and that suppresses wages. I think it's becoming a choice of field vs money vs career progression. Rarely will a person achieve all three.