From Telegraph Money, a guide to the highest-paying graduate jobs.
The graduate jobs that pay six-figure salaries
By Madeleine Ross 18 July 2023 • 1:00pm
For many ambitious students, the journey to the perfect first post-university job starts 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 grasping graduates expect to bank on payday?
Research from Institute of Student Employers (ISE) indicates that the average graduate salary in Britain sits at £33,229 a year, but this is skewed towards larger employers and financial services.
Here, Telegraph Money reveals some of the best-paid graduate jobs on the market at the moment – and some surprising companies that may pay less than you think.
Investment Banking
Traditionally one of the best remunerated first jobs (and most difficult), investment banking attracts the brightest and the best, as satirised in the HBO drama Industry.
If a grad is prepared for the high pressure of the trading floor and willing to spend hours 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 recent graduates should 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.
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Private Equity
The battle between investment bankers and those working in private equity to be the highest paid is long-standing and for graduate salaries the private equity industry (which invests and seeks to turn around privately owned 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 to work longer hours under pressure.
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Lawyers
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 support graduate hires with stipends while they sit the Solicitors Qualifying Exam, which was introduced in 2021.
Grants ranged from £12,500 to £17,500 in 2022 and 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 a graduate has qualified, a process that takes two years once they start work in 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 for tax law.
Corporate barristers can expect to earn more than criminal barristers with the top 2pc taking home more than £1m while 12pc earn less than £30,0000, according to figures compiled by The Lawyer, a trade newspaper for the legal profession.
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Accountancy
Starting out at a “Big Four” firm – PwC, Deloitte, EY and KPMG – has long been a pathway into other financial services companies with sky-high salaries on offer for the most successful.
But initially salaries for accounting hires, while often close to or slightly above the average, are far from dazzling.
The 2022 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 £25,000.
Graduates who opted for the alternative Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) qualification ranged between £21,000 and £25,000. For ACA trainees, this jumped up to £28,000.
Anonymous survey results suggest that the average starting salary at the Big Four hovers at approximately £30,000.
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Consulting
While a life of spreadsheets and red eye flights might not sound like everyone’s idea of a fun job, consultants can count on lucrative remuneration packages.
Graduates can expect to start on between £30,000 and £50,000, depending on where they’re starting. For Bain, McKinsey and BCG, salaries start at around £49,500 for first-year analysts.
EY starts grads on approximately £35,000, while Deloitte pays around £32,500. PwC Strategy is much higher at just above £50,000. 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 £45,000-£50,000 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 after graduation.
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The public sector
If you want to be a policy wonk, the civil service fast stream offers a starting salary of between £27,000 and £28,000 and those who complete the three-year programme can expect to earn between £45,000 and £50,000 when promoted.
Parliamentary jobs in MP’s offices are not known for their large pay packages, although some graduates find the access to the corridors of power a much more valuable reward.
The IPSA pay scales for 2023 and 2024 range from £21,529 for the most junior staff based outside of London to £56,312 for senior London-based researchers.
The NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme pays £27,702 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.
Retail Schemes
Starting at the bottom of a supermarket giant and working your way up can prove to be a lucrative career – especially for graduates who enjoyed retail jobs during their studies.
Aldi offers graduate area managers a starting salary of £50,000 – rising to £90,615 in the eighth year – while those working for Lidl can net £37,000.
Tesco pays between £28,000 and £37,000, depending on the scheme the graduate joins.