Top universities by graduate starting salary

The Good University Guide contains a plethora of useful information. One of the nuggets I particularly enjoyed was the starting salaries of university graduates. LSE is top, but South Bank beats out Cambridge. Here the GUG's author, John O'Leary explains why...

"The graduate salaries table in yesterday’s Good University Guide supplement caused quite a stir. How, readers asked, can London South Bank University (second from bottom of the main ranking) produce average salaries that are higher than those at Cambridge, Warwick or Bristol?

They are surprising figures – and not ones that I would rely on in choosing a course because the number of responses vary considerably from university to university. That is one of the reasons why they are not among the measures used in our rankings.

But London South Bank has been identified before as a university with high-earning graduates and one that makes a big difference to the earning potential of its students, many of whom come from relatively poor backgrounds. A report by PriceWaterhouse Coopers put the average salary premium enjoyed by South Bank graduates at £186,000 over a working lifetime - £26,000 more than the average for the UK – partly because of the vocational nature of the degrees there.

Dr Phil Cardew, London South Bank’s Pro Vice-Chancellor, said: “Over 60 per cent of our students are over 25 upon enrolment, and many have had interesting and varied journeys into the world of higher education. This combination of ‘life experience’ and the professional focus and accreditation of our courses means that many of our graduates move directly into relatively senior positions which can command commensurate starting salaries.”

Salary differences are heavily influenced by the course profile of a university - so those with medical schools tend to do well, for example. There is also some advantage to being in London, which is one benefit for South Bank. It has a fairly narrow range of full-time degrees, compared to a lot of universities, with a lot of students in business subjects. Of course, we don't know if that will continue to be an advantage in the recession - these figures were collected well before the effects began to be felt.

Average salaries are likely to tumble in future editions of the guide, but the highest-earners by subject will remain much the same. Medicine and dentistry are always at the top of that table, although there are some surprises – such as social work, which appears in the top ten nationally."

What Graduates Earn	Starting salary
LSE	£27,637
Imperial College	£26,299
Oxford	£24,460
King's College London	£24,110
UCL	£23,478
London South Bank	£23,469
Queen Mary, London	£23,118
Cambridge	£22,964
City	£22,664
Warwick	£22,586
Bristol	£22,458
Bath	£22,279
Brunel	£21,934
Surrey	£21,764
Edinburgh	£21,750

Comments

[opiniononeverything]

Does this take into account the "London Living Allowance" that, when I was starting out, meant that I would have earned 5K more for the same job in London as I got in the Midlands?

[Richard]

Jim Hacker would be proud to see the LSE up there. Sir Humphrey was always ribbing him about it.

[david]

Went to LSBU and graduated with a fist class honours in July 2008 studying a business degree. Managed to get a job in a factory moving stock around sites which was extremely hard work- all manual labour like unloading and loading lorry containers, and couldn't get any other job so I've been unemployed for 8 months and claiming job seekers allowance.

I would love to find out how the graduate starting salary is £23k because I can't get a job that pays £11k!

[John]

The most obvious reason (overlooked in the article) is that LSBU graduates are probably working in London, which offers higher salaries than elsewhere. Also, its likely that LSBU has a higher number of mature students, who have years experience and can get a better package.

[Jeff]

John is partly right. However, other London colleges are also among the top ten for graduate earnings, including Queen Mary, City and Brunel. They are three very good institutions, but nevertheless South Bank has scored more on this particular measure.

[Jonathan]

I graduated in Modern Languages & Economics in 1986 from South Bank and went into banking. Not sure about the salary premium but at least I am still employed....

[JAN]

They should introduce a measure that compares the starting salaries of graduates that have progressed from a-levels straight to university who have little or no work experience.

I doubt students from South Bank would obtain salaries that are in the region of £23,000 or manage to get a graduate job in London particulary within the financial sector.

[LSBU graduate]

I graduated from LSBU in 2005, and I am happily employed.
Even in this trying time I was able to change jobs and secure two job offers in November 08 and none of the two jobs were below £26,000.
Of course I accepted the job with the higher pay and I am presently earning over £28,000+.

This was an independent survey and yet people open their mouths and make bad comments and are still not convienced like Jan which is very sad.

[Lloyds]

Apart from all what everyone is saying they are forgetting that even ACCA ranks LSBU highly if you are studying Accounting & Finance which is recognised by awarding the maximum exemptions when going to finish off your ACCA qualification. There are only a few universities with this previlage, this shows that students graduating in that field are highly respected due to the high quality of the course. I have just recently graduated in Accounting & Finance and will obviously finish off my ACCA in no time, so as to say that those with A levels should have a different measure is not a good scale although I did my A Levels as well but I still respect LSBU. Given a choice of which university I should enrol to, right now I would still choose LSBU looking at my career prospects & how ACCA recognise the university.

[Tariq]

Graduated from LSBU in 2008 and now got a job by end of Oct 08 after applying furiously (lack of jobs for grads!), now early £24k!

@opiniononeverything - Working in Essex does not give me "London Living Allowance"!

[2008 LSBU Graduate]

As most will think LSBU contains mature student, heres my story.

A-level college student, graduated 2.1 in 2008 currently earning £24k, working in Essex (no London Living Allowance as some may think!) and only 23!

Only problem is the lack of jobs!

PS - how comes everyone talking about LSBU?!

[LSBU 2008]

I have graduate from London South Bank in July 2008. I am currently employed within Ernst & Young and I feel that LSBU contributed a lot to gain this placement. Moreover, I feel everyday in my work field that are certain tasks that I am able to understand and performe more than my same rank colleagues that came from other universities. I feel like when LSBU graduates build on the basics (taken from LSBU), others are still trying to build the basics.
Thanks to LSBU

[Alice]

I would assume that not everyone who gets a degree in London, remains to work in London. People from other universities are also likely to move to London. So this probably has little weighting on the results in general.

