Graduate pay finally breaks £20k barrier

The average salary students expect to earn when they graduate has broken through the £20,000 barrier for the first time.

Final-year job hunters expect to earn on average £20,300, a rise of 2.5% on last year, according to one of the largest graduate surveys ever carried out in the UK.

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The UK Graduate Careers survey of more than 16,000 students, by graduate recruitment firm High Fliers, shows that the class of 2006 is most interested in the media and teaching. The number of students hoping to go into HR also fell. It came 12th out of 23 sectors covered by the report, with only 6.2% of graduates opting for a career in people management.

Students voiced concerns about the levels of debt they faced, which on average stands at £10,400 – the same as in 2005.