That’s because, according to a 2024 LinkedIn analysis of millions of member profiles and job postings, the fastest-growing industry in the U.K. is the education sector—with teachers, lecturers, and learning support assistants “being some of the most sought-after roles,” LinkedIn’s career expert Charlotte Davies told Fortune.
Why? Because the chance to take weeks off for summer holidays and half-terms while still having a steady career isn’t going amiss among graduates.
1. Education
2. Utilities
3. Oil, gas, and mining
4. Consumer services
5. Construction
6. Government administration
7. Hospitals and health care
8. Transportation, logistics, supply chain, and storage
9. Wholesale
10. Financial services
Although you may have better luck landing a job in teaching than in other industries, the average starting salary for teachers ranges from £28,000 to £40,000 ($35,700 to $51,000).
By comparison, those working in financial services—which ranked 10th on the list—can expect a far more lucrative career from the get-go.
Likewise, you’ll probably need to suck up commuting and a nine-to-five grind if you want to increase your chances of career success after graduating.
“We know this generation of new grads value flexibility. However, our data shows an overall trend toward significantly lower hybrid and remote-work flexibility for entry-level jobs,” Davies said.
While about a third of mid-senior roles posted on the platform in 2024 were hybrid, fewer than one in five entry-level job ads offer the same level of flexibility.
But in the end, salary isn’t everything—especially in your first job out of college. Successful executives have consistently said that grads would be better off focusing on learning opportunities over fat paychecks when they’re starting out.
