Graduate pay, against the visa bar
Investment banking and law pay graduates the most; technology sits near the overall median. Here is each sector's median beside the salary rules, and how to read them.
Investment banking and law pay graduates the most, and technology sits close to the middle. This table sets each sector’s median starting salary beside the two salary rules that matter most to a graduate who will need a Skilled Worker visa.
The figures come from one source for the whole column: High Fliers Research’s report The Graduate Market in 2026 (opens highfliers.co.uk), for the UK’s leading graduate employers. The Careers guides take each sector in turn.
Graduate starting salaries by sector
| Choose a row | Sector | Median starting salary | Occupation code used for the salary check |
|---|---|---|---|
| £60,000 | 2422, finance and investment analysts and advisers: the code for analyst roles at banks | ||
| £56,000 | 2412, solicitors and lawyers: the code for trainee and newly qualified solicitors | ||
| £50,000 | 2431, management consultants and business analysts: the code for consulting analysts | ||
| £45,500 | 2422, finance and investment analysts and advisers: most graduate finance roles | ||
| £41,700, the general Skilled Worker threshold, since 22 July 2025 | |||
| £40,000 | 2129, engineering professionals not elsewhere classified: many graduate engineering roles in energy | ||
| £35,200 | 2134, programmers and software development professionals: the code for software developer roles | ||
| £35,000 | 2113, biochemists and biomedical scientists: graduate science roles in pharmaceuticals | ||
| £34,500 | 2421, chartered and certified accountants: the code for audit and tax trainees | ||
| £33,400, the new-entrant floor | |||
| £33,000 | 2129, engineering professionals not elsewhere classified: graduate engineering roles | ||
Show all 9 sectorsShow the first 6
Sorted by starting salary only. Source: High Fliers Research, The Graduate Market in 2026, Chart 9.
To test a particular offer, check a salary against the threshold (opens visavi.uk) for its occupation code.
What the table measures
| Shows | Does not show | |
|---|---|---|
| Measure | The median starting salary High Fliers reports for each sector | An average, or a typical offer at any one firm |
| Employers | The UK’s leading graduate employers | Smaller employers, which hire many graduates outside formal schemes |
| Sectors | Sectors where one occupation code fits most graduate roles | Every sector in High Fliers’ own chart |
| Order | Rows sorted by the salary figure alone | A ranking of the sectors as careers |
Read each row as what the large, well-known employers pay; a lower row is not a worse choice. Choose a row, and the salary check carries its occupation code.
£35,000 median starting salary across the UK’s leading graduate employers, 2026
More on what the sample leaves outLess on what the sample leaves out
The median is the middle of a sector’s range, not an average. It is not the whole graduate market either: smaller employers, which hire many graduates outside formal schemes, are not in the sample.
The table keeps to sectors where one occupation code fits most graduate roles, so the salary check below it can use that code. High Fliers’ own chart covers more sectors. High Fliers publishes each January, and the table is updated when it does.
A sector median is not a visa answer
A sector above a racing line has cleared nothing: the visa rules look at one job, one salary and one occupation code.
£41,700, the general Skilled Worker threshold since 22 July 2025
The table’s other line is the new-entrant floor, £33,400.
More on new entrants and sectors below a lineLess on new entrants and sectors below a line
If you are on a Graduate visa, or were in the last 2 years, you count as a new entrant for the salary rules. The floor applies to you only while that is true.
A sector median describes many graduates in many roles, so it cannot answer the question for one offer.
Nor is a sector below a line closed to you. Individual offers in that sector may pay more than its median, and the rule that applies to a particular job may set a lower or higher bar than the line suggests.
Gov.uk sets out the salary rules for a particular role on its Skilled Worker page about your job (opens gov.uk).
For one job, the occupation code sets the bar
For a particular job, the salary must meet both the threshold and the going rate for the job’s occupation code.
