Degrees from UK universities boost the careers of Indian graduates

UK universities
Source: Annie Spratt/Unsplash

Indian students who graduate from UK universities receive a suite of benefits that boost their employability, a new survey from Universities UK International and iGraduate has found.

A significantly large majority (99 percent) of working graduates are in skilled employment, with many holding managerial posts. Meanwhile, nearly nine in 10 (89 percent) reported feeling “satisfied or very satisfied with all aspects of their life” and seven in 10 said their UK degree equipped them to contribute to “equitable access to sustainable development”.

One student said: “This experience has put me in more real life situations than anything I have ever done in the past. I am much more confident in myself, the choices I make and the risks I am willing to take in life. Studying in the UK has affected my life in so many positive ways.”

Another spoke about the networking opportunities his British study abroad experience provided: “I really liked the network I managed to build. It was very international which was exactly what I wanted. The campus life (societies etc) helped me greatly to improve my English.”


The survey looked at the outcomes of Indian graduate respondents from UK universities, who were surveyed two to seven years after graduating. Out of a large sample of 16,199 international students from 58 UK higher education institutions, 988 Indian graduates responded to the International Graduate Outcomes’ study. Most were aged between 25 and 39 and had studied a postgraduate taught degree in the UK, with Management Studies and Business Studies standing as the two most popular courses of study among this group.

Today, nearly two-thirds of respondents have returned home to work, while the rest are scattered around the world, with 16 percent working in the UK, four percent in both the USA and UAE, two percent in Australia and the rest working elsewhere. The top three industries these graduates now work in are Computing/IT, Education and Manufacturing.

The findings show that these Indian graduates enjoy successful and satisfying careers and personal lives. More than four in five (82 percent) said they are satisfied or very satisfied with their careers.  A similarly high percentage (80 percent) said their UK degree contributed to their ability to land a job. Nine in ten female Indian graduates reported commanding average salaries or above, but among the entire group, more than half (51 percent) said they earn “above or well above average”.

The benefits of their UK degree went beyond their professional lives, too. Four out of five said they were “happier” as a result of their UK degree and nearly three-fourths (70 percent) reported feeling “healthier” thanks to their UK higher education.

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