Careers and employability

Graduates from the School of Economics and Finance at Queen Mary have very strong career prospects.

The high standard of teaching, the transferable and highly sought after skills developed and the strong reputation of Queen Mary (a Russell Group University since 2012) all contribute to our graduates’ employability. The proximity of Queen Mary to both the City and Canary Wharf also helps is maintain strong industry links.

Graduates of the School of Economics and Finance enter into a wide range of careers, including finance roles at large financial organisations including JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Credit Suisse and Barclays. Professional services firms including EY, PwC, Deloitte and KPMG are also popular destinations for our graduating class. Public sector employers of our graduates in recent years include the Bank of England, the Department for International Development, the Department for Transport, the NHS and HMRC. Reflecting the transferability of the skills gained, recent graduates have also entered into careers in the insurance industry, the IT sector, education, sales, retail and marketing.

Careers Support

School of Economics and Finance students have access to the Careers & Enterprise Centre at Queen Mary for the duration of their studies and for two years after graduating. In addition to the central support available, the School of Economics and Finance has two dedicated Careers Consultants, who run weekly 1-to-1 sessions offering students a range of supports including:

Support finding work experience, internships or a graduate job
Providing feedback on your CV, cover letter or application form
Interview skills – including mock interviews
Choosing your career path

Our dedicated Employer Engagement and Internships Coordinator, arranges a limited number of work experience opportunities with hand-picked employers. They also co-ordinate the Careers Taster Scheme, a competitive scheme giving students the opportunity to visit a range of employers – which in the past has included Barclays, Lloyds of London and KPMG.

Additional career development opportunities include employer and alumni events, careers fairs, skills workshops, mock assessment centres and practice psychometric tests, along with a wide range of digital and hard-copy careers resources. The Careers Team organise a series of employer and alumni events called Focus on Finance in the autumn term. These sessions give you insights in the world of finance and an opportunity to develop their network.

There is a wide range of additional ways to develop your employability during your time at Queen Mary. The Careers & Enterprise Centre offer a range of work experience opportunities and also provides enterprise support for students interested in exploring setting up their own business. The Students’ Union offers a range of volunteering opportunities that can help build your CV while giving something back to society.

There are also a wide range of societies on campus, including:

which can help you develop commercial awareness and gain valuable leadership, team-working and communication skills.

For non-native English speakers, the Language Centre runs a number of non-credit bearing modules to help you develop your English Language Skills.

Prepare for Psychometric Testing with Jobtestprep

You can also visit our partners at JobTestPrep. JobTestPrep offers numerous study guides, practice tests, interview preparation materials and much more. These preparation materials are based on tests and techniques that companies use during their recruitment process. Have a specific company in mind? JobTestPrep has the preparation materials for its recruitment process. You can get acquainted with their tests for free here: