Jobs in UK for International Students- Top Recruiters, Top Paying Sectors & Degrees, Work Permit

Home to various international business hubs and to the sixth largest economy in the world, the UK is the perfect place for ambitious graduates to start their careers. Apart from offering lucrative opportunities, the country also caters to higher education needs with its world renowned universities. Pursuing education with UK universities is considered to yield most employable graduates around the world.

Also Read: Why UK graduates are heavily employed in the world!

With a competition to join the 32 million people currently working in the UK, candidates with the right qualifications, skills and experience stand a good chance of employment. With jobs in the UK, international applicants can expect to earn as much as 100,000 GBP a year. Among the highest paid degrees is MBA and graduates with MBA jobs in UK offered a minimum of 80,000 GBP in industry annually.

Jobs in UK with Top Recruiters

With over 27,700 recruiting agencies, the UK sits at a high record number. Students pursuing their higher education in the UK are often seeked out by top employers in the country. With an entry level job role with these top recruiters you can make as much as 80,000-300,000 GBP in a year.

Discussed below are some of the top recruiters that offer high-paying jobs to the international students in the UK :

According to The Guardian UK 300-2019/20, the most popular graduate employers include Google, Cancer Research UK, Amazon, MI6 and GlaxoSmithKline.

Jobs in UK with Start-Ups

Apart from top recruiters, there is no dearth of opportunities with SMEs and start-ups to explore. The UK is ranked 8 among 190 economies in the ease of doing business, according to the latest World Bank annual ratings. Some of the popular startups are as follows:

Jobs in UK after Studies

A survey done by Emoluments.com has shown that the initial salaries for the graduates of top universities and colleges almost doubled in the period of five years. The graduates of London School of Business started at 38,000 and in a five years period it reached 69,000 GBP. Similarly an Oxford graduate starting with 34,000 reached above 54,000 GBP within 5 years from graduation.

The starting salaries of some of top ranked universities are as follows:

Highest Paying Degrees In the UK

International students choose the UK for management and STEM subjects along with cyber areas. Undergraduate, graduation and doctorate levels of education are quite popular and some courses stand out in preparing students for the job market also. The highest in demand degrees based on the average earnings are as follows in the UK:

Popular Sectors to Find Jobs in the UK

Management, Health services, Aviation, Food industry are commonly known areas to look for high paying jobs but surprisingly in the UK finance and insurance have emerged as the top paying sectors. Human resources, technology and telecom sectors also fall into the category of sought after sectors due to their good salaries.

There is a system of weekly payout of the salaries in many jobs which makes it attractive for newly graduated students. They do not have to wait for the entire month to get their earnings which affects their lifestyle positively. Various online portals, networking and newspapers are available for searching these jobs.

Some of the popular job sectors in UK in various regions for finding job for international students are:

Popular Jobs in UK

Though each sector and role has its own growth, certain job roles never run out of demand. With an employee market, these job roles ensure a high payscale offer and numerous opportunities. Some of these are discussed below:

Jobs in UK in Human Resources

• Average Annual Starting Pay: From 17,000-26,000 GBP
• Job Profile: HR Manager, HR Executive, Resource Manager, Relationship Consultant
• Top Universities: Aston University, Brunel University London, Durham University, University of Glasgow, Imperial College London, Lancaster University, University of Leeds. London School of Economics and Political Science.
• Top Recruiters: The Department for Education, Barclays, NBCUniversal, J.P. Morgan, GlaxoSmithKline and PwC

HR jobs are easily available to international students and graduates due to their exposure to different cultures that suits multinationals and large organizations.

Jobs in Accountancy in UK

• Average Annual Starting Pay: From 18,000-32,000 GBP
• Job Profile: Fiscal Managers, Chief Accountants, Financial Controllers
• Top Universities: University of Leeds, University of Bath, Loughborough University, University of Glasgow, University of Chester, University of Birmingham
• Top Recruiters: HSBC, London Stock Exchange Group, Prudential, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest Group, Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust.

Accounting is the most essential back office function without which no small or big company can function. International students do not shy away from jobs that require a lot of concentration for long hours along with accuracy. This makes them the best choice for these jobs in the UK.

Jobs in Marketing and Advertising in UK

• Average Annual Pay: From 27,000- 36,000 GBP
• Job Profile: Marketing Executive, Marketing Manager, Key accounts officers
• Top Universities: City University of London, University of Strathclyde, University of Southampton, University of Manchester, University of Liverpool.
• Top Recruiters: Capita, SAP, Google, Adobe, Cisco Systems, SAGE.

