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Chemistry and physics graduates in the UK earn more throughout their lifetime than those graduating in the arts, according to a new report. Science graduates can expect to earn around 187,000 pounds (30 per cent) more during their careers than those with just A-levels, whereas biological sciences, linguistics and history graduates only earn up to 16 per cent more.
The report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), commissioned by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) and the Institute of Physics (IoP), comes amid growing concern about the state of science provision in British universities following a number of department closures.
In December 2004, the House of Commons science and technology committee launched an inquiry to examine steps being taken to safeguard the levels of science teaching and research and assess the level of funding for chemistry and physics.
The director of education at the IoP, Peter Main, said: "It costs on average 21,000 pounds to teach an undergraduate over the course of a degree programme. Although physics and chemistry are expensive to teach, graduates in these two subjects contribute 40,000 pounds more than the average graduate in tax because they earn so much more over their lifetime." Meanwhile, the president of the RSC, Simon Campbell, said: "We are delighted that this independent report confirms the very points we have made many times to the British government."
— Dawn/Guardian Service
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