Which careers pay the highest for recent graduates?

Learn about the highest paying graduate positions, the average graduate wage in the UK, and how your degree discipline may effect your earning potential.

The Institute of Student Employers (ISE) performed an annual wage survey in 2022 and found that the average graduate salary in the UK is £33,229. One industry it investigated has pay that is significantly higher than normal: law firms pay their graduates an average of £42,810.

Though just 111 organizations submitted salary data, the results of the ISE's student recruitment survey, which includes responses from its member employers—typically the biggest employers with structured graduate programs—may not be indicative of earnings throughout the early careers market as a whole. Therefore, before looking at the salaries at various company sizes, we will first report on the results of the ISE to provide a picture of the biggest employers for graduates.

Employers typically give fixed salary rates for graduate programs, leaving little to no opportunity for negotiating. Negotiating a higher starting wage for a graduate position may be more feasible if the business indicates a range or suggests that compensation is dependent on experience. This is especially true if the employer is smaller. To ensure you are ready, learn more about how to answer the interview question "What are your salary expectations?" and how to negotiate your starting salary.

Proceed directly to graduate employment salaries across various industries and professions:

1.    at a glance: highest graduate salaries overall

2.    solicitors

3.    barristers

4.    accountancy

5.    investment banking

6.    financial services

7.    consulting

8.    IT

9.    engineering

10.   civil and structural engineering, construction and quantity surveying

11.   property surveying

12.   charity

13.   retail

14.   teaching

15.   public sector

16.   event management and hospitality

What employers and jobs pay the highest for graduates?

As the ISE suggests, trainee solicitor positions with commercial law firms (some paying £50,000) or pupil barrister positions with commercial and chancery chambers (paying up to £75,000) are usually the highest paying graduate jobs. To give you an idea of high paying jobs in other industries, consider the £50,000 offered for certain roles by healthcare technology specialist TPP, the £50,000 paid area manager program at Aldi, and the £45,000–£50,000 offered by consulting firm Newton Europe.

The salary data that employers formally publish is the foundation for the aforementioned selection. It is challenging to determine with certainty which careers and employers pay the highest wages because many claim to offer "competitive" salaries, and anonymous salary survey results, while helpful in their indication, only reflect past salaries of respondents, not what you might be offered. Therefore, if a large salary is what drives you, don't ignore companies that don't disclose a salary or other high-paying positions in different industries.

The average salary by business sector is broken down by the ISE as follows:

Legal: £42,810

Digital & IT: £32,441

Finance & professional services: £32,316

Health & pharmaceuticals: £30,125

Energy, engineering & industry: £28,667

Charity & public sector £27,966

Built environment £26,708

Retail & FMCG: £26,333

Since these ISE salaries may not be entirely indicative of graduate salaries, as was already mentioned, we will examine pay in more detail across various industries in the following sections. However, it is advisable to consider the entire compensation package when comparing careers and employers, as there might be noteworthy benefits that go beyond a headline salary.  

What is the potential salary for a trainee solicitor?

The highest starting salaries for solicitors are typically earned by graduates who work for large commercial firms. First-year trainees are typically offered between £40,000 and £50,000 by City law firms. These big recruiters frequently provide benefits like gym memberships, private healthcare, life insurance, and season ticket loans. Regional and high street firms, as well as the public sector, will offer lower compensation packages; the Government Legal Department, for instance, pays its trainee solicitors and pupil barristers £30,157.

What is the potential income for a barrister?  

Commercial and chancery sets typically offer between £40,000 and £75,000 for a 12-month period, making them the largest pupillage awards. Publicly funded sets (criminal or family law, for example) are likely to offer much less, but all pupillages are required to offer an award of £18,884 for those outside of London and £20,703 for those in London for a 12-month period. Regardless of the area of law you choose to specialize in, you should expect a significant increase in income if you are successful in building your practice after receiving tenancy.

What are the average pay and perks in the accounting field?

Starting salaries for accountants typically range from £20,000 to £28,000, depending on the employer and area. Bigger companies might pay more, particularly the Big 4 professional services firms. It typically takes three to four years to become qualified with a professional body. Most accounting employers will cover the cost of your exams and provide study time. A graduate loan could be included in your total compensation and benefits package. As you advance, there are good chances that your pay will increase in the future. Pay and benefits in accounting for recent graduates and beyond.

