Cast your vote on the biggest talking points of the day, every dayFinal results will be announced in tomorrow's poll See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy DAILY MAIL REPORTER Published: 12:17 BST, 9 June 2026 | Updated: 12:17 BST, 9 June 2026
Half of graduates in Britain earn less than the average national wage five years after leaving university, a damning report revealed today.Analysis by the Policy Exchange think-tank found that more than 150,000 students a year struggled to reach the median full-time worker's salary of £35,000. Some 11 per cent of graduates failed to land a job that paid them £24,000 over the same period.The study also found that only 57 per cent were in full-time work 15 months after leaving university. It is the latest evidence of a collapse in the 'university premium', the additional lifetime income graduates earn compared to non-graduates.Critics have said it is time to stop 'luring' young people into 'debt-trap degrees', with the typical student amassing debts of £50,000 a year to study.It follows a damning poll in which a third of Brits said going to university is no longer worth the time and cost – more than double the amount who said so 20 years ago.Now you can have your say in the Mail's latest poll – is university a waste of money?
