Health
What can you do with a Medicine degree?
Quick answer
A Medicine degree commonly leads to roles such as foundation Year 1 doctor, foundation Year 2 doctor and academic Foundation Programme doctor. Five years after graduating, Medicine graduates had median earnings of £56,400 (middle half: £48,500–£67,000), and 92.2% were in sustained work or further study (DfE LEO, 2023–24 tax year). The largest employer sector for Medicine and dentistry graduates is health and social work (84.1% of those in work).
Medicine is a professional course with a separate UCAS path, not a generic BA. UK practice then follows foundation training.
- Median pay after 1 year
- £43,600
- Median pay after 5 years
- £56,400
- In work or study after 5 years
- 92.2%
- Earnings rank at 5 years
- 4 of 146 subjects
- Top employer sector
- Health and social work
- Graduates in latest cohort
- 6,055
On this page
What jobs can you get with a Medicine degree?
Graduates commonly start as foundation Year 1 doctor, foundation Year 2 doctor or academic Foundation Programme doctor. Medicine also builds skills that employers outside the obvious routes ask for, so many graduates move into roles that do not name the subject at all.
Foundation Year 1 doctor
Works in approved UK foundation posts after graduation and GMC processes, not as an unsupervised consultant.
Skills these adverts often ask for
- clerking
- prescribing under supervision
- handover
Foundation Year 2 doctor
Skills these adverts often ask for
- acute rotas
- portfolio evidence
- teaching juniors
Academic Foundation Programme doctor
Skills these adverts often ask for
- protected research time
- audit
- clinical duties
Role examples and skills are CourseToJob editorial guidance, not a guarantee of a job. Pay for individual roles varies by employer and location; we do not attach a salary to a role unless an official source publishes one.
Where do Medicine graduates work?
Five years after graduating, the largest employer sectors for Medicine and dentistry graduates in UK employment were health and social work (84.1%), public administration and defence (3.5%) and education (1.6%). One year after graduating, the most common sector was health and social work (91.5%).
| Industry sector | Share of graduates in work | Median earnings in that sector |
|---|---|---|
| Health and social work | 84.1% | £56,200 |
| Public administration and defence | 3.5% | £62,200 |
| Education | 1.6% | £53,100 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 1.3% | £62,600 |
| Administrative and support services | 0.9% | £64,400 |
| Information and communication | 0.5% | £43,900 |
| Wholesale and retail | 0.3% | £40,300 |
| Hospitality (accommodation and food) | 0.1% | Not published |
Most common specific industries
- Hospital activities — 77.1% of graduates in work, median £56,000
- Not known — 7.4% of graduates in work, median £63,000
- Medical and dental practice activities — 4.1% of graduates in work, median £71,700
- Other human health activities — 2.7% of graduates in work, median £61,100
- Administration of the State and the economic and social policy of the community — 2.3% of graduates in work, median £56,400
- Provision of services to the community as a whole — 1.2% of graduates in work, median £73,200
How much do Medicine graduates earn?
Official dataMedicine graduates had median earnings of £43,600 one year after graduating and £56,400 five years after graduating in the 2023–24 tax year. The median across all first-degree graduates of GB higher education institutions was £33,700 at five years.
| Years after graduating | Median earnings | Middle half earned | In work or further study | All-subject median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year after graduatingGraduated 2021/2022 | £43,600DfE LEO, Tax year 2023-24 | £39,900–£52,300 | 97.3% | £26,400 |
| 3 years after graduatingGraduated 2019/2020 | £51,600DfE LEO, Tax year 2023-24 | £42,800–£61,500 | 92.2% | £30,000 |
| 5 years after graduatingGraduated 2017/2018 | £56,400DfE LEO, Tax year 2023-24 | £48,500–£67,000 | 92.2% | £33,700 |
| 10 years after graduatingGraduated 2012/2013 | £66,200DfE LEO, Tax year 2023-24 | £46,500–£85,600 | 88.4% | — |
How one-year earnings have changed
Which universities have the highest-earning Medicine and dentistry graduates?
Among universities in our index with at least 50 Medicine and dentistry graduates measured, University of Dundee had the highest median earnings five years after graduating (£63,000), followed by University of Aberdeen (£62,200) and University of Glasgow (£61,900).
| University | Median earnings | Graduates measured |
|---|---|---|
| University of Dundee | £63,000 | 215 |
| University of Aberdeen | £62,200 | 145 |
| University of Glasgow | £61,900 | 345 |
| University of Cambridge | £61,100 | 160 |
| University of York | £61,100 | 60 |
| University of Edinburgh | £60,900 | 185 |
| University of Plymouth | £59,300 | 125 |
| King's College London | £58,200 | 540 |
| University of Southampton | £58,200 | 215 |
| University of East Anglia | £57,800 | 120 |
Is Medicine the right degree for you?
EditorialYou may enjoy it if
- You want a long professional course with clinical placements from an early stage.
