Can you do any careers in the city that earn a lot with an arts degree?

[Justpipedreamin]

If you are not an Oxbridge graduate, can you ever manage to get into a lucrative city career?

Maybe something like marketing, or business development?

I'm not very well versed in what the specific types of roles are apart from traders, who earn vast amounts. I don't even know where to research online that does an easy breakdown of different job types.

But surely the people who work for investment banks or hedge funds in other roles also earn very good money, even though it's a fraction of what traders make?

I have an arts degree and used to work in the city as a sell side equity analyst. I did chartered accountancy as a post-grad qualification, then did a hybrid finance/ investor relations role for a listed company, and then went into banking. However, the investment banks were recruiting arts graduates directly onto grad schemes in front and middle office positions so it wasn't as though I had to get some relevant experience. Obviously you need to be reasonably literate but most city careers do not require you to do anything very mathematically complex and the skill set is pretty transferable really.

Basically the big bucks are in front office (so revenue generation roles) but you can make good money in supporting roles too, but just not to the same extent, if you compare middle office packages to front office packages at the same level of seniority.

Investor relations (which seems most relevant to you) so liaising between the listed companies and the investors/ analysts can be very well remunerated if you're good at it.

sorry- meant to say "reasonably financially literate"

I know an English Literature graduate who trained as an accountant and makes big bucks with Deloitte. My husband used to date a drama and English (dual honours) student way back years ago, she did a law conversion and works in the City. So, yes, you can do.

Good luck whatever you decide to do. XX

I was an archaeologist and museum curator. Now I’m training to be an accountant. Starting salary is low for London but livable (£25k) but I’ve been there less than a year and already had 2 pay rises (salary increases with exam passes). In 2 and a bit years I’ll be qualified and my salary will jump to nearly £50k. And this is in a small firm, not the big 4. Not even in the top 100!

Oh and I’ve started this in my late 20s, so not a fresh faced grad either!

at how so many people posting on this thread have not understood the difference between an arts degree and an art degree.

(not to Lockheart btw, just happened to post after you)

There’s good earning potential in BD : marketing and CRM in prof services now We would look at someone graduate level or degree educated in any degree. Entry level around 25k rising to 100k+ although not everyone will reach that level the potential is there.

DHs degree is in a non European MFL, northern red brick, and he works in a technology role in the City.

Be careful what you wish for though. His job really does own him.

It's perfectly possible to move over to a City job in your 30s though you realistically won't earn the same as someone who's done it since graduating. PR jobs would be possible with Arts / non Oxbridge, all jobs apart from specialist ones are possible with that, accountancy is a good route to the higher money.

Easiest way in for you would maybe a temporary job via one of the recruitment agencies. The salaries in PR are nowhere nations are £80k though until you are reasonably experienced.

Depends exactly what your background is but maybe something like this:

www.indeed.co.uk/m/viewjob?jk=4a391c0d5228b46b&from=serp

Not sure which recruitment agencies they will use - Murray McIntosh are small but cover PR. Not a lot of job creation at the moment though. May even be worth phoning a company and saying you want to move into PR and asking their HR / PR people. May not be called PR. Good luck.

Thanks for all of the information about what people do and for the ideas!

I do know of course if I applied for anything such as PR agencies with some finance clients, I'd only earn about £25k. It's the potential for good earnings in future that would be interesting, not the immediate reward though.

In-house corporate communications for a big firm is the way forward for the earnings etc. I work in that field , have an arts degree. The best route I've seen is often to go work somewhere first like an comms agency, get exposure to working on accounts for big clients. It'll be a much lower starting salary but you can prove how you enacted change for a client or helped them overcome a comms problem.

Digital in particular is becoming an area where I've seen huge spend from the big names across sectors. Social media, digital content, analytics. Project managers, content editors can all see £70k + after a few years

Similarly anything that looks at change communications and culture - join an agency (easier said than done, but if you find the right recruiter or listings they will see new candidates especially those who've worked in different sectors before) and work on a change comms project, then come in house. Again, numbers vary but £60k for comms managers is not unheard of

Hope that helps?

So yes sorry, the proper and short reply to your last post would be yes - def join a PR agency with finance clients etc as it can lead to real big in house work if you so choose.

Are you good at writing? Marketing, business development, investment writing are good entry points into the City. We particularly struggle to find investment writers. A great entry point is RfP writing - we can never find enough RfP writers.

Risk and compliance is another growing area, thanks to the CFA, and again you don't need a finance degree to do that at the entry level.

With most firms it's really about simply getting in the door. It's easy to move around big companies (JP Morgan etc) if you network well and are known to be good at your job.

Ignore anyone telling you that you need a finance degree or the CFA. I have both of those things and they are only needed for very particular, numerate career paths. MBAs are also unnecessary in the UK for the most part, but can be helpful for career changers in their 30s if you choose a reputable course.

