10 Best Careers to Pursue in London 2024
When choosing a career for ourselves, personal motivations come first in the list of our top lifetime priorities, but financial profits must also be taken into account. We don’t want to put all our efforts into our education and professional qualifications just to get a degree that does not guarantee a well-to-do job.
Career opportunities in the UK are countless and the salaries are high enough to meet your financial aspirations. But if you’re wondering which one might be particularly profitable for you, below are the best and most exciting careers to pursue in London
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Table of Contents
1. Aircraft controllers
Aircraft controllers carry a high level of responsibility on their shoulders, as their work is essential for the safety of those who use airplanes as a means of transportation. To handle this job, an individual must possess outstanding leadership skills and mental and professional preparation.
This huge responsibility also determines the earnings of these employees. If you work as an aircraft controller in the UK, you’ll earn around £1,960 per week, thus making this job the highest paid in the UK.
Typically, you don’t need a specific degree to qualify for this job, but there are a lot of examinations, tests and training sessions to get qualified for working as an aircraft controller. Note that getting such a qualification is not an easy mission and the competition is as fierce as the goal of choosing the best candidates.
2. Chief Executive and Senior Officials
Chief executives are in charge of organizing and coordinating all financial activities in a company. They are responsible for making sure that the company is meeting financial goals by making important decisions that range from daily to long-term financial planning strategies. Their duties also include the appointment of senior managers and heads of specific departments within the company and mentoring their activities.
If this is a career you have decided to follow, then you’ve made a nice choice because chief executives are among the highest-paid employees in the UK. It is estimated that a chief executive and a senior official earn about £1,725 per week.
Usually, a degree in business-related subjects and at least 3 years of experience are required to get a job as a chief executive. In addition to degree qualifications, employers search for individuals with personal and leadership skills.
3. Aircraft Pilots and Flight Engineers
Nowadays, airplanes are a common means of traveling from place to place. The UK has one of the most developed aeronautical systems in terms of its extensive network of airlines and its modern infrastructure. Similarly, the UK aeronautical engineering industry is highly developed and engineers are much needed to routinely check the aircraft’s maintenance.
Although working in this industry is hard because you’re responsible for the lives of many people, plus there are strict schedules you need to meet on a daily basis, it is totally worth-seeking a career in terms of financial profits. Based on official calculations, aircraft pilots and flight engineers earn on average £1,491.
Flight Engineers must at least have a Bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering and relevant experience to get hired, whereas Aircraft Pilots must need a specific education and a certain number of hours of flying practice to get a license.
4. Marketing and Sales Directors
Marketing strategies are very important for companies to extend and maintain their prestige in the market. Thus, individuals who have the professional capacity to design and organize marketing campaigns and operate with sales are much needed.
Due to their importance in a company, marketing and sales directors make the list of the highest-paid jobs in the UK.
According to the official calculations, a marketing and sales director earns £1,397 per week. To qualify for this job, you must typically have a bachelor’s degree in business-related subjects. However, other types of degrees are acceptable if a certain relevant experience is included.
5. Legal professionals
A degree in law opens up countless career opportunities for you in several sectors in London. In addition to the variety of job opportunities, such a degree will also help you land a highly rewarding job. It is estimated that, on average, a law graduate earns £1,349.3 per week.
To enter this job market, you will typically need a bachelor’s degree in law. If you get a higher degree in law, you will certainly find a better job and earn more.
6. Information Technology and Telecommunication Directors
Just a few years ago, there were not too many people who believed that these professionals would ever get this much pay and be needed in the job market. Today, it is hard to find any other profession that has such high employability and provides such an attractive income.
Computers are used in every type of company or organization, thus counting for high employability. Information Technology and Telecommunication Directors are in charge of establishing and maintaining the common computer system in a company and regularly assisting employees if needed. If you ever get this job in the UK, you can expect to earn around £1,380 per week.
A computer science degree or in a related field may not always be necessary to get this type of job, although in some cases it may give you an advantage over other candidates. Quite often, there are people who are good with computers and manage to get the job despitethe fact that they don’t have a formal education.