Benefits and compensation in investment banking

Investment banks typically claim that their compensation is either very competitive or competitive, so the only ways to find out what is offered are through recruitment agency reports and anonymous salary surveys. Generally speaking, they claim that the average salary in London for an analyst in investment banking is approximately £41,000, with the possibility of earning up to £70,000. It is probably going to be a little less in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Bonuses related to your performance are not included in these amounts.

Pay in insurance and financial services
Refers to jobs in insurance, retail banking, actuarial work, risk, and regulation as "financial services." Graduate starting salaries range from £21,000 to £32,000, and in London, they may even exceed this amount depending on the role, employer, and location.

What kind of pay and perks are typical for consulting?

While Newton Europe offers £45,000–£50,000, Alfa £40,000, and PwC £33,500, the majority of consulting employers withhold salary information until they extend a job offer. According to anonymous salary surveys, the average salary range for a graduate management consultant is between £30,000 and £35,000; however, many reputable employers of graduate consultants offer salaries of £40,000 or higher. Some consulting firms that offer slightly lower salaries may also have more generous benefits than those that appear to be offering more on paper. Consulting firms typically offer a wide range of benefits, the most notable of which is sponsorship of MBA programs. In this line of work, it's important to take the total compensation into account.

In IT, how much can you make?

IT graduates usually make between £24,000 and £30,000+ upon graduation, though this can vary based on the industry and employer. Employers like Alfa, Softwire, TPP, and Lloyds Banking Group (for its data science program) currently offer starting salaries of £40,000 or more.

There may be more room for negotiation than there usually is in other industries if you're applying for a single job opening, particularly at a tech start-up.

What could an engineer with graduate training earn?

Your pay as a newly graduated engineer will vary depending on your industry, employer, location, and credentials, but the average starting salary in engineering is in the range of £25,000 to £32,000. While larger employers typically pay their graduate engineers £30,000 and above, smaller, medium-sized, or regional employers may offer slightly lower pay, typically between £20,000 and £25,000. The highest salaries are typically found in the energy sector, especially in the oil and gas industry. Centrica pays between £36,000 and £48,000 to BP.

What is the salary range for graduates working in nonprofits and charities?
Starting salaries for graduates working in the charity/not-for-profit sector vary based on the organization, the sector, and the location of the role. You should normally budget between £15,000 and £22,000 for an entry-level position; if you work for a charity, you may also be eligible for additional funding if you live in London.

A few structured graduate programs exist in the charity sector, and they frequently pay more than entry-level positions. Programs with charities like Charityworks, Cancer Research, and IntoUniversity offer salaries of up to £27,000, with many of them guaranteeing increases in the second year of the program. At £35,000, the Wellcome Trust is one of the industry's largest payers. The Worthwhile graduate program pays at least the living wage, or the London living wage if your placement is based in London. It offers placements in small charities.

Your pay will eventually catch up with private sector salaries as your career develops, though it might be a little less than what you could make at London's biggest companies. Fundraising managers may receive compensation ranging from £26,000 to £40,000, contingent upon the particular demands of their position. Function heads can make far more money.

What can recent graduates make working for retailers?

Pay-wise, Aldi surpasses most of its rivals, offering £50,000 for its area manager program. Pay rates from other retailers vary from approximately £21,000 to £37,000, depending in part on the graduate job role and location.

As an illustration:

Lidl: £37,000 for its management program for graduates in sales

Tesco: Depending on the graduate program, £28,000–£37,000

Sainsbury's: $32,000

Estimated value for John Lewis Partnership: £27,000–£29,000

Next: £25,000 for the positions in trainee merchandising

Majestic Wine is said to be worth about £23,000

Retailers typically give discounts on their merchandise as one of their perks.

What kind of pay can a graduate in hospitality and events management expect?
Entry-level positions as events assistants, which require little to no experience, usually start salaries of between £20,000 and £25,000. In addition to their base pay, some employers will give bonuses and commission-based payments to their events staff. Depending on the company, position, and region, many in the hospitality industry earn salaries in the high teens to mid-twenties. McDonald's offers roughly £24,000–£28,000, while Mitchells & Butlers offers £26,000.