Almost 2,000 euros: the salary difference depending on the degree you choose in Catalonia
90% of graduates have a job within three years, according to a report by AQU
BarcelonaNine out of ten graduates in Catalonia are employed three years after leaving university. However, this does not mean, obviously, that the conditions of these jobs are the same. In fact, according to the employment integration survey of degree holders published this Wednesday by AQU – the Agency for Quality of the University System of Catalonia – the salary difference between graduates of one degree and another in Catalonia is close to 2,000 euros gross per month.
Specifically, according to the survey of more than 25,000 people (57.5% of the total) who graduated three years ago in Catalonia, the highest paid are graduates in medicine and dentistry, with an average of 3,783 euros gross per month, while at the other end are history degrees with around 1,920 euros gross per month. Therefore, there is a difference of up to 1,863 euros at the end of the month between some graduates and others.
Beyond the extremes, engineering degrees (an average of €2,881 gross) and health degrees (around €2,694) lead the remuneration ranking. Looking at the details, within engineering, the highest paid is civil engineering (€3,110), while graduates in veterinary and food production receive the lowest remuneration (€2,234) within this group. Within the health field, apart from dentistry, which is the highest paid, the lowest paid is therapy and rehabilitation (€2,098).
As this year's cut-off grades already suggested, in which law and international relations overtook physics and mathematics as the degree with the highest access grade, the AQU survey also shows how social science graduates have a slightly higher salary (€2,446) than their scientific colleagues (€2,427). In fact, on average, an economics graduate earns about 200 euros gross more per month than a physics and mathematics graduate, three years after graduating.
Finally, within the humanities field – the lowest paid – the minimum salary is found in history and the highest paid are graduates in Catalan and Spanish philology with a gross salary of 2,213 euros.
A female doctor earns 484 euros less than a male doctor
Beyond the differences between degrees, the significant gender gap between professionals with the same training is concerning. The AQU survey shows significant salary differences in this regard. For example, among graduates in medicine and dentistry, men earn an average of 484 euros more per month than women. This inequality is 466 euros per month in civil engineering and over 400 euros for graduates in the fields of architecture, nursing, tourism, and occupational safety and health. Among the factors explaining this gap are the fact that men hold more management positions than women or the types of work shifts.
Another conclusion from the survey is that, despite rising salaries, workers are not noticing it in their pockets due to inflation. In this regard, considering the cost of living and wages, graduates have not yet recovered the levels of 2011 due to the accumulated inflation in recent years.
For the first time, English passes
Regarding graduate satisfaction, 70% state they would retake the same studies, a proportion that is especially high in medicine and dentistry (87%) or psychology (84%). On the other hand, those least convinced with what they have studied are tourism graduates, where only 47% would re-enroll in this degree. In this regard, the main reason for dissatisfaction is job prospects.
A novelty this year is that, for the first time in 25 years of surveys, the assessment of the English level received by graduates is passing. However, it does so with a 5.1 and continues to be the most poorly rated skill. On the other hand, the most highly rated skills are autonomous learning (7.6), theoretical training (7.5), and critical thinking (7.5).