ComSci graduates earn five times more than arts students

[topsyturvy]

The question is - are they 5 times as happy?

That is more of a philosophical question ' happiness' than related to earning one being a computer scientist.

It depends if a person love being a computer scientist, swimming in the world of algorithms and probabilities, then making money is a Byproduct. Problem happens when someone who is not good at these mathematical terms and goes towards this field only looking at the pay scale.

[2childmum]

Both my children (one about to start 3rd year at uni, one just started sixth form) have come across many of their peers who are only picking A level or degree subjects because they think they will be able to earn shed loads of money, rather than because they enjoy the subject.

They have also both sat through talks at school about choosing subjects/careers based on the earning potential. The idea of having a vocation has never been mentioned.

I have always told them to pursue what they enjoy, and that choosing a career which makes a positive difference to other people's lives is far more important than high salaries, but I do feel as if I am in a very small minority!

[anotherdad]

Both my children (one about to start 3rd year at uni, one just started sixth form) have come across many of their peers who are only picking A level or degree subjects because they think they will be able to earn shed loads of money, rather than because they enjoy the subject.

They have also both sat through talks at school about choosing subjects/careers based on the earning potential. The idea of having a vocation has never been mentioned.

I have always told them to pursue what they enjoy, and that choosing a career which makes a positive difference to other people's lives is far more important than high salaries, but I do feel as if I am in a very small minority!

Good for you. It's a shame that choices are being influenced and made in this one-dimensional way but I suppose we are on the back of a ten year financial recession (maybe not by the technical definition but it's not exactly been a good period) during which student fees and debts have escalated and are a constant discussion in the mainstream media, even if the subtleties of what exactly that "debt" is are often missed. It's inevitable that parents and students are looking at it in terms of ROI.

I have personal experience of two family members who are very highly qualified, have worked hard and are well-remunerated. They have all the material things they want and will certainly be able to retire early, but both have children whose childhood has passed them by because they were working so hard during it that they had little time at home. You cannot buy memories.

[SteveDH]

So the best university to study electrical and electronic engineer is Bournemouth.

[Tinkers]

Given that our DCs are likely to be working much longer than we are, possibly into their 70s and beyond, it’s important that they like what they do, or can make career adjustments later. They shouldn’t be expecting to do the same job for the whole of their lives either. The world is always changing and some of today’s jobs will disappear and jobs we have not even dreamt of will appear.

Something we also mentioned to DD is looking at careers that couldn’t be easily done by a robot or similar in the future.

My own career has been very varied, several different types of engineering in several different industries. Just this week I’ve been on a training course that could potentially change my career progression quite dramatically.

[ToadMum]

Both my children (one about to start 3rd year at uni, one just started sixth form) have come across many of their peers who are only picking A level or degree subjects because they think they will be able to earn shed loads of money, rather than because they enjoy the subject.

They have also both sat through talks at school about choosing subjects/careers based on the earning potential. The idea of having a vocation has never been mentioned.

I have always told them to pursue what they enjoy, and that choosing a career which makes a positive difference to other people's lives is far more important than high salaries, but I do feel as if I am in a very small minority!

Well, a minority of at least two . A whole load of fellow visitors at the recent university of Leeds open day will have heard me saying something very similar to DD during a conversation also encompassing the value of what one studies at undergraduate level being an extension of one's general education. Unless one actually chooses to undertake a course which leads to a definite profession, such as medicine.

[piggys]

A minority of three I have always encouraged my dds to pursue what they love. And they do. DD1 has just started her A levels and is doing languages and humanities and is enjoying it thus far. She goes to a very academic SS and quite a few girls are doing A levels which their parents have told them to do. I see it as a private tragedy, frankly. IMO true learning is not about money, it's about discovery and knowledge.

I can't actually see the point of this thread - especially since it quotes 'data' which is ten years old. That was rather lazy, wasn't it, OP? could you not be bothered to try and find something a little more current? or perhaps you couldn't.

My dh is a compsci grad and he earns well. However, in my capacity as a private GCSE and A level English literature tutor ( I have about 3 different jobs) my hourly rate is more than his. So there you go. All those books, essays and 'airy fairy' stuff has stood me in good stead. Yeah !!

[scary mum]

So the best university to study electrical and electronic engineer is Bournemouth.

The subject my son is studying also has amongst the highest earners reported as coming from Bournemouth. It has a good reputation for some niched subjects, but I wouldn't have expected engineering to be one of them.

[loobylou]

A minority of 4
My dd feels that few of her friends are being pressurised by family into choosing particular A levels but she feels that a lot of her peers are thinking of Medicine, Engineering or Law as careers purely because they can't think of anything else. We have always said to her to choose what she loves at each stage of her having to choose and that's what she plans to do.
As part of my job I ask a lot of people what their job is. At least one or twice a day I respond with "I have no idea what that is". I think my children have taken that on board because they do (or at least dd does) spend a lot of time telling her friends that there are lots of opportunities out there that they've never even heard of yet.
Although she just wants to be the next Lucy Worsley so I guess that's just as niche!

[Catseye]

I can't actually see the point of this thread - especially since it quotes 'data' which is ten years old. That was rather lazy, wasn't it, OP? could you not be bothered to try and find something a little more current? or perhaps you couldn't.

Ahem..... the article is from 16th of September 2018;

"The research, by The Sunday Times’s new Good University Guide, published next Sunday, lays bare the extent to which what young people choose to study, and where to study it, is critical to their earning potential afterwards."

It is bang up to date. Just saying