A Accounting / Finance degree pays back eventually, but the break-even is slower than ideal and automation exposure is medium. The maths are borderline.
Starting salary
£25,800/yr
Salary at 10 years
£49,300/yr
Typical debt at graduation
£53,370
Worth it (vs. no degree) after
15 yrs post-grad
AI-automation risk
MEDIUM
Degree required to enter field
Not always
Based on DfE LEO 2023–24 median graduate earnings and ONS ASHE 2025 salary data. Assumes Plan 5 student loan, £9,790 tuition/yr, £8,000 maintenance/yr over 3 years. Adjust the calculator below for your own scenario.
Accounting / Finance
Your 30-year debt lifecycle and AI-resilience risk, calculated.
01 — YOUR SCENARIO
Repayment plan
For students starting Sept 2023 onward · threshold £25,000 from April 2026 · interest RPI (3.2%) · written off after 40 yrs · gov.uk ↗
Salary assumption
P50 — median graduate earnings for this subject (DfE LEO 2023–24): £25,800 at graduation rising to £49,300 by year 10.
Both routes are compared at their median. Switch to see how the answer holds up if you land at the bottom or top of the range.
02 — THE VERDICT
YELLOW
Accounting / Finance pays back eventually, but slower than it should — and automation risk isn't negligible.
No degree required to enter this field
Worth it (vs. no degree) after
15 yrs post-grad
AAT apprenticeship / accounts admin — from £21k at 18
Total borrowed at grad
£53,370
You will repay
£118,888
2.2× what you borrowed · cleared after 40 yrs
Balance after 20 yrs
£58,748
+10% above borrowed
03 — SALARY VS. LOAN BALANCE
Yearly gross salary against your loan balance — rising with interest, falling with repayments, until it's cleared or written off.
Y0Y15Y30
Gross salary (per year)
Loan balance (total owed)
AAT apprenticeship / accounts admin (no degree, per year)
Projected clear: loan fully repaid by year 40 post-grad, after paying £118,888 in repayments.
Salary data: DfE LEO 2023–24 median graduate earnings.
04 — YEAR-BY-YEAR BREAKDOWN
The material impact, spelled out: gross salary, take-home after the 9% graduate tax, and what's still owed — on Plan 5, written off after 40 years.
Year
Gross
Take-home
Repayment
Loan balance
Year 0
£26k
£22k
£72
£56k
Year 2
£31k
£25k
£547
£59k +6%
Year 5
£39k
£30k
£1k
£63k +6%
Year 10
£49k
£37k
£2k
£65k +3%
Year 20
£60k
£42k
£3k
£59k -9%
Year 30
£73k
£49k
£4k
£38k -35%
05 — DEGREE PATH VS. ALTERNATIVE PATH
Accounting / Finance doesn't strictly require a degree to enter. Cumulative net earnings, degree route vs. direct work / apprenticeship — the crossover is the moment the degree route pulls ahead.
Y0Y15Y30
Degree path (cumulative)
Alternative path (cumulative)
Crosses over at year 18 (15 yrs post-grad)
06 — AI-RESILIENCE
4/10
automation exposure for Accounting / Finance
Confidence: Low
Reconciliation, reporting and junior analysis — the bulk of entry-level accounting work — are squarely in scope for automation.
07 — WHAT THE 9% ADDS UP TO
You will repay £118,888 over 40 years on Plan 5. That is the headline number — but money has a time value, and these are the same repayments valued as if invested instead, in a LISA (£4k/yr cap + 25% government bonus) with a Stocks & Shares ISA above it.
This is a yardstick for the size of the graduate tax, not a plan you can act on — almost nobody gets the degree without the loan, and you cannot opt out of the 9%. Read it as what the repayment stream is worth in economic terms, which is rather more than the £118,888 of cash it looks like. It is also not money the no-degree route would have: that path earns less to begin with. Whether the degree beats not going is the figure at the top of this page.
Assumes a 6% average annual return (long-run mid-point for a diversified stocks & shares portfolio, historically ranging ~4–8%/yr) — not guaranteed.
Year
LISA (+25% bonus)
Stocks & Shares ISA
Year 10
£16,238
£0
Year 20
£71,300
£0
Year 30
£186,890
£306
08 — SUMMARY
MARGINAL — PROCEED CAREFULLY
Accounting / Finance doesn't strictly require a degree to enter, and the break-even here is slower than it should be with medium risk automation exposure. The maths are borderline — this is closer to a lifetime tax than a wealth-builder unless you outperform the median.
Worth a look instead: Software Engineering, Engineering
TAKE IT WITH YOU
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THE NO-DEGREE ROUTE
Every figure above compares Accounting / Finance against aat apprenticeship / accounts admin, starting around £21k at 18. If that route interests you, these are the official entry paths — apprenticeships, college courses and direct application, with the GCSE and A-level requirements for each.