Goldman Sachs vs JP Morgan Graduate Scheme 2026: The Ultimate Comparison

Goldman Sachs vs JP Morgan Graduate Scheme 2026: The Ultimate Comparison

Goldman Sachs vs JP Morgan graduate scheme — if investment banking is the target, these are two of the most competitive entry points in the UK, and the numbers genuinely differ. The Goldman Sachs Graduate Scheme (internally the New Analyst Programme) reports a higher average total compensation than the JP Morgan Graduate Scheme, but JP Morgan runs a longer, more structured process that some candidates find easier to prepare for.

Salary: Goldman pulls ahead at the top

Goldman Sachs doesn’t publish one fixed salary. Reported figures put the average Graduate Analyst base around £72,000, with total compensation (including bonus) ranging from roughly £54,000 up to £130,000+ depending on division and performance — Investment Banking entry-level analysts report total compensation around £92,000.

JP Morgan publishes a clearer breakdown by track:

Goldman’s average base (£72,000) sits above JP Morgan’s Investment Banking base range (£60,000–£70,000), and Goldman’s reported ceiling (£130,000+) is higher than JP Morgan’s typical total (£90,000+) — though both depend heavily on division and individual performance. Run either figure through Debut’s Paycheck Calculator to see it after tax.

Entry requirements

Goldman Sachs accepts students from any academic background — no finance or economics degree required, and little to no prior work experience is expected.

JP Morgan lists a 2:1 as the standard minimum for most schemes, though some divisions will consider a strong 2:2 with other standout experience; no finance degree is required, particularly for technology and operations tracks.

Goldman Sachs has the more open degree-classification policy of the two.

Application process: how they actually differ

Goldman Sachs runs a lean three-stage process: online application (choose your division) → HireVue video interview (roughly 30 minutes, recorded) → Superday (a full day of back-to-back interviews with the team you’d join). Goldman genuinely runs on a rolling basis with no single fixed deadline, and competitive roles can fill within 4–6 weeks of posting.

JP Morgan runs a four-stage process: online application (CV, cover letter, eligibility questions) → online assessments (numerical, verbal, situational judgement) → HireVue video interview (pre-recorded) → assessment centre, also called a “Superday” (group exercises, case studies, interviews with senior staff).

The practical difference: JP Morgan adds a formal online-testing stage before the video interview that Goldman skips entirely — if numerical/verbal reasoning tests are a weak point, JP Morgan’s process has one more hurdle than Goldman’s.

Programme structure

Goldman Sachs‘ New Analyst Programme recruits into five core divisions: Investment Banking, Markets, Engineering, Global Compliance, and Legal.

JP Morgan‘s programme spans Investment Banking, Markets, Asset & Wealth Management, and Technology, with most tracks running 2–3 years combining on-the-job training, formal coursework and rotations, plus genuinely common internal mobility between divisions.

JP Morgan offers a dedicated Asset & Wealth Management track that Goldman doesn’t list as a standalone division; Goldman offers a dedicated Legal division that JP Morgan doesn’t list separately.

See Goldman Sachs’ own New Analyst Programme page and JP Morgan’s students and graduates hub for full official details.

Locations

Goldman Sachs is headquartered at its London office — the firm’s largest in Europe — but has also built a growing Birmingham hub at One Centenary Way since 2021, now home to 550+ employees across Engineering, Human Capital Management, Legal, Audit and Compliance.

JP Morgan is based primarily at Canary Wharf, London, for its graduate programme, without the same scale of a second UK city hub that Goldman and HSBC have built.

If a second UK base outside London matters, Goldman’s Birmingham hub is the more established option of the two.

Application deadlines

Timing is where the Goldman Sachs vs JP Morgan graduate scheme comparison gets tactical — both reward speed over waiting for a calendar date.

Goldman Sachs has no single UK-wide deadline — for the 2026-27 cycle, applications typically open between June and August and close between September and October, but competitive divisions fill well before the official close.

JP Morgan‘s 2026 intake typically opens in August or early autumn and closes on a rolling basis, often by October, though some technology and operations roles stay open longer.

Both firms reward speed over waiting for the calendar date — for both, apply as soon as your target division opens.

Benefits comparison

Goldman Sachs: pension through the Goldman Sachs UK Retirement Plan (defined benefit or defined contribution depending on service history), comprehensive private healthcare, wellness programmes and crisis support services.

JP Morgan: pension contributions, health insurance and wellbeing perks — JP Morgan’s guide also emphasises Pymetrics games and HireVue preparation as a genuine early filter worth practising ahead of time.

Both offer standard large-bank benefit packages; neither publishes a standout differentiator over the other.

Goldman Sachs vs JP Morgan graduate scheme: which one should you apply to?

If maximum total compensation is the goal, Goldman Sachs‘ reported ceiling and average base sit above JP Morgan’s, and its degree-background flexibility is the more open of the two. If you’d rather have a clearer, published salary table by track and a slightly more structured (if longer) application process, JP Morgan gives you more to plan around before you apply.

Both are genuinely rolling processes — applying to one doesn’t rule out the other, and many candidates targeting investment banking specifically run both in parallel.

For the rest of the banking cluster, see the Graduate Scheme hub, or compare against Barclays vs HSBC if you’re weighing a broader set of UK banks.