A financial technology company headquartered in London pays the best starting salary in the UK, according to new research.
Entry-level employees at Thought Machine can expect to earn £60,000 ($75,000) when they start their role, says online recruitment website Glassdoor.
The generous compensation is nearly double the average British salary, which stood at £31,772 ($39,751) in 2021, according to data from the UK’s Office for National Statistics.
Glassdoor’s list of the 50 best-paying companies for Gen-Z job-hunters was dominated by financial firms, including long-established investment banks and FinTech disruptors. Eight of the top 10 were in the financial sector. Firms in the technology, legal and consultancy spheres made up the rest of the list.
Researchers analysed more than 100,000 anonymous pay reports on its website over the past 12 months up to March 2022. The entry-level positions required less than two years of relevant experience and did not have management responsibilities.
Social media giant Meta, the parent company of Facebook, came in second place by offering £57,000 for those at the start of their careers.
Third place was taken by the Macquarie Group, a financial services company that offers an average starting salary of £55,000.
Other notable entries include internet travel company Expedia (26), which offers £44,250, and search engine monolith Google (47), which pays £35,000 to early-career hires.
Lauren Thomas, Glassdoor’s EMEA economist, said that while attractive remuneration was an important factor in any job, this shouldn’t be only consideration for young employees.
“Once in a job, it’s a company’s culture and values, senior leadership team and the career opportunities available that drive employee satisfaction,” she said.
“To entice Gen-Z employees, companies should focus on mentorship, learning and development. Investment of this sort has proven difficult for employers in the post-pandemic, remote-first environment, but it is exceptionally important to young workers.”
UK companies offering the biggest salaries for entry-level jobs
1. Thought Machine - £60,000
2. Meta - £57,000
3. Macquarie Group - £55,000
4. Goldman Sachs - £50,000
5. Bank of America - £50,000
6. Deutsche Bank - £50,000
7. BlackRock - £50,000
8. BNP Paribas - £50,000
9. Credit Suisse - £50,000
10. Clifford Chance - £50,000
11. Boston Consulting Group - £50,000
12. Nomura Holdings - £50,000
13. TPP - £50,000
14. Bloomberg LP - £49,000
15. L.E.K. Consulting - £49,000
16. Linklaters - £48,500
17. Morgan Stanley - £47,500
18. Oliver Wyman - £47,000
19. Allen & Overy - £46,500
20. Herbert Smith Freehills - £46,000
21. EY-Parthenon - £46,000
22. McKinsey & Company - £45,000
23. UBS - £45,000
24. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer - £45,000
25. FactSet - £45,000
26. Expedia Group - £44,250
27. JPMorgan Chase & Co - £43,500
28. Microsoft - £42,000
29. Strategy& - £42,000
30. Salesforce - £40,000
31. London Stock Exchange Group - £40,000
32. M&G -£40,000
33. Schroders - £40,000
34. Checkout.com - £40,000
35. Newton Europe - £38,500
36. Cisco Systems - £38,009
37. Multiverse - £38,000
38. OneTrust - £38,000
39. FTI Consulting - £37,000
40. Gartner - £37,000
41. Ocado Technology - £37,000
42. Barclays - £36,500
43. Arm - £36,000
44. Lane Clark & Peacock - £36,000
45. Baringa - £36,000
46. Financial Conduct Authority - £35,700
47. Google - £35,000
48. AlphaSights - £35,000
49. Capital One - £35,000
50. BP - £35,000
