NEW FIGURES SOUND IMPRESSIVE – BUT COME MAINLY FROM BIG CITY FIRMS
Graduate pay is set to rise to £26,000 this year, according to a new survey – but how many people do you know that are earning that much money? Does your salary even come close?
The Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) has predicted a jump of 4% in 2012, raising it from £25,000, where it has been stuck since 2009. Between 2006 and 2008 it rose by just 2%, so this leap is being seen as good news for graduates. The survey also shows that the number of graduate vacancies increased last year by 1.7% – although this year vacancies are predicted to drop by 1.2%. But Carl Gilleard, Chief Executive of the AGR, said he was “cautiously optimistic” about graduate recruitment in 2012:
“The predicted increase to graduate salaries is significant and sizeable, particularly given the context of starting salaries remaining stagnant for the past three years. This will no doubt be welcome news to the Government and the higher education sector, but moreover to graduates themselves.”
Sure, the government and the universities will be chuffed – it fits with their “Go to university – you’ll earn more money!” line. But will graduates buy it? Where exactly are all these graduates earning £26,000 a year? Granted, Graduate Fog is a site for jobseekers – but where we’re standing graduates earning fat pay packets are pretty scarce at the moment. So why the discrepancy?
Look closer and you’ll see that these statistics come from a survey of 214 of the AGR’s members, many of which are massive corporations, who you would expect to pay their graduate a good salary. (The list includes Accenture, Barclays and Deutsche Bank). These 214 big businesses hired 21,325 graduates in 2011. Er, what about everybody else?
We have no statistics to challenge the AGR’s finding. But we do hear from graduates every day – and from anecdotal evidence we would hazard a guess that the true average graduate salary (that is, the average salary among graduates that are earning above the minimum wage, in both ‘graduate’ and ‘non-graduate’ jobs) might be closer to… £16,000? At the most, £18,000. And of course that’s without factoring in the estimated 120,000 graduates who are earning less than the minimum wage doing unpaid (or very low-paid) internships.
Could it be that the sample of employers for this poll gives a false impression about how well graduates are really earning? If so, we are concerned that schools, universities and the government will continue to use these numbers to disguise what is really going on out there – that hundreds of thousands of graduates are failing to make their degree pay.
We would like to see statistics that include all graduates, not just the small number who manage to bag plum jobs on prestigious graduate training schemes with big corporations. If we are going to keep encouraging young people to go to university, we need to make sure we are working with accurate information about the likely outcome. We must start dealing in facts, not fantasy.
*Are you earning £26,000?
Do you know many graduates who are? Should statistics about graduate salaries be based on ALL graduates, rather than just those working for big businesses? What would you estimate the true average graduate salary to be?
I am in a job that is not exactly a graduate job, but you need a degree to be considered… The basic is £17-18k. All the people within sales however earn commission and so it is more likely that you earn £27-30k. Even in our role now however where before it was considered a first job you now need a year or more experience.
I don’t know anybody earning that, apart from my friend doing a PhD in something very niche and lucrative.
I earn under £4k a year, but then I don’t live in the UK anymore because nobody would employ me!
Though my evidence is anecedotal, I have 2 friends who gained employment with companies such as those this survey targeted after graduating in 2006, both on a wage of £25-30k. The rest started in firms where, like Jamie, a degree was required but they were offered a salary of £15-20k.
I gained a similar position with the public sector, 4 years after graduation and I’m only now at the £25k level this survey says is the average starting wage (it’s taken me 2 years of work to get there).
Therefore though any rise in wages is excellent, it sounds like this survey targeted the traditional graduate recruiters on the FTSE list, and so doesn’t take a representative sample of all graduates. I’d be interested to see what the result would be if public sector graduate schemes(Civil Service, NHS, Police etc) were included? Or possibly breaking the data down into business activity or profession?
I can only dream of getting £26,000…after getting my masters in 2008 and then my PCET in 2010 and then almost a year to find a job, (which isnt teaching) im only on £15,000
Got one that isn’t really a ‘Graduate’ level job, don’t think you’d have to be one to do it. I’m starting on £18k. What is a ‘Graduate’ job now anyway? I got offered this current one based on my past work experience in customer service/relations more than anything.
In the current market, I’ve pretty much seen everything/anything labelled as suitable for graduates even basic jobs.
