Starting out · Shelf
First pay, first contract and what comes next
What graduates earn, how the student loan and your first payslip really work, zero-hours and probation, the first week, transferable skills, the Graduate visa, and whether a master's or conversion course pays.
10 guides50 minutes of reading
On this shelf
- What is a graduate salary in the UK?The scheme median, what most first jobs pay, the sector table and the two-year question to ask.
- How do student loan repayments work?Thresholds and rates by plan for 2026/27, why it behaves like a tax and whether to overpay.
- Why is my first payslip so low? Emergency tax explainedWhat the emergency codes do, how to read a payslip and how overpaid tax comes back.
- What is a zero-hours contract and what are my rights?Your rights from the first shift, the 2025 Act's guaranteed-hours offer and when the contract works for you.
- What is a probation period and can I be sacked during it?Rights from day one, notice during probation, the six-month rule from 2027 and how to pass.
- How do I get through my first week at a new job?A day-by-day plan, the questions to ask your manager and what nobody expects of you yet.
- What transferable skills do students have, and how do I show them?The eight skills employers name, an inventory for finding yours and how to show them without naming them.
- How does the UK Graduate visa work?Length, cost, the 18-month change from 2027 and how to switch to a Skilled Worker visa.
- Is a master's degree worth it?Three reasons that pay and one that doesn't, the real cost of the year and what the earnings data show.
- What is a conversion course and which ones are worth it?Law, psychology, computing, teaching, nursing and medicine routes compared on length, cost and what comes after.
469 guides on 55 shelves. Each one starts with the short answer and ends with one thing to try.
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