7. Brokers
Brokers act as a third party between two individuals or companies who are engaged in a common trading-like relationship and charge commission fees for their services. It is among the highest-paid jobs. Based on official calculations, a broker in the UK earns around £1,250 per week.
To start a career as a stock market broker, a bachelor degree in business-related subjects is necessary, but a higher qualification is highly recommended.
8. Financial Managers and Directors
Financial managers and directors are responsible for monitoring the company’s finances. As part of their job, they make regular financial analyses and provide professional guidance to senior managers for improving the company’s profits. According to official estimations, a financial manager and director earn around £1,247 per week. That said, it is a career worth seeking.
To qualify for this type of job, employers usually search for candidates who hold a degree in management-related subjects and relevant experience.
9. Medical practitioners
The UK claims to have one of the best medical systems in the world. Universities maintain strong links with hospitals and as a result, medicine graduates enjoy high employability afterwards.
Despite being a very challenging career, medical professionals have one of the best paying careers in London, UK. There are many roles you can get in this sector and thus the range of salaries is huge. On average, it is estimated that healthcare professionals earn around $1,220 per week.
You won’t be able to get a job in medicine unless you have a world-class education. Usually, you must have a bachelor’s degree in medicine that took at least five years to complete and relevant experience.
10. Advertising and Public Relations Directors
The way a company presents itself in the market plays a major role in reaching its business objectives. Thus, advertising and public relations agents are in charge of targeting the company’s audience and using different advertising means to create a proper image of their company.
Advertising and public relations make it into the top ten best paying careers in London, UK. If you get hired as an agent of advertising and public relations in the UK, you will expect to earn around £1,160 per week. A bachelor’s degree in advertising, marketing or communications is typically required to succeed in finding a well-paid job in the advertising and public relations sectors.
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Reasons Why you Should Pursue a Career in London
One of the most important factors when choosing what and where to study is the career opportunities it will open up. And in London, those are endless.
Studying in London gives you one of the widest course choices in the world, including top globally ranked programmes and institutions. But there are many other reasons why London should be at the top of your list.
1. More than 50 higher-education institutions
London has one of the highest concentrations of higher education institutions in the world. Spread across the city, London universities, while globally recognized, are anchored in their local neighborhoods and will give you loads of opportunities to discover your new adoptive city. With so many institutions to choose from, you’re bound to find the one that will give you the best foundations to start your career, whether that’s here or at home. For help picking the best place to study, don’t miss this handy guide to your London University.
2. Universities with a global reputation
London boasts four universities within the world’s top 40 rankings (Imperial College London, UCL, King’s College London and The London School of Economics and Political Science), all of which are also globally ranked for graduate employability. But the city is also home to many other smaller institutions, both specialist and general, whose graduates are highly sought after, such as Goldsmiths, the University of Westminster or the Royal College of Music.
3. Some of the best courses in the world
Thanks to a mix of specialised and more general programmes and more than 10,000 course options to choose from, there is no doubt you will find your perfect degree in London. Many of the city’s institutions are world-leading subject specialists, such as the Royal College of Art, UCL and LSE, ranking number one for, respectively, art and design, architecture and social policy. A total of 30 London universities lead the way in global subject specializations.
4. A diverse, welcoming and vibrant city
Almost 30% of London’s student population is international, with 110,000 overseas students coming from more than 200 countries. After graduation, the capital is the perfect place for young professionals looking for their first job. With more than one-third of London’s overall population coming from overseas and more than 233 languages spoken, the city is a huge multicultural mix, embracing people coming to work from across the globe and valuing their unique perspectives. If you’re headed home after graduating, employers will no doubt value the international outlook you’ve gained after studying in London.
5. A thriving economy with the career opportunities to match
With 6.14 million jobs in London, the capital isn’t short of career opportunities. London is the leading European hub for finance and tech, two of the most dynamic sectors in the world, while companies in the creative industries employ 688,000 people in the city.
London also leads the way in cutting-edge industries, with 119,000 employees in life sciences companies in London and the Greater South East in 2018, a 15% increase compared to 2014.
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