I think statements like the average graduate salary is £26000 are really unhelpful to prospective students. When I was at university I knew many people who just took for granted that they would be earning more than £20000 in their first job and were already planning how to spend the money.
Like people have said, I don’t think I know anyone who earns this much.
Quite a few of my friends are on similar salaries, just depends who you know, and there’s nothing wrong with large employers.
Tfl salary £25k http://www.tfl.gov.uk/microsites/graduates/schemes_benefits.asp
It has been reported that Ed Lister, Boss of the Student Loans Company, was awarded not only a £186,000 Fee for his service through his “Personal Service Company”, an arrangement duly signed off by Liberal Danny Alexander (Liberals… dont you just love them ? NOT), and because Lister only paid Corporation Tax on the profit (at 21%), and the money was not treat as income (where PAYE of up to 50% would have been levied), Lister saved himself in excess of a £26,000 additional taxes.
I get the strong impression that all of these ‘average’ graduate earning figures are based on average wages for graduate schemes. Where those are paid of course.
But as anyone who has tried can tell you, there are simply not enough of those around to employ even one class of one university in their respective fields. I am in a job that (now, seems a recent development) explicitly requires a degree in its vacancy descriptions and which starts at £18k and doesn’t really go anywhere from there until junior management roles at £21k.
I can only judge this based on very limited and slightly warped experience, but I’d imagine this figure is skewed by the top few students who left university straight for incredibly well paid jobs: I have one friend who after a law conversion course paid for by her employers will start on 42k a year, and another who went straight into the financial sector and is earning something similar. High-flying Oxbridge graduates can (only sometimes) start off on shockingly high salaries, though like I say that’s only judging by two of my friends… I have no idea what the rest are earning, though almost all went into jobs within a few months of leaving university. There is, I imagine (based on limited experience), a huge discrepancy, in both the starting salaries and indeed the prospects of finding employment at all, depending on where you went to university.
Hi,
I am a computing undergraduate student. I was looking at your figures for salaries. I think the salary also depends on factors such as location, company and work.
I have been offered to placement, as part of my degree, by a IB in Canary wharf with a salary of 36k. I believe that last year the same role was paid 26K. I guess one reason for the increase is the London Olympics, which will raise costs of living in the area.
I applied to over 60 companies, doing over 25 interviews so it was a long journey to get into the placement scheme.
I’m studying at the University of Surrey, you don’t have to be at Oxbridge or Imperial to get a decent pay
I earn £16,500. And this is for a job that requires an MSc (which I have). If a person with an undergraduate degree can get that much starting out, I must be doing something terribly wrong!
I came out of university working freelance, in a field my degree wasn’t even in and was able to pull in £20k comfortably with a single client until I was taken on full-time at £28.5k within my first year. (This is in London) Relatively unqualified.
Judging from job ads I should be looking for £30-35k in my next role due to experience gained over the past year plus salaries seem to have increased in my field lately. I guess it just depends.
I read an article elsewhere that the median graduate salary is actually closer to £29k, in comparison this would show that there are some very nicely paid graduates out there. But for the majority, getting more than £25k would be just luck, nepotism or exceptional skill.
I have just left a graduate scheme for a major contsruction firm who paid my £26k a year.
The average among my peers on graduate scehemes at other companies is arond the same mark.
There are some higher paid graduate schemes out there as well. For example, Saisnbury’s graduates now start at £32k and Aldi’s start at £40k.
Wow – I’m going to work for Aldi! Thanks Anonymous
I have recently been accepted into a graduate role within one of the major banks that pays 25k plus a 6,200 value payment.
I was very lucky and walked into my grad job after one application (at a large consultancy) – starting at just over £25k (around £29k with perks like pension contribution, etc.) The great majority of my friends from university also applied and got into grad schemes ranging from £23-39k starting salaries. So this figure, at least for the grads that I know, is fairly modest. (studied chemical engineering at the university of birmingham)
As a recent Cambridge graduate, a lot of people I know (from various science and arts degrees) are starting jobs in investment banking and management consulting. I am extremely lucky to have a job with a management consultancy which offers a first year package of £55k and this is equivalent to most top tier investment banks. As Pippy said, Oxbridge graduates as well as those from other top universities are the only graduates really able to get these high paying jobs. I know that this is a very small minority of all graduates and there does exist a large discrepancy in terms of starting salaries and the ability to find a job in the current economic mess.
