On the numbers, a Marketing degree either never breaks even against going straight into work, or sits in a high automation-risk bracket. Worth weighing carefully before committing.
Starting salary
£24,900/yr
Salary at 10 years
£42,100/yr
Typical debt at graduation
£51,750
Break-even point
13 yrs post-grad
AI-automation risk
HIGH
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.
Marketing
Your 30-year debt lifecycle and AI-resilience risk, calculated.
01 — YOUR SCENARIO
Selected: Marketing · 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
RED
Marketing either never breaks even against the alternative path, or sits in a high AI-displacement bracket. Proceed with eyes open.
No degree required to enter this field
Break-even point
13 yrs post-grad
Total borrowed at grad
£51,750
Balance after 20 yrs
£68,912
🔒 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
Still £62,245 owed at year 30 — written off entirely at year 40 under Plan 5, after paying £93,682 in repayments.
+20% 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
£25k
£21k
—
£54k
Year 2
£29k
£24k
£347
£58k +6%
Year 5
£35k
£28k
£882
£62k +7%
Year 10
£42k
£32k
£2k
£66k +7%
Year 20
£51k
£38k
£2k
£69k +4%
Year 30
£63k
£43k
£3k
£62k -10%
🔒 Years 10 / 20 / 30 unlock with the full report
05 — DEGREE PATH VS. ALTERNATIVE PATH
Marketing 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 16 (13 yrs post-grad)
06 — AI-RESILIENCE
HIGH RISK
automation exposure for Marketing
Confidence: High. Full driver analysis of task-level automation exposure for this role, sourced from occupational risk modelling.