So the question for an offer is never “is this sector above the line”. It is three questions, in order.
| Question | Where the answer comes from |
|---|---|
| What is this job’s occupation code? | The job description; the employer chooses the code that fits it |
| What is that code’s going rate? | Appendix Skilled Occupations to the Immigration Rules |
| Does the salary meet both the going rate and your threshold? | The higher of the two is the bar for that job |
More on where going rates are publishedLess on where going rates are published
Going rates are published per occupation code, and each is at least £17.13 an hour. The Home Office publishes them in Appendix Skilled Occupations to the Immigration Rules, on gov.uk (opens gov.uk). The rates are annual figures for a 37.5-hour week and are pro-rated for other hours.
The codes in the pay table’s last column show the code most graduate roles in each sector would use. They are a guide, not a ruling: the job description decides the code.
Two jobs in one sector can sit under different codes, with different going rates, so check the code for the role in front of you.
Download the table as a spreadsheet (CSV, 2KB)
You may reuse this data with a credit to Get a job in the UK and a link to this page. Reuse terms
The salary is not what you live on
A starting salary is a gross figure. London on a graduate salary works the median and both thresholds through to take-home pay, rent and travel.
| Deduction, 2026 to 2027 | Rate | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Income Tax, basic rate | 20% | Income above the Personal Allowance of £12,570, up to £50,270 |
| National Insurance, main rate | 8% | The same range |
These are HMRC’s rates for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, from gov.uk’s pages on Income Tax rates (opens gov.uk) and National Insurance (opens gov.uk).
The investment banking and tech guides set out how each sector hires.
For the thresholds in force today (opens ukvisasponsorguide.com), each with its date and authority, see ukvisasponsorguide.com.
This week
- Find the occupation code for one role you are applying to
- Compare one offer with its going rate, not with the sector median
- Work out the monthly take-home for a salary you have been offered
Sources
- GOV.UK: Skilled Worker general salary threshold You’ll usually need to be paid the ‘standard’ salary rate of at least £41,700 per year, or the ‘going rate’ for your job, whichever is higher. Checked
- GOV.UK: Skilled Worker new-entrant salary floor You can be paid 70% of your job’s standard going rate if your salary will be at least £33,400 per year and one of the following applies: Checked
- GOV.UK: Who counts as a new entrant you’re currently in the UK on a Graduate visa (or you have been in the last 2 years, and a Graduate or visit visa was your most recent visa) Checked
- GOV.UK: The going-rate rule Going rates in Table 1 are per year and based on a 37.5-hour working week. They must be pro-rated for other working patterns, based on the weekly working hours stated by the applicant’s sponsor. Checked
- GOV.UK: Hourly minimum inside the going rate For the avoidance of doubt, where £17.13 per hour calculates as more than 70%, 80% or 90% of the stated going rate, £17.13 will nevertheless be taken to be 70%, 80% or 90% of the going rate, as applicable. Checked
- GOV.UK: Share of the going rate a new entrant must be paid The applicant is a new entrant at the start of their career and their salary equals or exceeds both: • £33,400 per year and • 70% of the going rate for the SOC 2020 occupation code. Checked
- High Fliers Research: The Graduate Market in 2026 (public online copy, 12 pages, linked as "Read the report" from https://highfliers.co.uk/publication-the-graduate-market-report) For the first time in four years, graduate starting salaries at the UK's leading graduate employers are not expected to increase and remain at a median of £35,000 for 2026. Read
- HM Revenue and Customs: Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances (GOV.UK) Basic rate; £12,571 to £50,270; 20%The standard Personal Allowance is £12,570, which is the amount of income you do not have to pay tax on. Read
- HM Revenue and Customs: National Insurance: how much you pay (GOV.UK) The Class 1 National Insurance rates for most people for the 2026 to 2027 tax year are: £242 to £967 a week (£1,048 to £4,189 a month) 8%; Over £967 a week (£4,189 a month) 2% Read
This page is about the UK job hunt and is not immigration advice. For your own situation, speak to a regulated immigration adviser or an immigration solicitor, and check the current rules on gov.uk.
Change log
- First published.
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