UK Business Students Aspire To Goldman Sachs: Emolument

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Not too surprisingly, a recent survey of British business school students highlighted that most of the students would like to land a job at global financial giant Goldman Sachs. According to salary benchmarking site Emolument.com, Goldman Sachs is the number one choice of London business-school students, followed by JPMorgan, with consulting firm KPMG coming in third.

Of note, UK business school students are apparently learning research skills, as students have put the time in to research the issue of compensation at financial institutions. Based on the Emolument survey, the student estimates came very close to the actual salaries, with a less than 7% gap between student projections and real world salaries.

The students estimated that Goldman Sachs was paying £43,500 a year to start, but the firm is actually offering £46,000 annually according to Emolument data. The student estimates were dead on at £42,000 for the salary at JPMorgan this year, as that is the exact figure in the survey of finance professionals with less than one year of experience.

Most business students still want to work for the top firms like Goldman Sachs

The survey data make it clear the long-term security and benefit packages of major banks and the Big 4 accounting firms are still attractive to students. Emolument notes that according to various sources, the number of business graduates deciding to work for a large tech firms or a smaller tech start-up is “allegedly increasing”, but highlights that their survey shows prestigious financial institutions and accountancy firms are still considered the top choices by most business students.

Statement from Emolument

Emolument’s Alice Leguay notes: “With 40% of our entrants studying business-related degrees, we expected to see financial institutions top the tables. For all the banker-bashing of the last few years, the industry retains the imagination of young graduates eager to pay off their student loans fast and earn their stripes at blue chip institutions. One of the key challenges for banks in the coming years will be to convince this generation to stay on as they become drawn to alternative tech, private equity & VC opportunities.”

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