Sectors With The LOWEST Paid Internships Revealed In New Study

4 years ago
  • The highest paid intern role is in consulting with an average salary of £1,700 per month 
  • An internship in fashion proves to be the lowest paid with an average income of just £600 per month
  • Over 29,000 people search for “paid internships” monthly to avoid unsustainable internships
  • London is the internship hotspot of the UK with 1,411 roles currently available, making it a graduate’s ideal job-hunting location

Internships are an important and common part of the graduate job market with a whopping 29,070 Google searches per month for “paid internships”.

Interestingly, Indeed.com states that the average internship salary across the UK is £20,715 per year, which is around £1,477 per month but often interns receive half of that. With that in mind, scouring through 1,257 intern positions on the job platform, MoneyTransfers.com was intrigued to find out which job sectors pay the most and least when it comes to internships.

 Highest Paid Intern Roles

Top Five Highest Paid Internships on IndeedAverage Salary Per Month
Consulting£1,700.00
Business£1,550.00
Finance£1,500.00
Research£1,450.00
Web development£1,450.00

Taking second place is a role within the business sector with an average monthly salary of £1,550. Roles included on the job platform consist of business strategist intern, business development intern and global strategic intern

The third highest paid intern role is in finance with an average salary of £1,500 per month. Internship opportunities vary from accounting, insurance, stockbroking, and bookkeeping. Number-savvy interns who decide to pursue a career in finance can earn 19.3% more than the average intern salary.

Lowest Paid Intern Roles

MoneyTransfers.com were also intrigued to find out which internship roles on Indeed are currently the lowest paid

Top Five Lowest Paid Internships on IndeedAverage Salary Per Month
Fashion£600.00
Marketing£800.00
Sales£950.00
Design£1,200.00
HR£1,380.00

Marketing roles place in third with an average of £800 per month. These internships cover an array of job roles in digital marketing, PR and communications. Like fashion, the monthly average salary is below the national living wage as it is nearly twice as likely to underpay.

Taking third place are sales intern roles with an average salary of £950 per month. Sales roles are known to be commission based, therefore the base average salary of £950 per month may reflect differently from business to individual skills. 

  Most Popular Internship Locations

Top 20 Internship Locations on IndeedNumber of internships/ apprenticeships
London1,455
Manchester196
Birmingham163
Bristol95
Nottingham90
Leeds80
Belfast66
Cambridge55
Norwich48
Sheffield47
Swindon46
Glasgow45
Leicester45
Liverpool45
Newcastle upon Tyne40
Reading38
Southampton37
Preston36
Northampton33
Edinburgh16

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