Risk - that should be FCA not CFA!

You sound a bit sensitive OP. That isn't meant to be criticism but to make you aware that City jobs also expect/demand/attract certain types of personalities and more sensitive people tend to struggle (until they adjust - or get out). It's not really a place for dreamers, it's for people who take action and drive things forward. It sounds more like you're just curious rather than serious about a move though so I guess personality-type is a non-issue.

But to answer your original question, I know lots of people in the City who didn't go to Oxbridge and/or don't have MBAs, some of them don't even have degrees. By contrast, I also know people with multiple post-grad qualifications from the best schools and there are relatively useless at their jobs. Academics will get you a foot in the door but theyt won't necessarily keep the door open. As Yarboosucks said, you need the sweet spot of skills/experience/ability and I'll also add drive to that.

I've worked in the City (well, Canary Wharf now to be geographically accurate ) for 20+ years and it can be tough. If you want to succeed, you need to make a lot of sacrifices. It changes you. I enjoyed my 20s and early 30s (worked hard, played hard) but at mid-30s I put my head down and gave work everything. I'm successful at what I do, I make a 6 figure salary and I have a reputation as tough but fair and I get things done. But that comes at a cost. Sleepless nights, stress, no work/life balance, being "on" 24/7 etc etc. Most people I know who have "made it" get to there late 40s/early 50s and start asking themselves if it was worth it. Lots of people walk away from the City and become yoga instructors/PTs/artists/something far less stressful.

Lots of opportunities for arts degrees and no of course they don't have to be Oxbridge. A good degree and a good CV are important though.

Off the top of my head, good opportunities in marketing, market research, branding, advertising, P.R., communications, H.R. They're the type of thing that arts grads should find interesting too.

You won't start on big bucks, but opportunity to be on six figures in 10 years. These industries require long hours, but not to the extent of law/banking. 45-50 hour weeks would be about the norm (though that can fluctuate at busy times).

Do you mind me asking how old you are? And how many years since you graduated?

My dh is an accountant with an English degree (not in London though, another big city)

@HundredMilesAnHour

Im pleased for your success, but your culture and approach (24/7, "go getter", no sleep) may be considered pretty old school and actually frowned upon at the place I work (FWIW I'm in the City, large global firm).

I'm sensitive. A dreamer. Done 8 years now. Yes everywhere is results driven, but good hiring managers will recognise that writers and PRs and comms people will naturally come with different personalities. Anyway, not automatically knowing which door to "bash on" doesn't make the OP a dreamer; she's come on here and asked a question, to advance her world, that's more proactive than most.

I just don't believe everyone has to be Glengarry Glenn Ross/Wall St in this industry, yeah 15 years ago perhaps but that was pre 2008, there's a lot more focus now on work life balance, true self etc

I worked in the city for 5 years or so and I would say many people I worked with were aggressive and some bullying for entertainment e.g. new people. PR maybe better, tends to worsen higher up and sales, but without a huge cultural change its not the best place for nice people. You either need to become aggressive so you aren't the easiest target or leave.

Head for a more creative industry - advertising perhaps, depending on your degree, media etc. I have a drama degree and started out in publishing, then moved into an advertising-related events management position. Starting salary for those roles were about £25-£30k but plenty of opportunity for progression. You can also move from roles like that into ad agencies, and then progression and pay are much better. My job involved a lot of overseas travel and was full on but enjoyable in my 20s. Trust me, there are jobs out there you don't even know exist and have never considered!

Technology in Investment banks is incredibly well paid. You don't need an IT degree but you would need to show a passion for coding and writing software. Also Marketing and project management supporting the technology functions. Not particularly senior role are £100k with bonuses and Head of's in support functions are pulling in circa £250k with their bonuses especially in Asset Managers and Hedge Funds.

not automatically knowing which door to "bash on" doesn't make the OP a dreamer

The OP herself has said several times that she's dreaming (which is fine).

there's a lot more focus now on work life balance, true self

There's a lot of TALK about. Even some attempts at action. However, in my experience the more an organisation talks about work/life balance, the less of it there actually is! Especially as you become more senior. Perhaps this is just the big name banks that I have worked for and/or the field that I work in (high pressure, serious consequences if you fail). I moved jobs relatively recently to get some work/life balance (which meant taking a pay cut) so now I rarely work weekends or before 7am/after 9pm during the week.

You can either do the GDL or maybe become a stock broker. Either way you will definitely need so additional study/training of some kind.

I work for an extremely progressive household name asset manager with a huge emphasis on diversity, opportunity, wellness etc.

We are still doing 60 hour weeks, it's still very competitive, and you need to be a particular competitive personality type to get ahead. The successful people are fundamentally still very similar even if it's less white, male and Oxbridge these days.