padgrad is a free career platform for graduates. It matches jobs to your degree, generates AI-powered CV checks and cover letters, and sends daily personalised job digests matched to your field of study.

Yes. You get 10 free credits on sign-up to use on AI CV checks and cover letters. All other tools — job matching, budgeting, application tracking, rejection logging — are free with no credit card required.

How does the AI CV Checker work?

Upload your CV and paste a job description. The AI analyses your CV against the role requirements, gives you an ATS compatibility score out of 100, and tells you exactly what keywords and formatting changes to make — helping you pass automated screening systems used by graduate recruiters.

How many jobs should I apply for as a graduate?

Graduates typically need to send between 20 and 50 applications to land a role, with top graduate schemes receiving an average of 58 applications per vacancy. Focus on quality over quantity — tailor each CV and cover letter to the role rather than spamming the same application everywhere.

How long does it take to get a graduate job?

Most graduates take between 3 and 6 months to land their first graduate role, though it varies by sector. Consulting, tech, and investment banking tend to have faster hiring cycles. Larger graduate schemes can take 4-6 months from application to offer.

What is the average graduate salary for 2026?

Graduate salaries vary widely by country, sector and region. Investment banking, law and tech tend to pay the highest, while public sector and charity roles typically start lower. Salaries in major cities usually sit above the national average — check local salary guides for figures relevant to your market.

How do I write a graduate CV with no work experience?

Focus on transferable skills from your degree — research projects, group assignments, presentations, and coursework. Include volunteering, society memberships, part-time jobs, and any placements or internships. Use Padgrad's CV Builder to structure your CV for ATS systems, then run it through the AI CV Checker to see how it scores.

How are jobs matched to my degree on padgrad?

We scrape thousands of graduate jobs daily and match them to over 300 specific degree fields. Whether you studied Biology, Law, Engineering, Psychology, or History — we only show you roles that fit your subject area and send them straight to your daily digest.

Do graduate schemes pay well?

Graduate schemes typically pay a competitive starting salary, with some industries paying significantly more. Law firms and investment banks often pay the most. Most schemes also offer benefits like bonuses, pension contributions, and professional qualification sponsorship — check each employer's offer for the specifics.

How many applications does it take to get a graduate job?

Research shows top employers receive an average of 58 applications per graduate vacancy. Most successful graduates send 20-40 tailored applications before receiving an offer. Track every application using Padgrad's Application Tracker to spot which types of roles you progress furthest in.

Can I apply for graduate jobs before I graduate?

Yes — most large graduate schemes open applications 6-12 months before the role starts, so you should apply in your final year. Smaller companies and direct-entry roles tend to hire closer to the start date. Padgrad's daily job digest includes both graduate schemes and entry-level roles you can apply for straight away.

What should a graduate CV include?

A strong graduate CV should include: your degree with predicted or achieved grade, relevant modules and dissertation topic, transferable skills (research, teamwork, communication), part-time work or volunteering, technical skills and software proficiency, and a personal profile. Most recruiters spend under 10 seconds scanning a CV — use Padgrad's AI CV Checker to make sure yours passes the six-second test.

Graduate salary progression: what official data shows about pay five years after university, why real pay has stalled, and how to raise yours. Start now.

Graduate Salary Progression 2026: What the Data Shows

Graduate salary progression is the story of how your pay grows after your first job. Most graduates fix their eyes on the starting figure. The bigger number is the one you reach by year five.

This guide uses official data to show what happens to graduate pay over time. It names the source each time. It also shows what the numbers leave out. You can then judge your own offers with a clear head.

TL;DR

The official data looks at pay one, three, five and ten years after graduation.
Cash pay rose between 2017-18 and 2023-24, but real pay barely moved.
The spread of pay inside one subject can be wider than the gap between subjects.
Hours worked explain much of the gap between men and women.

What the Progression Data Measures

The UK Department for Education publishes a release called Graduate labour market outcomes (LEO). The latest covers the 2023-24 tax year. It was published in June 2026 and updated in September 2026.

