How much will I earn on a Degree Apprenticeship?

Jack Collins
17 Apr 2020

A Degree Apprenticeship is an outstanding option. You’ll gain incredible experience in the working world and you’ll get to go to university at the same time. It’s the best of both worlds! But will you be a penniless student? Or are you going to earn the money you’ll need to enjoy the awesome combo of work-uni balance?

What’s the lowest amount I’ll earn as a Degree Apprentice?

As a Degree Apprentice, you will get paid. It’s the law, so the government will ensure you are paid a fair wage like everybody else.

The National Minimum Wage makes sure that your employer must pay you a certain amount of money per hour.

At the moment, the National Minimum Wage for apprentices is actually slightly lower than it is for non-apprentices. Indeed, if you are an apprentice under the age of 19, the minimum amount you must be paid is £4.15 an hour.

Also, if you are over the age of 19, and still in the first year of your apprenticeship, you will also be entitled to the same rate of £4.15 an hour.

Once you turn 19 and have finished the first year of your apprenticeship, though, you will be entitled to the full National Minimum Wage, which means you’ll be entitled to a higher minimum rate of pay.

Again, the amount you’ll be paid will be determined by your age:

- If you are aged 19 or 20, you will be paid at least £6.45 an hour.

- If you are aged 21, 22, 23 or 24, you will be paid at least £8.20 an hour.

- If you are aged 25 and over, you will be paid at least £8.72 an hour.

While plenty of employers will only pay the National Minimum Wage, many employers will pay significantly more!

What’s the average salary for a Degree Apprentice?

According to Glassdoor, the average basic salary for a Degree Apprentice in the UK is £18,014, which tallies with many of the salaries you’ll see offered for the live Degree Apprenticeships currently open for applications on our apprenticeship job listings.

What’s the highest salary I could earn?

Some Degree Apprentice salaries go up £25,000 per annum and beyond. Check out some of these higher-paying jobs on our list of Degree Apprenticeship job opportunities now. There are plenty of jobs with salaries upwards of £22,000 on there right now.

You can also earn these juicy salaries in all areas, from banking and tech to pharmaceuticals and accounting.

I’ve never earned an annual salary before. Can you break it down for me?

So how much money will you actually have to spend?

Here’s an example:

If you earn a salary as a Degree Apprentice of £23,000 per annum, and you work a standard 40-hour working week, i.e. 8 hours day, 5 days a week, this is how it breaks down:

- Monthly wage: £1,916.67
- Weekly wage: £442.31
- Daily wage: £88.46
- Hourly wage: £11.06

What about my tuition fees?

The best news of all is that you won’t have to pay any tuition fees. That’s right! You’ll be paid as a Degree Apprentice, you'll get to go to university, and your university education won’t cost you a penny. It’s win, win, win!

Will I be paid if I take a holiday?

All employees in the UK who work 5-days a week are entitled to a minimum of 28 days of paid annual leave a year. It’s the law!

This equates to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday. Whoop whoop!

Many employers will include your 8 bank holidays in this 28-day allowance, so effectively you’ll be getting 20 days of paid holiday on top of your bank holidays. Still, not to be sniffed at, right?!

If you work part-time, so fewer than 5-days a week, you’ll still be entitled to a statutory amount of holiday. This will just be worked out proportionally (a.k.a. pro rata).

Many employers will also offer an even more generous holiday allowance.

Will I pay tax?

As an apprentice, you are not exempt from paying tax.

You’ll pay income tax and a National Insurance Contribution each month. Normally, this will be deducted from your monthly salary through the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system.

The basic tax rate for salaries up to £50,000 is 20%.

One extra piece of good news, though, is that you aren’t required to pay tax on £12,500 of your salary. This is your personal tax-free allowance. So if you earn £23,000, you will only be taxed on £10,500 of your annual salary.