Broken down by age, 83 per cent of
respondents in the 65+ category say they are
satisfied with their jobs, and just 8 per cent
described themselves as dissatisfied or
somewhat dissatisfied. This appears to suggest
that STEM careers are rewarding for decades.
In contrast, around 31 per cent of the 25 to 34
age group described themselves as “satisfied”
with their careers. Nevertheless, about half of
this age group responded that they are “not
working or retired”, so it might be that they
are struggling to find that crucial first job.
Ultimately, it seems STEM jobs are fulfilling –
if you can get your foot in the door in the
first place.
Overall, 88 per cent of the students we
surveyed plan on entering STEM careers: 76 per
cent of the men and 93 per cent of women. So
perhaps efforts to encourage more women
into STEM careers are finally starting to pay off.
Stay tuned for next year’s survey to see if that
trend continues.more elsewhere in Europe.
On the other hand, loyalty also seems to pay.
People who had been with their employers for
nine years or more earned on average £15,000
more than those who had only stayed up to
three years.
The gender pay gap remains a problem, with
a 20 per cent difference in the average salaries
of men and women in the UK. This number is
far too high, but is at least moving slowly in the
right direction, down from 22 per cent in 2018.
The reduction could be in part due to the
mandatory reporting that was introduced in- Elsewhere in Europe, the gender pay gap
was a little higher at 24 per cent and hasn’t
shifted from 2018. Mandatory reporting is on
the way in countries such as Portugal and
France and this may affect the figure in future.
average dropped from £40,925 to £39,130. This
is probably part of a general economic trend
amid the disruption of Brexit. The UK’s Office
of National Statistics reports that 36 per cent of
full-time employees experienced a real-terms
pay decrease or pay freeze in 2019. The UK
government’s promise to increase domestic
research funding to £18 billion by 2025 may,
however, mean the trend is short-lived.
On the face of it, things look better elsewhere
in Europe. The survey looked at STEM jobs in
Ireland, Switzerland, Italy and Germany to get
a flavour of the job market there and found
that the average salaries increased by 8 per
cent compared with 2018, rising to €51,644.
But there is a caveat. The average salary in
Switzerland is so high that it skews the
calculation. In Germany and Italy the
average salaries were €58,500 and €40,000
respectively, but in Switzerland it was €95,000.
Leaving the latter out gives €46,629, which is
almost equivalent to the UK average.
Regional divide
So moving to other parts of Europe won’t
necessarily get you a bigger pay cheque then,
but could moving within the UK do it? There
was definitely a regional variation in salary
across the country (see map, right), with the
South East and London having the highest
averages. Then again, these areas also have a
higher cost of living. East Anglia wasn’t far
behind the top two, but outside of England the
picture was not quite as positive. Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland were among the
lowest average salaries. The North East of
England came bottom.
Bear in mind, however, that these regional
differences don’t apply to every employment
sector. For example, the average salary for
those working in chemicals manufacturing in
the Midlands is £29,615, far behind the North
West, where it is £37,069, and well below the
overall regional average. In the pharmaceutical
and engineering industries, there is a bigger
difference between the North West and South
West than their close regional averages would
suggest: for pharmaceutical jobs there is a
difference of £4000, and in engineering it’s
£6000. The spread of average salaries for
engineering was particularly broad, going
from £38,000 in the South West to £55,000
in Greater London.
There may be other strategies that could put
a little more money in your pocket though.
Switching to a large company with more than
1500 employees, for instance, could earn you
14 per cent more in the UK or up to 25 per cent
Average salary in science by UK region
UK respondents
SOURCE: NEW SCIENTIST/SRG/2020 SALARY SURVEY£34,528Scotland£37,092North West£33,636Northern Ireland£34,030Wales£36,173South West£33,828Yorkshire and
Humberside£46,512Greater London£32,500North East£39,130
from 2018-16%-14%-7%-3%6%-4.4%1%-6%-10%-18%-7%-6%Average UK salary£36,772Midlands£40,794East Anglia£43,967South East88 %
Number of STEM students
planning on getting a job
in science
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