Non-British financial services professionals in London earn more AND are better educated

24 October 2011

2 minute read

Non-British financial services professionals in London earn more AND are better educated

Once in a while, a glimmer of xenophobia flickers across the comments left on this site. European financial services professionals in the City are accused of being, "Eurotrash," as in, Glasgow's not that bad. Less Eurotrash for a start....

Those comments may well originate in jealousy and resentment: non-British employees in the City are higher paid and better educated than their native peers.

Research from the Office of National Statistics has already indicated that only 40% - or less - of front office bankers in the City have British nationality. Now, an eFinancialCareers survey of 500 finance professionals in the UK shows that the average non-British financial services professional in London earned 133k last year, vs. 101k for his or her British counterparts.

There's a clear reason for this. 68% of non-Britons have a graduate qualification, vs. only 46% of Britons. Equally, British people also have a 26% greater likelihood than foreign financial services professionals of ending up in middle and back office jobs - as opposed to working in the front office.

Not all the non-British financial services professionals in London are continental Europeans. Many are Asians and Americans. If anything, the pay differential is likely to rise rather than narrow as UK immigration rules for non-EU workers currently favour individuals earning more than 150k.

AUTHORSarah Butcher

Global Editor

9 comments

Va
Valeriy
29 November 2011
All this country is left to hope for is the inflow of cheap highly-qualified labour from abroad to keep its economy afloat ..
Reply
Sa
Sandeep
3 November 2011
I am a non-British national currently looking for junior quant. finance / software development roles in London. I've had to take a test or even two tests for every position for which I've been shortlisted. It is so normal that I take it for granted that I will have to take a test or two when I apply for such jobs. Testing is widespread, and may even become standardised across the industry, and candidates better learn to get use to it. After all, students can't enter any university without passing some exams or tests, so why should the professional world be any different?
Reply
Go
GoodRiddance
25 October 2011
SSSS stop whinging! My understanding of the situation is that after graduation, in effect, you have four months to get a job. For the bright and brilliant non-EU graduates that's should be an easy task. They are capable of performing miracles with Excel, VBA, C++, and so on and so forth, while doing their triple stochastic integrals in a blink of an eye. Another hint, try networking with the Wizard of EC1.
Reply
Bu
Bulldog
24 October 2011
Good observation, I wonder if banks will do anything to address this in terms of trying to recruit more British nationals, particularly at the entry Analyst level? No doubt that many EU students study for longer but still only the best of these get through, encouraging similar Post grad study in the UK isnt neccesarily the solution, particularly when some students think this gives them a guaranteed role in banking. Interesting to see what happens when the EU implodes, dont expect any sympathy from the UK!!
Reply
AQ
AQD
24 October 2011
Unfair? Famine in Somalia is unfair man... People wanting to get rich with a job in fin serv... How does that compare?
Reply