For many ambitious students, the journey to the perfect first post-universityjobstarts the moment they walk into the library.
Whether it’s joining the strategy consulting society or a business club, writing articles on LinkedIn or furiously networking at speaker events, students will go to great lengths to polish their CVs.
But after the rounds of Spring Weeks and intensive summer internships, what can graspinggraduatesexpect to bank on payday?
Research from Institute of Student Employers (ISE) indicates that the averagegraduatesalary in Britain sits at £35,170 a year, but this is skewed towards larger employers and financial services.
Here, Telegraph Money reveals some of the best-paidgraduatejobson the market at the moment – and some surprising companies that may pay less than you think.
You can navigate to the job you’re most interested in below:
- Investment banking
- Private equity
- Law
- Accountancy
- Consulting
- The public sector
- Retail schemes
Investment banking
Traditionally one of the best remunerated firstjobs(and most difficult), investment banking attracts the brightest and the best, as satirised in the HBO dramaIndustry.
If agradis prepared for the high pressure of thetrading floor and willing to spendhours each day formatting “decks” (Powerpoint slides for clients), they can currently expect to start on a salary around £70,000.
Many of the big names such as Rothschild, JPMorgan Chase, Evercore and Goldman Sachs, offer significant bonuses at the end of the first year, some of which have historically been as high as £50,000.
Some also offer “scholarships” that are paid during the new hires’ studies – often on top of the up to £10,000 that students have earned doing lucrative summer internships with the banks.
But recentgraduatesshould be wary of the large sign-on bonuses, which typically have to be paid back if a staff member leaves in a short period of time.
New graduates should also be aware that if market prospects change, redundancies can be brutal and unexpected.
Private equity
The battle between investment bankers and those working in private equity to be the highest paid is long-standing, and forgraduatesalaries the private equity industry (whichinvests and seeks toturnaround privatelyowned companies)often edges out the big banks.
The current market rate stands at around £75,000 with bonuses ranging between 25pc-100pc, although analysts can expect toworklonger hours under pressure.
Law
A training contract at a Magic Circle firm is treated by both law and non-law students alike as a golden ticket to a glittering legal career.
Firms typically supportgraduatehires with stipends while they sit the Solicitors Qualifying Exam, which was introduced in 2021.
Future trainee lawyers can expect £20,000 in financial support from mega-firm A&O Shearman in 2024. Other firms offer between £12,000 and £20,000, although some pay out much less.
Many Magic Circle companies are sending trainees to the University of Law, which boasts more than 5,000 students across 20 locations.
Starting salaries for trainee lawyers begin at around £45,000-£50,000 a year, depending on location.
But once agraduatehas qualified, a process that takes two years once they startworkin earnest, salaries take off. Many firms pay newly qualified solicitors more than £100,000 and as much as£180,000 at the top of the market.
For wannabe barristers, securing a pupillage from an inn of court is a crucial step after passing the bar course.
Pupillage awards are how trainees are paid during their year of pupillage, and range from £30,000 to £100,000 at Gray’s Inn or Gough Square Chambers for tax law.
Corporate barristers can expect to earn more than criminal barristers. The top 2pc take home more than £1m, while 12pc earnless than £30,000, according to figures compiled by The Lawyer, a tradenewspaper for the legal profession.
Accountancy
Starting out at a “BigFour” firm –PwC, Deloitte, EY and KPMG –has long been a pathway into other financial services companies, with sky-highsalaries on offer for the most successful.
But initial salaries for accounting hires, while often close to or slightly above the average, are far from dazzling.
The 2024 Hays UK Salary and Recruiting Trends report, which compiles data from 23,000 employers, found that typical salaries for trainee Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) accountants ranged between £19,000 and £35,000.
Graduates who opted for the alternative Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)qualification ranged between £20,000 and £25,000. For ACA trainees, this jumped up to £37,000.
Anonymous survey results suggest that the average starting salary at the BigFour hovers at approximately £30,000.
Consulting
While a life of spreadsheets and red eye flights might not sound like everyone’s idea of a funjob, consultants can count on lucrative remuneration packages.
Graduatescan expect to start on between £30,000 and £50,000, depending on where they’re starting. For Bain, McKinsey and BCG, salaries start at between £45,000 and £52,000 for first-year analysts.
EY starts grads on approximately £35,000, while Deloitte pays around £32,500. Boutique firms, such as Oliver Wyman and L.E.K Consulting often pay slightly more than the traditional firms, awarding graduates more than £45,000.
Newton offers £49,000-£53,000 with a £2,500 signing bonus, and promises that pay will increase with every promotion and every year.
The average UK consultant salary is approximately £85,000, so students who stick at it can expect to be comfortably well-off a few years aftergraduation.
The public sector
If you want to be apolicy wonk, the civil service fast stream offers a starting salary of £31,186 and those who complete the three-year programme can expect to earn between £45,000 and £50,000 when promoted.
Parliamentaryjobsin MP’s offices are not known for their large pay packages, although somegraduatesfind the access to the corridors of power a much more valuable reward.
The IPSA pay scales for 2024 and 2025 range from £22,308 for the most junior staff based outside of London to £59,803 for senior London-based researchers.
The NHSGraduateManagement Training Scheme pays £27,701 a year, while students joining the National Audit Office can expect to earn more than £25,000 in Newcastle and more than £30,000 in London.
Once they have completed their exams, the base salary rises to £43,720 in London and £36,064 in Newcastle.
Retail Schemes
Starting at the bottom of a supermarket giant and working your way up can prove to be a lucrative career – especially forgraduateswho enjoyed retailjobsduring their studies.
Aldi offers graduatearea managers a starting salary of £50,000 – rising to £90,615 in the eighth year – while those working for Lidl can net £40,000 and 30 days’ holiday.
Tesco pays between £30,000 and £37,000, depending on the scheme thegraduatejoins.
FAQs about high-paying grad jobs
What is the highest-paying graduate salary?
According to Adzuna, graduates could earn around £75,000 at a private equity firm, plus bonuses of between 25pc and 100pc.
Graduates going into investment banking could expect around £70,000.
Is £30,000 a good graduate salary?
The average graduate salary is £40,000, according to the latest government statistics covering salary data from 2023. Therefore, on the face of it, a starting salary of £30,000 might not look so appealing – but salaries can vary widely depending on the sector you’re working in, and the employer.
Bear in mind that salary doesn’t tell the full story; you should also consider things like company benefits and work-life balance, and how quickly your salary is likely to rise in future.