Average graduate salary is actually £20,000
See here for stats:
http://www.studentbeans.com/student-money/a/check-out-the-average-graduate-salary-by-subject1987.html?uid=501558&alh=daa19da018c6c61587e6e29fc9e20dc2&utm_campaign=200412&utm_content=180759450&utm_medium=email&utm_source=BestBits
Not sure where everyone here has been looking for jobs but placement year internships I’ve been looking at have been around the £20,000 mark some even higher. I’ve managed to land myself an internship for the next year, which will pay £17,000 so I would expect to get at least £20,000 in the same role or elsewhere when I actually graduate. Don’t be afraid of the big companies!
I’ve got a degree, Post-Graduate Professional Qualification (Masters in all but name) and am currently undertaking a final Post-Graduate course in Professional Practice and Management to legally become an Architect and still only earn £21,000, well under the ‘average’ figure that this article states.
I graduated in 2007, just before things got tough. Did a Masters in electronics and then went on to do an MSc in IC Design whilst working with the startup company I got a job with upon graduation. Relevant summer work and strong grades really helped me land the job – I worked my @ss off – no student parties for me, I was in solitude most evenings – I think engineers usually are.
Starting salary was £26k (Scotland). After 2.5 years I got another job (same sector of course) for £29k. Having done well, after 2.5 years I’m now on £33k. To be honest it doesn’t go far, and I live at home! The problem is not low salaries, it’s high cost of living. Housing is the biggest con going – I plan to relocate to Germany as the UK is sucking me dry. Saying that, salaries in the UK are also pretty low. I’d get taxed more, but I could be earning €65k Euros if I left for Europe now, or €100k in America. Salaries of £15-18k (starting) truly are the norm from what I see, and that is pretty depressing. Salaries have barely moved in 2 decades while the cost of everything else has shot up. At some point the dam is going to break…
Engineering is in good demand (of course with competition from the East) and pays high starting salaries, but as you progress into your career, you may find that other professions make you better off. E.g. Retire at 50 in the police with an amazing pension, senior social workers get more than I’ll earn (in the UK), the list goes on. But at least it’s enjoyable and pays ok – middle of the road all round and I’m ok with that.
You’d be surprised at some of the salaries on offer, mind. Coming from Edinburgh University, I’d say the average grad salary really was £25k+. Some went into banking which pays a LOT (stressful, though), one guy went into oil & gas on £40k + bonus, and I know two IT contractors for banks earning £100k easily – I kid you not! Sometimes I would love to knock on peoples’ doors (those with big houses, anyway) and ask them just what they DO!
In any case… I am planning to leave the UK – the level of debt to be paid for the last generation’s excess is appalling, and I wont be paying for it. Some may be shocked but I feel I am worth more than £33k and am looking for a pay jump within the next year or two, hopefully £40k prior to age 30. You always hear about front line teachers and police, bankers etc in the news… but without engineers everything would grind to a halt ;D Considering I do advanced maths daily, circuit design, programming, specification writing, laboratory testing, sub-micron circuit inspection and test etc etc… I think I should be getting more than the bankers, but then that’s the way this world is.
Good luck. Don’t go to University unless you do something that is going to PAY as the costs now are horrendous and you may be worse off in the long run if you choose to do something ‘easy’ with no few prospects. Consider the opportunity cost of going to uni. Look at options abroad. Or do a good solid course and work hard, getting relevant work experience during the summers. I almost never went to uni due to the cost, but it was the best thing I ever did. £15k in debt… £8.5k to pay off. It’s a burden, but the doors that it has opened have been wonderful.
Don’t listen to the media or your friends – listen to yourself. Use your HEAD. You might enjoy something, but studying for that passion may lead you to a dead end, career-wise. Be smart.
FYI, check this list. Prospects is also a good site for career information.
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-2067258/Best-paid-jobs-2011-Tables-official-figures-UK-salaries.html
“You might enjoy something, but studying for that passion may lead you to a dead end, career-wise. Be smart.”
An interesting point, but I would still have to disagree with Mr X. I graduated in Music and Visual Art in 2007 with a 2.1 and then in 2011 I got a distinction in MA Graphic Design. Both courses were the best decisions of my life and helped me build ideas that inspire me, every day. I didn’t do it for ‘the money’. I went to uni because I believed I had a talent, my friends, family and tutors believed it too, and I wanted to explore my potential.
