Blog
You Should Know 31.07.24 (Updated)

These universities get you the highest graduate salaries in 2018

New research has revealed the universities which will get you the highest graduate salaries and the results are not what you would expect.

Professional Counseling, Higher Education Professional with experience in Student Affairs and Academic Affairs

highest paying

There are plenty of important factors that students consider when they’re looking for a graduate job. Sectors, locations, the opportunity to grow and develop, company culture – yes, these are all important things. But the Wu-Tang Clan famously said cash ruled everything around them and the same is still true in this day and age. It’s all about those graduate salaries, people.

graduate salaries 1

Most of us assume (correctly) that your choice of industry or company are the main drivers of how much salary you make when you graduate. But there’s another factor which affects this, and it was a decision you made long before you applied for a job which caused it.

Your choice of university affects your graduate salary

graduate salaries 1
That’s right, y’all. Research conducted by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA, for the anagram enthusiasts among you) shows that the university you chose to go to, waaaayyyy back when you were 17, has at least some bearing on how much you earn once you graduate.

Why? Well, every university has different relationships with top employers, not to mention different careers and employability services available. The help that these give you as a student can make all the difference when it comes to how quickly you get a job post-graduation  and how much you earn when you do.

So which one is the best?

At this point, you’re probably gagging to know which universities set you up for the highest graduate salaries, aren’t you? Well thankfully, the good people at The Student Room have used the course salary data collected from HESA to make a handy table, and calculated the average median for each university.

Here are those average medians ranked from highest to lowest, and the results might just surprise you.

University   Average median salary    Average upper salary    Average lower salary  High-paying course
The Open University   ВЈ26,373   ВЈ35,529   ВЈ20,402 Computing & IT (ВЈ50K)
City, University of London   ВЈ24,453   ВЈ28,133   ВЈ20,800 Civil Engineering  (ВЈ29k)
London School of Economics   ВЈ23,818   ВЈ28,436   ВЈ19,982 Mathematics & Economics(ВЈ40k)
Queen Mary University   ВЈ23,644   ВЈ27,649   ВЈ19,986 Economics & Finance  (ВЈ33k)
The University of Bath   ВЈ23,399   ВЈ27,065   ВЈ19,698 Politics with Economics  (ВЈ32k)
Brunel University London   ВЈ23,246   ВЈ26,860   ВЈ19,706 Economics & Management(ВЈ31k)
Loughborough University   ВЈ22,942   ВЈ26,572   ВЈ19,444 Computing & Management(ВЈ31k)
University of Surrey   ВЈ22,826   ВЈ26,456   ВЈ19,626 Chemical Engineering  (31k)
University of Cambridge   ВЈ22,606   ВЈ26,576   ВЈ19,030 Economics  (ВЈ33k)
University of Southampton   ВЈ22,008   ВЈ25,452   ВЈ18,946 Medicine  (ВЈ33k)

In a result that some people might find shocking, The Open University assures its graduates the highest median salary – ВЈ26,373. This is doubling surprising considering that it’s a university defined by distance learning and adult education. Graduating with a degree in their highest paying course – computing and IT is likely to get you a ВЈ50,000 starting salary – a clear confirmation of the importance of digital skills.

Next up were London universities City and LSE with ВЈ24,453 and ВЈ23,818 respectively. Interestingly, of all the universities in the Top 10, only 4 of them are part of the esteemed Russell Group, with Cambridge languishing in 9th place and no sign of Oxford anywhere.  ?

It just goes to show you that success isn’t where you go to uni, it’s what you do while you’re there.

Connect with Debut on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for more careers insights.

Rate us!

Average rating 0 / 5. Vote count: 0

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

cta_bg

Get started

Take four minutes to set up your profile and have great grad jobs come to you.