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On the JJ Barnes blog, I check out research by Reboot into what celebrities would likely earn based on their qualifications rather than their celebrity status.
We all know that many people aren’t working jobs that are directly related to their university degrees, but did you know that many celebrities are also in the same boat? For instance, according to reports, it would take Prince Williams 2,494 years to achieve his current net worth.
This makes me wonder what would happen if celebrities weren’t celebrities, and had to work in the “normal” job market like we do, relying solely on their degrees?
SEO provider Reboot was interested to learn this, so they used Payscale.com to estimate the 2023 annual salary of 27 celebrities based on their university degrees. This showed how many years it would take them to reach their current net worth if they took a different job!
Years To Reach Current Net Worth
| Celebrity | University | College/university degree | Potential job role | Predicted salary 2023 £ | Number of years to reach current net worth |
| Chris Martin | University College London | Ancient World Studies | Museum curator | 40,000 | 3,293 |
| Prince William | University of St Andrews | Geography | Architectural technologist | 33,000 | 2,494 |
| Emma Watson | Brown University | English literature | Writer | 31,000 | 2,257 |
| Bradley Cooper | Georgetown University | English | Editorial assistant | 49,379 | 1,667 |
| John Legend | University of Pennsylvania | English, African American literature | Writer | 56,786 | 1,449 |
| Tom Hiddleston | University of Cambridge | Classics | Archivist | 30,000 | 1,098 |
| Kourtney Kardashian | University of Arizona | Theatre Arts and Spanish | Production Manager, Theater | 50,202 | 1,066 |
| Gerard Butler | University of Glasgow | Law | Lawyer | 65,000 | 1,013 |
| Natalie Portman | Harvard University | Psychology | Clinical psychologist | 79,007 | 938 |
| Eva Longoria | California State University | MA Chicano studies | Higher education lecturer | 73,804 | 894 |
Chris Martin
Chris Martin, the lead singer of Coldplay, came in first among the celebrities whose net worths would take the longest to reach if they only had a college degree! The British singer, who earned a degree in Ancient World Studies from University College London, is likely to work as a museum curator like other graduates with the same degree. He would have to work 3,293 more years to reach his current net worth if he were to earn an annual salary of £40,000, which is estimated.
Prince William
Second place went to Prince William. After 17 years of work experience, most typical Geography graduates would earn an average of £33,000 in 2023, despite his current net worth of £83 million. Assuming that Sovereign William was naturally introduced to an alternate family, he might have rather turned into an engineering technologist – implying that it would have taken him 2,494 years to become however rich as he seems to be currently.
Emma Watson
Emma Watson, an actress who earned a degree in English literature from Brown University, comes in third place. She could have become a writer after graduation, earning up to £31,000 this year, given her interests in journaling and reading books and her English degree. This means that if she didn’t start working as Hermione Granger, it would take her 2,257 years to reach the same amount of money she has now.
Celebrity University Degrees Potential Worth
| Celebrity | College/university degree | Potential job role | Predicted salary 2023 £ |
| Ken Jeong | Medical degree | Doctor / General Practitioner | 157,646 |
| Mayim Bialik | PhDin neuroscience | Neuroscientist | 134,147 |
| 2 Chainz | Psychology | Clinical psychologist | 86,414 |
| Christy Turlington | Masters in Public Health | Healthcare Consultant | 83,122 |
| Natalie Portman | Psychology | Clinical psychologist | 79,007 |
| Eva Longoria | Masters in Chicano studies | Higher education lecturer | 73,804 |
| Wanda Sykes | Marketing | Marketing executive | 70,777 |
| Gerard Butler | Law | Lawyer | 65,000 |
| John Legend | English, African American literature | Writer | 56,786 |
| Issa Rae | African and African-American studies | Broadcast journalist | 51,025 |
Ken Jeong
It was estimated that American actor and comedian Ken Jeong, who graduated from medical school and had been a licensed doctor for a few years, would earn £157,646 annually if he decided to work in medicine.
Mayim Bialik
Mayim Bialik, an American actress who received her PhD in neuroscience from UCLA, came in second place as the celebrity who would earn the most money with a university degree (134,147 pounds).
2 Chainz
Based on his degree in psychology, the third-place rapper, 2 Chainz, would earn approximately £86,414 as a clinical psychologist in the United States.
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