I think building your life direction around the idea of wealth can only lead to a soul-less existence. I have been working for FOUR years in a design studio (worked full time all through part time MA), and am now earning 16k. My starting salary was 10.5k, probably a fraction above minimum wage.
It really depends on what you value in life. I think the question comes down to:- are you working for the money, or working to spend your career doing something you feel passionate about? Of course, yes – an ideal job would be both interesting and well paid, and there are a few out out there, but I have many graduate friends with amazing skills and personalities that work in shops and cafes. It’s a sad fact that a lot of talent goes to waste and not enough is done to prevent it, by both graduates and the government.
One day I hope to pay off my debt, but I can’t see it happening in the next 20 years. If I earned 26k, I would be absolutely delighted. Unfortunately, even with a first class Masters degree, this is still a dream for me, and I’m working on it!!
It must been the mean that they are taking, right? So it makes sense that it would be strongly distorted by jobs in investment banking, etc. E.g. in 2008 the starting salary as a trader on the graduate programme at Citi was a cool 50k. This doesn’t even take into account the massive pay increases for successful traders a few years later. Even with other jobs at investment banks, a starting salary of 40k is fairly common. Some consultancies pay big bucks as well, with a position in the graduate programme at McKinsey, for example, offering 50k starting salary. A better measure of average starting salary would be the median, and I would very much like to know what that is.
It’s a bit disheartening hearing of those salaries. Most professional engineers will never make it past 50k the whole of their careers! I know two financiers in London and would never do the job, though. The hours are insane and I don’t like what it turned my friends into.
The BEST metric would be MODAL salary. This is the most re-occurring. Median just takes the one bang in the middle which I don’t think is quite as good.
I finished my degree on may 14th this year. I was offered a starting salery of 30k per annum. I studied computer science. It’s not a coporation. I also know I am in the minority however even amongst other computer science graduates……
I don’t get your point. You think you’re underpaid? Which city are you working in?
This is one of my gripes. I’m on about 35k with bonus included but the good grad salaries in science/tech upon graduation keep encroaching on what I’m getting..! I could move to South of England and get 45k or so now but the increased cost of living… the extra 10k is only about an extra 300 pounds per month net. Worth it?
Mr x, yes you should move to the South and get 45k since that is almost 30% increase of your salary. It might not be much considering living costs, however this would enable you to increase your salary and might provide you with better opportunities in future.
Graduate salaries will continue to increase, and students are currently being paid the same as you.
You’re right – and like I say it does grate! It could easily take me at LEAST 5-8 years to get to that figure where I am now. I love my current job – probably the best I’ll ever have, but new experience and a sudden pay jump (which I should rightfully be getting considering new grad salaries) should make it worth it. It’s going to be either Munich or South England for me. One week left here in the States (for hols) and I can’t say I enjoy it overmuch. Holidays truly are non-existent and workers can be terminated pretty easily.
Thank you!
Apologies, an extra 10k after tax, not 300.
Anonymous – spoken with authority. May I ask what you do?
I am just a student who is aware of current graduate starting salaries.
“which I should rightfully be getting considering new grad salaries” This does not qualify you for a higher pay. The reasons wealthy companies are paying higher and higher starting salaries is because they want to attract the best talent early on.
Enjoy the rest of your vacation
I think it DOES qualify for higher pay… it’s a ridiculous situation, really.
I graduated with a MA from a Russel Group University in 2010. I worked a year in industry as part of my course and found it wasn’t for me the recession had also started to bite. I decide to shun the graduate path after graduation and got an entry level job with an oil and gas exploration company. I now work in the North Sea and I’m earning 35k and get half the year off! as well a pension and private healthcare including dentplan. It would have taken approx 4-5 years to earn this in my chosen graduate field and I would no way get the holiday entitlement. Im now doing a distance learning engineering qualification which i hope will help my career advancement. If you are physically fit enjoy the outdoors and mixing with people from varied backgrounds and nationalities I highly recommend it. Im not entirely driven by money I originally got into the the industry for the time off and I spend most of it travelling. Sure its a trade rather than a profession but career advancement is better than it’s ever been due to the high price of oil and everyone unless they have been taken on for their engineering degree starts at the bottom.
