On the numbers, a Medicine degree clears its cost relatively quickly and sits in a low automation-risk bracket — a defensible investment for most people.
Starting salary
£42,800/yr
Salary at 10 years
£64,400/yr
Typical debt at graduation
£88,950
Worth it (vs. no degree) after
5 yrs post-grad
AI-automation risk
LOW
Degree required to enter field
Yes
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 5 years. Adjust the calculator below for your own scenario.
Medicine
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): £42,800 at graduation rising to £64,400 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
GREEN
Medicine out-earns the no-degree route quickly and the role isn't on the AI chopping block. Note the loan itself is never repaid — you pay 9% for 40 years and the rest is written off.
Worth it (vs. no degree) after
5 yrs post-grad
Healthcare support worker / paramedic — from £21k at 18
Total borrowed at grad
£88,950
You will repay
£193,841
2.2× what you borrowed · 9% for all 40 yrs, then written off
Balance after 20 yrs
£92,641
+4% 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)
Healthcare support worker / paramedic (no degree, per year)
Still £63,923 owed at year 30 — written off entirely at year 40 under Plan 5, after paying £193,841 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
£43k
£33k
£2k
£96k
Year 2
£48k
£36k
£2k
£99k +3%
Year 5
£57k
£41k
£3k
£101k +3%
Year 10
£64k
£44k
£4k
£102k +1%
Year 20
£79k
£51k
£5k
£93k -9%
Year 30
£96k
£60k
£6k
£64k -31%
05 — AI-RESILIENCE
9/10
automation exposure for Medicine
Confidence: High
Diagnostic AI is a co-pilot, not a replacement — regulatory, licensing and liability structures keep clinicians firmly in the loop.
06 — WHAT THE 9% ADDS UP TO
You will repay £193,841 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 £193,841 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
£41,565
£0
Year 20
£138,119
£2,259
Year 30
£313,253
£22,673
07 — SUMMARY
NECESSARY COST OF ENTRY
Medicine requires the credential regardless of the ROI math — you can't practice without it. On the numbers alone: break-even is 5 years post-grad, and automation exposure is low risk. Treat the debt as the price of admission, not an investment decision.
TAKE IT WITH YOU
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THE NO-DEGREE ROUTE
Every figure above compares Medicine against healthcare support worker / paramedic, 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.