Graduate starting salaries: how much do you want to earn?


You've paid your fees, studied for three years and now you want to start earning some serious cash. But how do you know what's a good salary offer for the job you want?

The Associate of Graduate Recruiters claims the median starting salary offered by its members for 2010 - 2011 was £25,000, the same figure as the previous two years. If you're looking for a big wage packet every month, the investment bank and fund manager vacancies offer the largest salary, averaging £38,250. Only law firms offer salaries of more than £30,000.

See the tables below for an idea of what you could - and should - be aiming to earn when you start your graduate career.


Salary rangeEmployers offering salary range 2010 - 2011Employers offering salary range 2011 - 2012
£36,001 or more14.2%14.4%
£31,001 to £36,0009.3%10.4%
£26,001 to £31,00019.5%22.7%
£24,001 to £26,00023.4%22.3%
£22,001 to £24,00022.9%18.0%
£19,001 to £22,0007.8%8.1%
Less than £19,0002.9%2.4%
Don't know0.5%2.8%

Graduate job sectorAverage graduate starting wage 2010 - 2011
Investment bank or fund managers£38,250
Law firm£37,000
Banking or financial services£28,000
IT / Telecommunications companies£26,000
Insurance company£26,000
FMCG company£25,750
Energy, water or utility company£25,000
Accountancy / professional services firm£24,750
Transport or logistics company£24,500
Engineering or industrial company£24,000
Retail£24,000
Construction company or consultancy£23,250
Public sector£23,000
Consulting or business services firm£23,000
Other£23,000
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