Good for you, well done! I’ve mentioned a friend of mine has gone into oil (Aberdeen) and is getting paid pretty well. He plans to go contract in 5-10 years time (100k+ easily). Personally, I don’t know if it’s for me. I couldn’t say 100% but I don’t know if I could hack the outdoors stuff. Lots of isolation, working in all conditions – even for the money, I don’t know if I could do it. What company did you get employed with, and what is your title and daily routine? I’ll bet your pension is good! I think for land-based roles the salaries aren’t as good (still great, though!). I HAVE thought about doing a conversion (or I could simply go into a grad programme now, 5 years after graduating, and earn more right away) – it’d be something related to electronics/electrical.
Would be interested to hear more from you. I’ll tell you what I do! I sit in front a computer a lot of the time and design integrated circuit schematics, e.g. voltage references, oscillators, ADCs, that kind of thing. It involves a lot of thought and simulation, then it gets laid out and manufactured overseas. When it gets back a PCB will be ready so that I can then test the parameters it was specified to meet, as well as gross functionality, of course! In all, I think it’s a difficult job and not paid it’s worth – you definitely could NOT come in and do the work without deep knowledge of the subject and several years of experience. So… I design those little integrated circuits. I’d love to go one level ‘up’ and be an engineer for a space company, for example, who designs those chips into applications… but I do think that is paid less and once I leave what I’m doing now, it is VERY hard to get back into it.
Other than my friend who’s going into oil & gas, one of my friends’ parents has worked abroad in this field for years earning good money. I think it depends who you work for as these companies, like any I guess, can make large redundancies at the drop of a hat. You know, you’ve really piqued my interest here – I will have to look into it all again. Do a fellow engineer a favour and tell me more!
I left university with a 2:2 in Linguistics (I know), and have ‘started’ my first ‘graduate’ job, after a 6-month minimum wage contract at another company, at £20,000.
I’ve recently graduated from the University of Leeds, and have managed to get a job paying £22,500, plus commission, bonuses, company car etc. The job is nothing to do with my field of study (Microbiology, with the job being a marketing/sales role).
Like many of you, the job isn’t technically a graduate position, however a degree was required. Through my experiences, I think I’ve been relatively lucky, seeing as many of my friends have either got jobs paying around £15,000 or haven’t managed to find a job yet. I’d definitely say that a base salary of £26,000 is above the ‘true’ national average for graduate salaries.
I graduated in 2007. I was earning 17k. In 2008 I was earning 20k plus 2k bonus In 2009 I was earning 26k plus 4k bonus. In 2011 I left and earned circa 60k contracting. In 2012 I was offered a full time role with salary over £50k plus bonus scheme. If your good leave and find a job in a growth industry or atleast a company where you can make a difference.
My story is rare but in private enterprise you make your own path. I have friends who are optometrists, doctors, PHD students, solicitors, pilots and they earn less. Truth is get your foot in a good company, sponge up everything, leave and earn more somewhere else. Graduates are fledglings and your leanings in the busines are worth more than the salary. I would drop to 20k for a year to learn something to earn me £80k the following year! Pick a job where you can learn something that will pay dividends in the future!
What profession are you in?
I agree – you often have to move to get the leap in salary required.
Unfortunately sometimes you find rare gems of companies which are a dream to work for and easy to get to – it hurts to leave those.
Mr X my specialist area is supply chain and procurement but Im a business analyst working side by side implementing business change programmes which are footed by new IT systems.. You could say I’m an IT contractor but I focus on business process change. I currently work in the construction industry but I used to work in a long term declining industry but that’s where I earned my badges. The company I originally worked for was a fantastic place with a very long history and the nostalgia factor was amazing – it paid me less in numbers but massively in experience and enjoyment. It was a gamble for me to leave BUT I was earning 1/3 of my replacement they had to get in so I knew I would get rewarded in the end. It’s not what you think your worth but what the market rates you. Sometimes your face may not fit at company or they are trying to keep budgets but if the market values you higher than you leave. Only leave if you are certain other companies will pay more. In your case leaving to go abroad is a massive step but if that’s where companies reward greater for your expertise then leave. If you don’t want to leave becuase your company is a great place to work they probably use this factor to pay you less… 1000 other people knocking at the door to do it for less.
Ah, IT/business related. Makes sense – always pays good.
