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
£51,750
Break-even point
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, £9,250 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.
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 from DfE LEO 2023–24
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
Break-even point
15 yrs post-grad
Total borrowed at grad
£51,750
Balance after 20 yrs
£55,560
🔒 unlock to view
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
Loan balance
Projected clear: loan fully repaid by year 39 post-grad, after paying £113,053 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.
Year
Gross
Take-home
Repayment
Loan balance
Year 0
£26k
£22k
£72
£54k
Year 2
£31k
£25k
£547
£57k +6%
Year 5
£39k
£30k
£1k
£61k +6%
Year 10
£49k
£37k
£2k
£62k +3%
Year 20
£60k
£42k
£3k
£56k -11%
Year 30
£73k
£49k
£4k
£34k -39%
🔒 Years 10 / 20 / 30 unlock with the full report
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
MEDIUM RISK
automation exposure for Accounting / Finance
Confidence: High. Full driver analysis of task-level automation exposure for this role, sourced from occupational risk modelling.