UK Graduate Outcomes

Following on from a comment I posted on another thread, I thought the difference in graduate outcomes between US targets and UK targets is interesting. Not entirely sure of the reasons, possibly lack of OCR and More European competition? 

This is the data from UK targets' websites for undergrad placement in finance. Not clear what proportion is in FO

Oxford: 7% "Banking and Investment" (further 4% in Accounting, Insurance and Financial Services)
LSE: 22% "Financial and Insurance Activities"  - how many people are trying to break into finance form LSE? Half? 
Imperial: 13% "Banking and Financial" (further 3% in Accountancy and another 5-10% in "Other Business Related Activities", which probably includes some of the insurance sector covered by LSE's category)
UCL: 8% "Accounting and Financial Services" 

Warwick don't disclose the information to the public (need a staff log-in) and the way Cambridge classifies things is not really comparable to the other four targets. 

It's not like that many people are going into high-powered law/consultancy/engineering/tech jobs instead. Across all four of these universities with comprehensive data available, it looks like maybe 25-50% of people "make it" in terms of their first graduate jobs. There's also the salary gap between America and the UK. Highest average starting salary is Imperial at £37000, bumped up by the lack of soft subjects. No other university in the country is above £32000. Imperial's starting salary is about average for all US college grads, and two-thirds of comparable US STEM-focused schools (CMU, MIT, Berkeley, etc.). Everywhere else in the UK is well below the US median.

Discuss. 

 
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Very generally speaking, the UK is a vastly different employment market than the US. Just because a grad went to Oxbridge doesn't mean they want to work in IB or in law or in top tier consulting. I was surprised to hear that my own personal trainer actually went to a really good university and is highly qualified in various areas of sport, a layman would say "but he is just a PT". He doesn't see it that way (and no, there is nothing wrong with being a trainer or coach).

Attending a top tier school in the UK just isn't always connected with a certain job, industry or a certain level of income. It is a choice based on many factors and it also doesn't mean that a certain grad must have a certain job. What I am trying to say is: in the US education is much more of a product you buy for yourself or your children in order to achieve something (eg money, success, titles, etc). Where in the UK, and many EU countries, for some it is just a form of tertiary education. The decision which uni you attend may or may not be attached to your social class/heritage, or family. I have never met more university grads who went into "normal" jobs or who didn't do anything at all. It is a place where a lot of people study, but a certain outcome isn't necessarily attached to it.
Likewise, the UK is one of the few Western nations where I have met members of the senior management team who never went to uni. They either worked hard and pushed themselves up to that position, or they had a unique enough skill set to be hired.

 

You forgot to consider that many financial services firms in the UK hire half of the analyst class from top master's programs, such as LBS MFA, LSE MSc Finance, and Imperial MSc Finance. Unlike in the US, graduate degrees are far more respected in Europe, so students who want to get the top jobs usually get a master's after undergrad. Placement out of these programs are stellar and comparable to top targets in the US.    

 

It’s laughable because you seem to think everyone at these Uni’s or on these courses are gunning for IB? Do you not know the amount of kids from these Unis with stellar grades that are gunning for environmental or humanitarian positions to actually impact society from the inside out. Honestly, it’s not all about money, bro...

 

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