It turns out where you go to school does make a big difference in how much you get paid, at least if you work in the finance industry in London. According to crowdsourced pay data firm Emolument.com, recent graduates from technical and and engineering schools tend to receive the highest salaries at London financial firms, followed by a range of business schools in prestige pecking order. Data is from financial firm employees who graduated in 2011 or later.
Top salaries at London finance firms by employee school
Graduates from France’s Ecole Polytechnique earn the highest salaries in the London finance sector on average. Engineering graduates from this well-respected, five-year program are in great demand, and currently receive salaries averaging around £74,000 (US$113,000) annually.
London finance sector employees who graduated from the London Business School also did quite well, coming in second place overall with an average annual salary of £66,000 (US$102,000).
Those who graduated from France’s other top engineering school Ecole Centrale de Paris came in third place on the school rankings list with an average annual salary of £62,000 (US$95,000).
Graduates from Bocconi University and SDA School of Management employed at London financial firms earn an average annual salary of £60,000 (US$92,000), good for fourth place overall.
Somewhat surprisingly, graduates from Birkbeck College and the London School of Economics were at the bottom of the list, as they only took home an average salary of £47,000 (US$72,000) last year.
The Emolument report did point out that French engineering graduates typically had to complete a five-year program, and moreover, their education came with strings attached. That is, graduates (who receive a monthly stipend while they are in school) must work for the French civil service for a decade after they graduate or pay a €40,000 “buyout” fee
Statement from Alice Leguay of Emolument
According to Alice Leguay of Emolument: ‘Sticking to stereotypes, this is a perfect example of the British pragmatic approach whereby experience is king vs. the French love of theoretical learning. I would add just one caveat though that the French schools also require extensive internships sandwiched in their prolonged syllabus.’
