The Best Places for Internships in the UK

The places with the best-rated internships

If, like us, you value what other students think then you’ll want to head to the cities that previous interns value, too. The top ten locations for internships, according to interns, can be seen below.

The results showed that interns preferred it up north as Newcastle has the highest-rated internships on average, with 4.74 stars out of 5.

This is followed by Nottingham (4.73) and Glasgow (4.72). Here is the full list:

• Newcastle - 4.74

• Nottingham - 4.73

• Glasgow - 4.72

• Belfast - 4.68

• Edinburgh - 4.67

• Epsom - 4.65

• Manchester - 4.65

• Sheffield - 4.64

• Reading - 4.64

• London - 4.64

The cities with the highest-paid internships in the UK

While the interns may have loved the North the most, unfortunately, our analysis showed that’s not where the money is. Unsurprisingly, London has the highest-paid internships, averaging £26,704 a year. 

The top cities and towns with the highest average salaries can be seen below.

• London - £26,704

• Glasgow - £26,349

• Farnborough - £23,679

• Edinburgh - £23,214

• Dublin - £22,829

• Leicester - £21,787

• Sheffield - £20,616

• Belfast - £20,603

• Nottingham - £20,494

• Manchester - £20,446

However, interns might be better off in Glasgow, where the cost of living is significantly lower and the average salary is just £355 less than the average London salary.

For example, consumer prices (including rent) are 38% lower in Glasgow than London, while the cost of groceries are 13% lower. This means much more bang for your buck!

If you want to know where the highest-paid internships are, we’ve broken this down even further.

Best places for internships in the UK per industry

If you’ve already got your heart set on a specific career, then we’ve also got you covered. Analysing our reviews, we found the highest concentrated cities per sector so you know exactly where to head.

• Belfast - Business Management - 17%

• Birmingham - Accountancy and Tax - 33%

• Bristol - Engineering - 24%

• Cambridge - Sciences - 48%

• Dublin - Business - 32%

• Edinburgh - Banking - 21%

• Glasgow - Technology - 24%

• Leeds - Accountancy and Tax - 25%

• London - Legal and Law - 19%

• Manchester - Legal and Law - 19%

• Milton Keynes - Business - 27%

• Newcastle - Accountancy and Tax - 31%

• Nottingham - Technology - 28%

• Oxford - Business - 31%

• Portsmouth - Engineering - 41%

• Reading - Accountancy and Tax - 31%

• Southampton - Accountancy and Tax - 35%

• Warwick - Business - 31%

• Windsor - Business - 23%

• Cardiff - Engineering - 61%

• Leicester - Engineering - 32%

• Huddersfield - Engineering - 52%

• Sheffield - Legal and Law - 38%

• Epsom - Business - 30%

• Coventry - Business - 38%

• Liverpool - Business - 24%

• Derby - Engineering - 50%

• Farnborough - Technology - 30%

The results revealed over 60% of reviews in Cardiff were for engineering roles, so it’s likely that there is a good concentration of engineering roles within the city for those looking to relocate for their engineering career.

Internships in the UK

It can be overwhelming trying to find an internship that pays well, that is in the specific industry you want to gain experience in and which provides potential for a career long term.

Internships are becoming increasingly available and are much more likely to be paid now than they would’ve been a few years ago.

Here at Higherin, our main aim is to help students and potential interns navigate where their next opportunity lies.

Find your next internship with us today.