Best cities to work in post-Degree

Prospects, the UK agency responsible for graduate employability, has analysed the relationship between graduate salaries and the cost of living in 23 UK cities. Derby is top, due to having many well-paid jobs in engineering and a relatively low cost of living. Southampton and Coventry make the top three, due to their combination of a relatively strong graduate jobs market and affordable living. Leicester and Liverpool are high, although starting salaries are low, they are relatively cheap places to live. Brighton, London and Oxford offer some of the highest starting salaries, yet new graduates will have low disposable incomes due to high living expenses such as rents. 

Charlie Ball, head of higher education intelligence at Prospects, said, “Graduates may need to think carefully about chasing the highest possible salary if it means moving to somewhere with a high cost of living, particularly rents. A graduate may need an extremely attractive offer in London, far above the average salary, for it to be worth them leaving a less expensive labour market ... Graduates need to understand where value lies for their degree and whether it is worth remaining in a well-known jobs market on a lower salary or moving for more money where costs are higher. It’s a common assumption that the latter choice is always better, but the data strongly suggests that it is not.”

The value of a Masters Degree

A survey from the Institute of Student Employers (ISE) found that only 19% of employers said graduates with a Master’s had better skills than those with a Batchelors. No employers in the consumer goods sector valued the qualification, while only 6% in the IT sector saw the benefits . Only 12% of employers said that postgraduate qualified hires progress more quickly in terms of salary than other hires. Stephen Isherwood, chief executive of the ISE, said: “In reality, most employers simply don’t discriminate between those with a Master’s and those with a Degree. They see them as the same. They are treated the same when they join. They do not go on a faster track or get paid a premium. I think that is a bit of a shock to some Master’s students going into the labour market.”