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> More than 2/3rds of my graduating physics class went straight into banking This is why I advise people to never study physical sciences or non-software engin

> More than 2/3rds of my graduating physics class went straight into banking This is why I advise people to never study physical sciences or non-software engineering. There just aren’t many jobs for it in the UK. And even fewer that pay well.

bowsamic 2y ago
I think another big difference is that in the UK higher education is not really valued. In Germany people get PhDs because then they can get into much higher paying jobs, even if the PhD is not in a topic related much to the job. For example because I have a physics PhD I was able to get an entry level software dev position with a wage of 73k where someone with a bachelors may get only 40-50k. I don’t think that dynamic exists in the UK
growse 2y ago
The usefulness of that depends on whether you think academic higher education is vocational ("I'm doing a chemistry degree so that I can be a chemist") or inquisitive ("I'm doing a chemistry degree because it's so heckin' interesting"). I'd tend to advise people to study stuff they find interesting. I'd wager the percentage of degree holders doing a job that's directly related to their degree is in the minority, and that's not a bad thing.
- spacebanana7 2y ago
  Inquisitive education is great for people who’re independently wealthy or academically exceptional. But the average person takes a real risk of underemployment with that approach. A friend of mine with a degree in marine biology works as a barista, another with a philosophy degree works as a retail assistant.
  - jmye 2y ago
    Those people don’t have those jobs because of their degree. As a non-wealthy, not particularly bright creative writing major, the focus of your degree only holds you back if you let it, or if you are utterly unwilling to work outside of your focus area. Tech, especially, has an absurd number of on-ramps for anyone willing to do the tiniest modicum of extra-curricular work.
- dbetteridge 2y ago
  Unfortunately while it shouldn't be the case, education for education sake is regarded as a privilege for the wealthy. Most are becoming educated and going into significant debt to get a specific job, or salary.
MathMonkeyMan 2y ago
I don't live in the UK, but here in the USA I studied Physics and Music and then got a job programming. A lot of it was dumb luck, but I want to emphasize that school is about learning, not about vocational training. My experience in programming was due to being a giant nerd, not school.
pinkmuffinere 2y ago
I do wonder how long this will hold up. It's true (though cliche) that software is "eating the world", but as the low hanging fruit gets automated away you do need people that understand more complex underlying processes to work on the software. I feel the right combination at this point is to do a little of both.
Jensson 2y ago
Them going into banking shows it is still a valuable degree,.
- spacebanana7 2y ago
  It’s not that these degrees are totally without value. Most banks and consultancies accept any quantitative degree as long as it’s from a prestigious university. But if you know you’re going into banking anyway you might as well do something vaguely relevant like accounting, economics or statistics.
- spratzt 2y ago
  It’s slightly more nuanced than that. Investment banks and consultancy companies are really interested in graduates who are smart and articulate. The nature of their degree is not that relevant. I know an extremely clever young woman who graduated in performance arts. She had no difficulty in getting a job at a top tier consultancy company. This company was far more interested in her than some mediocre plodder who hacked his way through a comp. Sci degree.
spratzt 2y ago
Unfortunately in 2025 you can probably add software engineering to the list of degrees to avoid.
- failedartifact 2y ago
  Only because there are too many software engineers, not the fact that AI will replace those jobs. Experienced software engineers are still required for successful businesses.
- spacebanana7 2y ago
  At the moment on LinkedIn there are about 15k results for jobs containing the “software engineer” keyword in the UK, compared to just over 3k for the “biology” keyword. Despite this, 56k people graduated in biological sciences but 24k people graduated in computer science. (Graduation data is from 2019/20 so may have changed slightly, but unlikely enough to move the needle) https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/sb258/figure-17 https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/sb258/figure-17
  - spratzt 2y ago
    The vast majority of jobs on LinkedIn are fake. Even so your figures confirm my claim; 24k graduates versus 15k jobs. The supply is greater than the demand. As a sibling comment has pointed out, there are too many software engineers in the UK.

bowsamic 2y ago

I think another big difference is that in the UK higher education is not really valued. In Germany people get PhDs because then they can get into much higher paying jobs, even if the PhD is not in a topic related much to the job. For example because I have a physics PhD I was able to get an entry level software dev position with a wage of 73k where someone with a bachelors may get only 40-50k. I don’t think that dynamic exists in the UK

growse 2y ago

The usefulness of that depends on whether you think academic higher education is vocational ("I'm doing a chemistry degree so that I can be a chemist") or inquisitive ("I'm doing a chemistry degree because it's so heckin' interesting"). I'd tend to advise people to study stuff they find interesting. I'd wager the percentage of degree holders doing a job that's directly related to their degree is in the minority, and that's not a bad thing.

spacebanana7 2y ago
Inquisitive education is great for people who’re independently wealthy or academically exceptional. But the average person takes a real risk of underemployment with that approach. A friend of mine with a degree in marine biology works as a barista, another with a philosophy degree works as a retail assistant.
- jmye 2y ago
  Those people don’t have those jobs because of their degree. As a non-wealthy, not particularly bright creative writing major, the focus of your degree only holds you back if you let it, or if you are utterly unwilling to work outside of your focus area. Tech, especially, has an absurd number of on-ramps for anyone willing to do the tiniest modicum of extra-curricular work.
dbetteridge 2y ago
Unfortunately while it shouldn't be the case, education for education sake is regarded as a privilege for the wealthy. Most are becoming educated and going into significant debt to get a specific job, or salary.

MathMonkeyMan 2y ago

I don't live in the UK, but here in the USA I studied Physics and Music and then got a job programming. A lot of it was dumb luck, but I want to emphasize that school is about learning, not about vocational training. My experience in programming was due to being a giant nerd, not school.

pinkmuffinere 2y ago

I do wonder how long this will hold up. It's true (though cliche) that software is "eating the world", but as the low hanging fruit gets automated away you do need people that understand more complex underlying processes to work on the software. I feel the right combination at this point is to do a little of both.

Jensson 2y ago

Them going into banking shows it is still a valuable degree,.

spacebanana7 2y ago
It’s not that these degrees are totally without value. Most banks and consultancies accept any quantitative degree as long as it’s from a prestigious university. But if you know you’re going into banking anyway you might as well do something vaguely relevant like accounting, economics or statistics.
spratzt 2y ago
It’s slightly more nuanced than that. Investment banks and consultancy companies are really interested in graduates who are smart and articulate. The nature of their degree is not that relevant. I know an extremely clever young woman who graduated in performance arts. She had no difficulty in getting a job at a top tier consultancy company. This company was far more interested in her than some mediocre plodder who hacked his way through a comp. Sci degree.

spratzt 2y ago

Unfortunately in 2025 you can probably add software engineering to the list of degrees to avoid.

failedartifact 2y ago
Only because there are too many software engineers, not the fact that AI will replace those jobs. Experienced software engineers are still required for successful businesses.
spacebanana7 2y ago
At the moment on LinkedIn there are about 15k results for jobs containing the “software engineer” keyword in the UK, compared to just over 3k for the “biology” keyword. Despite this, 56k people graduated in biological sciences but 24k people graduated in computer science. (Graduation data is from 2019/20 so may have changed slightly, but unlikely enough to move the needle) https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/sb258/figure-17 https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/sb258/figure-17
- spratzt 2y ago
  The vast majority of jobs on LinkedIn are fake. Even so your figures confirm my claim; 24k graduates versus 15k jobs. The supply is greater than the demand. As a sibling comment has pointed out, there are too many software engineers in the UK.