Marketing and Advertising are two departments in any company that need the most go-getters and enthusiastic staff. International graduates aspiring to make a career turns out to be an asset for the recruiting companies. Due to increasing startups and competition this field is always in demand.

Jobs in Investment Banking in UK

• Average Annual Pay: From 43,000-56,000 GBP
• Job Profile: Consultants, Portfolio Managers, Fund Managers
• Qualification Required: Masters in Finance, or higher related education
• Top Universities: London School Of Economics And Political Science, University College London, University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, University of Warwick, University Of Oxford, Aston University, University of Bath
• Top Recruiters: Goldman Sachs International, Barclays Bank plc, Morgan Stanley & Co International plc, J P Morgan Securities plc and Merrill Lynch International

Universities in the UK offer investment banking internships also with some of the best companies and this also provides a great opportunity for the international students to grab jobs in these companies.

Jobs in Management Consultancy in UK

• Average Annual Pay: From 33,000-44,000 GBP
• Job Profile: Change Managers, Consultants, Project Managers, Strategists
• Top Universities:University of Oxford. Oxford, University of Cambridge, London School of Economics and Political Science, University of Warwick, University College London, University of Bristol, University of Bath, Lancaster University.
• Top Recruiters: Accenture, Capita, Blackrock, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse

Management consultants jobs are increasing with passage of time as companies are feeling the need to have a strategist keeping an eye on the market developments. If companies have to remain profitable then they need to embrace the change and people working as consultants help them to do this job.

Jobs in Hospitality and Travel Management in UK

• Average Annual Pay: From 29,300- 50,200 GBP
• Job Profile: Travel Agents, Guides, Consultants, Planners, Hospitality Managers, Front office inchargers, Housekeeping Managers, Consultants, Receptionist etc.
• Top Universities:University of Birmingham, University of Surrey, University of Kent, Robert Gordon University, Manchester Metropolitan University, Sheffield Hallam University, University of Exeter, Oxford Brookes University
• Top Recruiters: Premier Inn, Travelodge, Disney Parks and Resorts, Hilton, Holiday Inn, Marriott, Haven Holidays, Savoy Hotel, Travelogue

Travelling and hospitality is vital for the hotel and resorts industry and all big chains have numerous vacancies. Apart from them various big companies also hire their own hospitality and travel incharges to manage the inhouse business making the scope wider for the job seekers.

Some of the other popular roles to explore when looking for jobs in UK as an international student are:

The Management and Health professionals also come in the high paying job categories specially the newly graduated students. In some of the jobs international students require licenses or specialized knowledge to attain the top bracket of the earnings.

Where to Look for Jobs in the UK?

Indeed, Reed, TotalJobs, CV-Library, Universal JobMatch, Jobsite, Monster and NHS Jobs are some of the renowned and popular online resources to look for jobs in the UK.

• EURES- the european job website also lists many short term and permanent jobs in different work areas and cities for the graduate students.
• There are other renowned options like the Guardian: The job portal for individuals; JustLondon providing job opportunities only for the area of London and TopJobs, a popular job website.

Jobs in UK Cities

In every country there are expensive and inexpensive and matro, non metro cities. The larger cities have more opportunities, greater competition and higher salaries as compared to the smaller ones. The United Kingdom is also no exception. Some of the main cities of tec country have following salary scales for the listed jobs:

How to get Work permit in the UK

Non-EU international students are eligible to get a work visa and the available options are as follows:

• The country has announced a post-study two year work visa for international students to work in the UK. This is available only to masters or doctorate graduates and will provide an opportunity to work for three years in the country.
• International students having Tier 4 Visa for study need to apply for this work visa before their study period ends and visa expires.

Full time or Part time work : Tier-2 General Visa

• Mainly issued to the skilled workers who have an employment offer and generally belong to the high in demand professions in the UK.
• This visa allows stay for around 5 years in the country. Individuals can remain in the UK for a maximum period of 5 years and 14 days on this visa.

You can also apply for Tier 1 Visa mainly for MBA and other UK graduates from higher education institutes in the UK. The graduates are willing to set up their business in the UK

The documents required for the Tier 2 visa are:

• Job offer from the Employer in UK
• Completed Application form
• Passport size-photos
• Valid Passport
• Proof of Higher Study and Valid UK study Visa
• Medical check and health certificate
• Any other relevant document.

There is no dearth of blue or white collar jobs for the international students depending on their qualifications and areas of interest. The United Kingdom has some top class universities providing world class education and preparing best job market talent. The country has many areas like Scotland emerging as a world business hub and England has not yet lost the charm. Considering this, the country has a lot to offer to the international students and communities.

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