Graduates in disciplines with a strong science and technology content earn higher starting salaries than graduates in other disciplines, a new study by Forfás has found.
Comparative Starting Salaries and Career Progression in Science, Engineering and Technology says those with a range of qualifications from primary to PhD level in science and technology are among the best-paid graduates.
Graduates in medicine and healthcare, disciplines with a substantial scientific content, are among the best paid, with three-quarters of dentistry graduates and some 68 per cent of paramedical graduates earning more than €33,000 in their first year.
The next highest-paid graduates at primary degree level are those in engineering, computing and science, while within the engineering disciplines, chemical and processing engineers are the highest paid in their first year of work, with 23 per cent earning more than €33,000.
Within the computer sector, business information systems graduates are the highest paid, with 21 per cent also earning more than €33,000, according to the study, which used data gathered by the Higher Education Authority on graduate employment.
Forfás also found that salaries in the science, engineering and technology disciplines are higher than earnings of graduates with qualifications in the humanities, commerce and business studies and law.
Only 3 per cent of humanities graduates and 5 per cent of commerce and business studies graduates earn more than €33,000 in their first year. No primary law degree graduates surveyed earned more than €33,000, and only 25 per cent earned more than €23,800, the survey found.
The findings were welcomed by Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin, who launched the study at a Discover Science and Engineering Awards of Science Excellence ceremony in Cork yesterday.
"This report highlights the exciting careers and levels of opportunity open to graduates and students in the science, engineering and technology sector," he said. "These graduates and students are at the forefront of Ireland's transition as a world leading knowledge economy."