[Lydia]

You're find that most graduates from LSBU maybe earning £23,469 per annum as stated in the study above, however, if you visit that university's website and look at the destination of graduates you will notice that most graduates are not in graduate jobs where the degree wasn't a formal entry requirement. Therefore, I would question whether the £23,469 could have been earned without going to the university. If yes, the average wage for graduates is distorted as the Times ranking indicates how well off students should be having graduated from that university.

[Richarchie]

Im with David, graduated from LSBU with a 2.1 last year, moved down to Brighton and have now only just got a job for around 11k a year, most of the other grads I know who are below 25 are on the same rates, its the mature count that makes the figures look so good, luckly I want to be a teacher so I dont really care about a big pay package!

[laura]

My husband went to Imperial College and when he graduated (with 1st class Hons.) was offered (and accepted) a job with a starting salary of only £14,000 per annum with no pension etc. And that's the norm - I'm not sure where all these £25,000+ starting salaries figures originate. All the graduates I know from Imperial College and Oxbridge who are now earning £60,000+ per annum plus all benefits in kind, all had starting salaries of between £11,000-£15,000 per annum.

Nevertheless, I have noticed a trend amongst the Imperial College/Oxbridge graduates: they have (like my husband) a cannily ability to "jump" salaries from £14,000 to £27,000 per annum within 2 years of employment. By their 5th year of employment, they are all paying the higher tax rate.

Perhaps a better and more helpful picture would be to study salaries 5 years after graduation from said universities. That would be an interesting and revealing read.

[Jeff]

In comparison, a school friend of mine dropped out in the first week of college, took a plumber's course. 6 years' on, he employs 20 people and earns £100k+. Laughs at my student loan that I will still be paying back 10 years from now.

[Tao Si Jin]

Why are we ranking universities by their ability to generate high starting salaries?

[femi oluwatomi]

Just want to ask what would be the average salary for a postgraduate student from uel, thanks.

[James]

LSBU is 2nd from bottom in the Good University Guide GUG but 6th here because, . and you can check by going to the GUG and sort by the different factors.
-1- LSBU have lowest ENTRY STANDARDS. Because they view life experience as important, attracting mature students.
-2- Low entry also attracts foreign students, who may find it hard to settle and find UK HE too tough so again drop out.
-3- LSBU has a low COMPLETION RATE, but highish GOOD HONOURS. This shows most mature students find theyre not ready for HE, have commitments, kids etc, but those ready done well. Sorts the wheat from the chaff.
-Conclusion- LSBUs low entry policy is their only downfall as most cant hack it. As the standard is the same across ALL Unis, the GOOD HONOURS result proves they are a top Uni. This should be the sole factor.

[ike]

All that glitters is not gold. Time and again London South Bank University has been proven to be hitting gold even in times of recession. I graduated with Masters in accounting and in the same year got a job with a starting salary of 33,000 and above. This report is as good as it gets. It has been so since 2005/6 and it is even getting better. May be it is time people wake up to the fact that university is meant to prepare one for life and not the other way round. If I have to study again, I will definitely go to LSBU. May be this is how the good university guide should be presented. The current situation where some universities are always on top due to the size of their research grant and so on does not help, especially if all that do not translate into real job salaries as LSBU has proven to offer. I am proud to wear the badge and I have not disappointed any interview panel since.

[Teddy Dice]

This is a response to the comment made by Tao Si Jin, who asked 'Why are we ranking universities by their ability to generate high starting salaries?'

That's probably because, of all factors, this is potentially the most attractive, as the main reason for entering higher education is to be able to make money.

[Shreyas]

Can anyone tell me wat the starting pay is expected to be for an Electronics, Telecommunication and Internet Engineering graduate from University of Bradford??

[Shreyas]

and i asked the previous question becoz the prospectus says the average starting salary is abt £20k and looking at the discussion, i'm seriously in doubts!!

[term papers]

Blogs are so interactive where we get lots of informative on any topics nice job keep it up !!

http://www.usatermpapers.com

[Dt]

Graduated from man met with a 2.2. Less than 3 years later I am earning £40k. It's a rubbish university but progressing in a career becomes less about the institution and more about the person!

[DAVID VINTER]

Surely it depends on what you read, and where you are employed.A few years back, as it was raining,I gave a hiker a lift. It ws his second year at Uni,he amazingly told me he was reading Anglo Saxon. But now realised the job market was very limited.

[John Davies]

Money is the barometer of success then?

[Mmorpg]

All that glitters is not gold. Time and again London South Bank University has been proven to be hitting gold even in times of recession. I graduated with Masters in accounting and in the same year got a job with a starting salary of 33,000 and above. This report is as good as it gets. It has been so since 2005/6 and it is even getting better. May be it is time people wake up to the fact that university is meant to prepare one for life and not the other way round. If I have to study again, I will definitely go to LSBU. May be this is how the good university guide should be presented. The current situation where some universities are always on top due to the size of their research grant and so on does not help, especially if all that do not translate into real job salaries as LSBU has proven to offer. I am proud to wear the badge and I have not disappointed any interview panel since.

[Mmorpg]

I graduated from LSBU in 2005, and I am happily employed.
Even in this trying time I was able to change jobs and secure two job offers in November 08 and none of the two jobs were below £26,000.
Of course I accepted the job with the higher pay and I am presently earning over £28,000+
But I play a lot of online mmorpgs as well, mostly on
http://mmohut.com

[akash]

I graduated from warwick uni in 06 and by jjan 07 had my first job at £32,ooo. Also the unis in london will have higher salaries as it takes in account of the london living allowance.