Brits in the early stages of their career could be earning almost twice the average graduate's salary – if they land the right job.
Jobs in the investment banking and technology sectors offered the best entry level salaries in the U.K., according to the latest numbers from global jobs site Glassdoor.
The numbers, released Wednesday, that ranked the U.K.'s ten best-paid entry level jobs in 2019 showed that investment banking analyst was this year's highest paying job, with a median base salary of around £50,752 ($63,343) for entry level positions.
There was a relatively large gap between the highest and second highest paying roles, with entry level software engineers looking at a median salary of £34,106.
Landing a job as a business analyst was the third most lucrative job for entry level candidates, with the median salary ringing in at £32,142 a year.
Data scientist and financial analyst rounded out the top five.
The 10 highest paying entry level jobs in the UK
- Investment Banking Analyst
Median base salary: £50,752 - Software Engineer
Median base salary: £34,106 - Business Analyst
Median base salary: £32,142 - Data Scientist
Median base salary: £30,791 - Financial Analyst
Median base salary: £28,717 - Software Developer
Median base salary: £28,609 - Civil Engineer
Median base salary: £28,475 - Audit Assistant
Median base salary: £28,288 - Design Engineer
Median base salary: £28,288 - Mechanical Engineer
Median base salary: £28,273
According to Glassdoor's data, people who had specialist skills from studying programs related to STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and math) were best placed to start their career in one of the highest paying roles.
"Investment banks have traditionally been the most generous with salaries to attract entry level talent, putting candidates through their paces in often gruelling interview processes," Amanda Stansell, economic research analyst at Glassdoor, said in a press release Wednesday.
"However, while an analyst at an investment bank still attracts the largest salary, four of the 10 highest paying entry level roles are in the technology sector. This shows that employers are willing to pay handsomely to find technology talent."
The average base salary for a new graduate in the U.K. is £28,088, according to Glassdoor, while data from Britain's Office for National Statistics shows that the median income in the U.K. last year was £29,588.
In a separate study conducted by Glassdoor, researchers found that most people value a strong company culture over a high paying salary when it comes to job satisfaction.
From Facebook to Morgan Stanley – what do employees think?
Although many high profile firms in the investment banking and tech sectors offered competitive salaries and strong workplace cultures, many employees felt there was a trade off that meant work often ate into their personal time.
One investment banking analyst in Morgan Stanley's London office said the company offered good pay, meritocracy and a strong working culture. However, they said the work could become repetitive, and working hours could be long – although this was in line with the industry.
"(The) learning curve flattens after a year at analyst level (and the role) limits future work opportunities to finance only," they added.
Meanwhile, two investment banking analysts at Bank of America complained about long hours, with one saying they had "difficult management" and a "terrible work-life balance."
And while one London-based analyst at J.P. Morgan said the bank provided entry level employees with a "great learning experience, impactful work (and) supportive team," another complained that there was a "massive turnover in certain divisions and salary increases for internal promotions (are) marginal."
For software engineers working in Big Tech, good salaries, flexibility to choose projects and interesting work were all perks of the job.
One Facebook employee praised the firm's "incredible culture" and the "mind blowing" scale of the work, but they said the workload could be stressful.
An Apple employee, meanwhile, was critical of their employer's "tendency to micro-manage," although they noted the company was "very structured and organized (and) great for teamwork in software development."
Meanwhile, Google cares a lot about employee wellbeing, according to one of its London-based software engineers.
"(There are) lots of interesting projects at Google and the flexibility to move between teams every year or so, lots of room to learn from veterans in the field and bullet-proof infrastructure," they said.
However, as a Google employee, they could "sometimes feel like a small piece of a big puzzle."
"Some teams can have boring projects (and) sometimes work can feel slow-paced compared to working in a smaller company or start-up," they added.
Glassdoor reviews are anonymous.
CNBC contacted all of the companies named in the relevant Glassdoor reviews, but spokespeople were not immediately available for comment. Facebook declined to comment.