It tracks people who studied at higher education providers in England. It reports their outcomes after one, three, five and ten years.

The main measure is annualised earnings. That means the total income a person makes in a year of work. If someone only worked for part of the year, the figures are scaled up to a full year.

That choice matters. The release does not scale earnings up for people who work fewer hours each week. So a graduate on short hours can look underpaid next to one on full hours, even at the same hourly rate.

Graduate Salary Progression at the Five-Year Mark

Five years after a first degree, pay spreads widely by subject. Medicine and dentistry had the highest median earnings. Performing arts had the lowest.

The gap inside a subject can be just as wide as the gap between subjects. Economics graduates had the widest range, with a spread of £32,900. Sport and exercise sciences had the narrowest, at £11,700.

What the data shows	Figure	Source
Best paid subject at five years.	Medicine and dentistry.	DfE LEO release, 2023-24 tax year.
Lowest paid subject at five years.	Performing arts.	DfE LEO release, 2023-24 tax year.
Widest pay spread within one subject.	£32,900 for economics.	DfE LEO release, 2023-24 tax year.
Narrowest pay spread within one subject.	£11,700 for sport and exercise sciences.	DfE LEO release, 2023-24 tax year.

Read that table with care. A wide spread means some graduates in that subject earn far more than others. It does not mean every economics graduate is rich.

Cash Pay Rose, Real Pay Did Not

Between the 2017-18 and 2023-24 tax years, average graduate pay at five years went up in cash terms. In real terms, the picture is flat.

The release says real earnings rose slightly for first-degree graduates and fell slightly for master's level graduates. So most of the rise in the headline figure was inflation.

That is a hard lesson. A pay rise that matches inflation leaves you standing still. When you compare offers from different years, ask what the figure buys. Do not stop at what it says.

The Hours Problem Behind the Pay Gap

Male graduates earned more than female graduates in many subjects, but not all. The biggest proportional gap was in combined and general studies. There, women earned 24.0% less than men.

In pharmacology, toxicology and pharmacy, women earned 9.1% more than men. So the gap is not fixed across every field.

Hours explain a lot of it. The release adjusts pay using average weekly hours from the Labour Force Survey. After that fix, full-time equivalent salaries were £1,900 to £2,500 higher than the raw figures.

The release notes that the pay gap shrinks a lot once hours are counted. That points to working patterns, not just hourly rates.

Background Still Shapes Pay

Graduate pay is not only about effort at work. The data splits graduates by the area they lived in as children.

Graduates from the least deprived areas earned £3,400 more than those from the most deprived areas. The share in steady work or further study was 5.3 percentage points higher too.

That gap is not fair, and it is not your fault. It does mean that contacts and confidence may matter as much as talent. Build both on purpose.

How to Speed Up Your Own Pay Growth

Pick a role with a clear pay ladder. A firm with yearly reviews beats one with a flat rate.
Ask what the next level pays. Then ask which skills open that door.
Track your own numbers each year. Note base pay, bonus and weekly hours.
Compare full-time equivalent pay. A high hourly rate on short hours can still pay less.
Check the going rate before you name a number. Our guide to graduate pay by industry sets out the ranges.

Where the Data Stops

The release covers graduates from English providers who live in the UK. It cannot tell you what a graduate earns in Nairobi, Kampala or Manila.

The lesson still travels. Pay grows fastest where skills are scarce and firms compete for them. Find that market at home, or work remotely for a firm that pays in a stronger currency.

The data also cannot tell you if a job is good. Pay is one line in a longer list. Read our guide on how long to stay in your first graduate job before you plan a move.

The Bottom Line

Your first salary is a starting point, not a verdict. Official data shows the spread inside a subject is wide. Effort, hours, sector and luck all move the number.

Start with a clear target. Our list of highest paying degrees by subject shows which fields climb fastest. Your degree sets the lane, not the speed.

Then let Padgrad help. Check your CV with our free CV checker. Build a profile that matches the roles you want, and apply with less busywork.

By Ori