- You can work with uncertainty, responsibility, and shift patterns.
- You accept that registration depends on more than the undergraduate years.
It may not suit you if
- You wanted a three-year campus social-science degree.
- You dislike exams, OSCEs, or being observed with patients.
- You expected a generic graduate job board to be the main next step.
Interview questions for Medicine graduate roles
EditorialUK foundation posts are allocated through a national process, not a typical graduate-scheme interview. The prompts below are editorial illustrations of the communication and judgement the work requires, not official foundation or royal-college questions.
You are asked to take a history from a frightened patient. How do you start?
What it tests. Consent, introductions, and listening before you fire a checklist.
A result is back and you do not fully understand it. What do you do before you act?
What it tests. You ask; you do not bluff a senior or the patient.
Night handover is noisy and incomplete. How do you make it safe?
What it tests. You structure what you know, what you do not, and who is sickest.
A relative wants a prognosis you cannot give. How do you answer?
What it tests. Honesty about uncertainty and who will speak to them.
You think a prescription looks wrong. What is your next step?
What it tests. You stop and check. Hierarchy does not outrank safety.
Course interviews. UK medical schools interview applicants. Many use multiple mini-interviews (MMIs); others use panels or online formats. The school tells you the format. That admissions interview is separate from foundation-year recruitment after graduation.
Illustrative question types for the roles above, not questions from a named employer.
Find Medicine graduate jobs
Searched by the entry-level roles aboveSearch UK vacancies connected to medicine. These are role matches, not guaranteed graduate-level jobs: read the experience, qualifications and work-permission requirements in each full advert.
Salary filters and ordering use the provider’s data, which can include estimates. Cards below show employer-listed pay only. Cached searches can be up to 30 minutes old; the employer’s advert confirms availability.
Checking vacancies for Foundation Year 1 doctor…
Prepare your application with graduate cv examples, student cv examples, the free CV builder and the application tracker.
Research exact university programmes
We have not added verified programme records for this subject yet. Use the official university catalogue for current courses, fees and entry requirements.
Explore the programme finder · Compare programme details · Research international scholarships
Make your next move
Planning to study Medicine in the UK?
Check the exact programme, entry requirements and total cost before applying. International applicants should also confirm qualification equivalence, English-language evidence and visa requirements.
Find UK study guidance for your country · Compare international course-fee examples
Explore the international student guide · Build your study budget and checklist
Universities for Medicine in our index
55 universitiesAn editorial provision index, not a live UCAS catalogue: confirm current courses on UCAS. CourseToJob is not UCAS.Open Medicine in the full university explorer.
Show all 55 universities
Name, city, or a CourseToJob subject. Nothing is stored.
Nation
No university matches that search.
Undergraduate applications are made on UCAS, not here.
Medicine degree: frequently asked questions
What jobs can you do with a Medicine degree?
Common starting roles include foundation Year 1 doctor, foundation Year 2 doctor and academic Foundation Programme doctor. Five years after graduating, the most common sectors for Medicine and dentistry graduates in work were health and social work (84.1%), public administration and defence (3.5%) and education (1.6%). These are examples, not guaranteed jobs: your experience, location and further training matter.
How much do Medicine graduates earn in the UK?
DfE Longitudinal Education Outcomes data for the 2023–24 tax year shows median earnings for UK-domiciled Medicine graduates of £43,600 one year after graduating, £51,600 three years after graduating, £56,400 five years after graduating and £66,200 ten years after graduating. Each figure describes a different graduating cohort, not one person's pay rise, and it is gross pay for those in sustained employment, not a starting salary offer.
Is a Medicine degree worth it?
It depends on what you want to do. On the official data, 92.2% of Medicine graduates were in sustained employment or further study five years after graduating, with median earnings of £56,400. For comparison, the median across all first-degree graduates of GB higher education institutions was £33,700 at the same point. That places Medicine 4 of 146 subject groups by five-year median earnings. Earnings are only one factor: enjoyment of the subject, accreditation and the route into your target job matter too.
Which universities have the highest-earning Medicine and dentistry graduates?
Among universities in our index with at least 50 graduates measured, the highest five-year median earnings for Medicine and dentistry were at University of Dundee (£63,000), University of Aberdeen (£62,200) and University of Glasgow (£61,900). These figures reflect entry grades, subject mix and where graduates work, so they are not a measure of teaching quality.
Can international students study Medicine in the UK?
Yes, most UK universities accept international applicants, but entry requirements, recognised qualifications, English-language evidence and overseas tuition fees depend on the university and programme. Check the university course page and international admissions team, then check visa requirements on GOV.UK.
Skilled Worker visas
Sponsorship depends on the job's occupation code and the current Skilled Worker rules, not on a subject's median pay. A Skilled Worker decision uses the higher of the general threshold and the SOC going rate. Subject LEO medians are not sufficient. Read the Skilled Worker job rules on GOV.UK.