You’ll have seen I’m in (electronics) design engineering. I can go from £33k GBP here to €70k Euro in Munich + 10%+ bonus. Probably worth it for a little while. To be honest your comment about high paying industries rings true – I’ve considered leaving for oil & gas or similar. Your comment about 1000 people waiting to do the job for less doesn’t make sense, though? If that was the case then the market rate would not be high? In any case, well done. After recent wage revelations I’m fuming at what I’m on so looks like a move at some point soon.
Mr X your earning your stripes at the moment or have your learnt enough? Once you think you’ve got those nuggets of information and built your experience my advice would be to sell yourself… Sounds like you’ve found your market – Germany. I believe some German companies speak English? Who’s to say once you’ve been there for 2-3 years you don’t come back at your perceived market rate?
You should read a book called “who moved my cheese?” it may help you. You’ve had your cheese at your current place. Your cheese has moved so go and find it! Don’t get angry just look forward and find what makes you happy.
Your salary is still fantastic because I know alot of graduates on 15/16k
I think Mr x makes a good point, employers are exploiting the fact that there are no jobs and high supply of labour by offering lower salaries and expecting a higher calibre candidate. At the same time, the salaries for bankers and lawyers are getting ever higher and hence skewing the mean graduate salary.
I am studying engineering at one of the top universities in the UK and feel like I could make a decision to go into engineering and regret it say, five years down the road. As stated my Mr x the work done by engineers is much more difficult and involved than say the basic addition and subtraction investment bankers must do. Oil and gas is an alternative but we’re seeing a large increase in the number of engineers flocking to this industry.
In my eyes the best thing I can do at the moment is to get any experience I can and achieve the highest possible grade I can. The job market is tough.
I don’t think these figures are that unrealistic, it’s just that there is a lot of distortion depending on the industry and background.
I’ve worked for three years and just about to start a job paying 55K a year which is actually less than a lot of my peers (mathematics at top 10 uni), I started on 25K which is similar to my peers.
But then I have friends from school who did arts subjects or went to less prestigious unis who are still struggling to top 20K.
Dan, are you working in or near London? £55k after 3 years is quite a bit! I’m 5 years in on ~£33k (should be nearer £38k!).
Engineering wont make you rich, michael – it’s true what they say! The job is at least enjoyable and pays decent.
edwards – reaching the point of maximum learning now. Looking at a move as underpaid, possibly to Munich or even a start-up in Boston.
I make 25k a year – graduate scheme. Almost all my mates on my degree corse (engineering) are in similar levels of pay or higher. Friends who did other degrees such as English/geography are still looking for work or in lower paid jobs. It does matter what you study, more than ever before. My grad scheme is not engineering related but out of 15 of us on the scheme, 5 are engineers…
To be fair I think this is high, however I am earning 26k and most of my friends are earning that or above. We did do engineering, don’t know if that has a factor but by statistics engineers do earn more.
Did anybody see ‘Show Me Your Money’ tonight? Pimlico plumbers earning between £55k and £150k?
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/4422455/Pimlico-Plumbers-colleagues-reveal-their-salaries-for-Channel-4-show-Show-Me-Your-Money.html
Considering that latest figures show that 25% of grads that left university in 2011 are still unemployed, I don’t just find it unlikely but impossible for the avg to be 26k (e.g. 250k approx grads. 60k unemployed = zero earnings. Therefore of those actually earning it implies they on avg earn 34k). It should read ‘Those that find employment on a specifically designed graduate scheme earn on avg 26k.’ In which case we are talking about a minority. Most of these schemes are also based in London. Anybody who works in London needs at least an extra 7k (if not more, considering rent alone is 50% more than the national average) just to live as those do outside of London. You’d be spending more than half your take home on rent and bills alone, which means you wouldn’t be that better off than those earning closer to 20-22k outside of London living on cheaper rents and cost of living. Seeing as most do live outside London i would say we are looking at an average figure closer to 20k, and this still doesn’t take into account those unemployed.
Do not think that just because you’re graduate you’re looking at a 26k salary, because for most this will be highly unlikely.
Hi All,
Was reading this page as my gf is going uni and wanted to get a feeling of what the job market is atm. I graduated 2 yrs ago n started at 26K in a graduate start up role in 2 yrs I am at 30k plus allowances n bonus. Dont think people should be so negative about the job prospects when I they have applied to 20 jobs a day like I did for nearly 3 months. Its a half glass thinge, its half-empty n half-full depending on your positive attitude( n talents) Best of luck all