Graduate jobs with a $180,000 starting salary

Aussie graduates are being offered eye-watering salaries straight out of university, with some companies paying up to $180,000 per year.

Australian company Macquarie Capital is paying certain graduates $180,000 – including superannuation – as are global investment bank Credit Suisse and trading firm VivCourt, according to a new report.

The survey by popular website received more than 600 anonymous submissions from 180-plus companies in corporate Australia, covering industries like finance, consulting and law.

“While most peoples’ pay may not necessarily be keeping up with inflation these days, grad salaries are still as competitive as ever,” The Aussie Corporate said.

“Our takeaway is that the war for talent [is] as fierce as ever.”

The Aussie Corporate found graduate salaries ranged between $30,000 and $180,000, however it stressed that the findings were based on anecdotal feedback and had not been verified by the website.

The median salary was $75,000. To put that into perspective, the average Aussie earns $50,980 per year. That’s based on the median value.

Companies with the highest pay

Macquarie Capital placed high on the list, allegedly paying graduates in its investment banking team a starting salary of $180,000.

One user also claimed graduates received a $5,000 to $10,000 bonus in the first three months, followed by a $10,000 to $20,000 bonus a year later, plus a $2,000 relocation allowance.

Credit Suisse also paid graduates in its investment team $180,000, the report claimed, while VivCourt paid the same amount for graduates in its trading team.

The highest consultant salary was from Altman Solon, paying $105,000 – excluding super – while the highest law salary was from Ashurst, paying $108,000 – including super.

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Highest-paid degrees

Earlier this year, a separate Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching survey revealed the highest-paid graduate jobs in Australia.

The government-endorsed survey was based on more than 130,000 university graduates and found dentistry was the highest-paid profession, with graduates earning $100,000 on average after university.

Here’s the top 10:

1. Dentistry – $100,000

2. Medicine – $79,800

3. Social work – $75,000

4. Teacher education – $72,200

5. Engineering – $71,500

6. Agriculture and environmental studies – $70,000

7. Law and paralegal studies – $70,000

8. Rehabilitation – $69,500

9. Health services and support – $69,400

10. Computing and information systems – $69,000

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