Which Industry Offers The Quickest Route to a £100,000 Salary?

Discovering a career that you enjoy and that is financially rewarding can seem like finding a needle in a haystack. There are such a diverse range of industries to work in, and so many roles within those industries, that it can become easy to get trapped within a career that will either never get you to those higher earning brackets or will take half of your life to get there. 

That’s why we conducted a study analysing over 10,000 current job listings across 10 career platforms per sector. Through our analysis, we were able to determine what percentage of jobs offered £40,000 or more per year and how many years of experience were needed on average per sector.

Our sector analysis revealed that certain sectors had a much higher average rate of pay than others, and therefore these are the areas you will want to upskill in if you are keen to pursue a lucrative career. 

Getting qualified in HR is the best way to ensure high earnings, with over 44% of all HR roles offering £40,000 or more per year. The average annual salary for HR careers is £43,821.

For aspirational earners, HR is a simple industry to break into, with dedicated HR courses offering you all you need to begin a career in this field.

In terms of the number of roles within a sector offering a high salary, the Law sector comes out on top. According to our study, 68% of careers in law come with a salary of £40,000 or above. 

If you’re keen to take advantage of this pool of high-earning opportunities, exploring Law courses can be the best way to upskill in key areas. 

To make a high salary, you will need some experience in your respective industry. However, some sectors require a lot less experience to earn over £40,000 than others, meaning that you can start to enjoy high earnings early in your career. 

We found that the finance sector offered the quickest route to a salary of at least £40,000, with just 1 year of experience needed on average to reach these earnings. 

Within this sector there are also 59% of people earning £40,000 or above and after 9 years’ experience, you are likely to be earning £100,000 or more.

Finance courses can be the key to breaking into this industry, especially if you already have a higher qualification in a related field.

The finance sector continues to be a high earner with just 4 years’ experience, on average,  needed to earn £60,000 per year. Law and marketing are also quick routes to £60,000, taking an average of 4 years to achieve. 

An £80,000 salary is achieved quickest in the Finance sector with 5 years’ experience needed, followed closely by Law which requires on average 6 years’ experience needed for an £80,000 salary.

For those who are keen to increase their earnings at a faster rate, taking on additional courses in Finance, Law or Marketing can be the best way to achieve that goal.

Law is the career for you if you are looking for a career where you can start earning a lot of money in the quickest amount of time, with just 8 years’ experience on average needed for a £100,000 salary. 

Most careers in which there is the potential for high earrings require 11-18 years’ experience, so for an average of 8 years’ experience for a £100,000 salary, the legal sector is the ideal career for many people looking for the quickest route to the highest level of earnings. 

As well as experience, additional qualifications in Law can help to boost your pay packet just that bit quicker.