A Business (generic) degree pays back eventually, but the break-even is slower than ideal and automation exposure is medium. The maths are borderline.
Starting salary
£26,600/yr
Salary at 10 years
£42,800/yr
Typical debt at graduation
£51,750
Break-even point
9 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.
Business (generic)
Your 30-year debt lifecycle and AI-resilience risk, calculated.
01 — YOUR SCENARIO
Selected: Business (generic) · typical course length 3 yrs
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 from DfE LEO 2023–24
02 — THE VERDICT
YELLOW
Business (generic) pays back eventually, but slower than it should — and automation risk isn't negligible.
No degree required to enter this field
Break-even point
9 yrs post-grad
Total borrowed at grad
£51,750
Balance after 20 yrs
£66,594
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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
Still £58,101 owed at year 30 — written off entirely at year 40 under Plan 5, after paying £97,174 in repayments.
+12% above what you borrowed
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
£27k
£23k
£144
£54k
Year 2
£30k
£25k
£468
£57k +6%
Year 5
£36k
£28k
£954
£61k +7%
Year 10
£43k
£33k
£2k
£65k +7%
Year 20
£52k
£38k
£2k
£67k +2%
Year 30
£64k
£44k
£3k
£58k -13%
🔒 Years 10 / 20 / 30 unlock with the full report
05 — DEGREE PATH VS. ALTERNATIVE PATH
Business (generic) 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 12 (9 yrs post-grad)
06 — AI-RESILIENCE
MEDIUM RISK
automation exposure for Business (generic)
Confidence: High. Full driver analysis of task-level automation exposure for this role, sourced from occupational risk modelling.