A record number of graduates from the class of 2008 are set on a career in investment banking, despite the credit crunch.

More than 12 per cent of final-year students applied for jobs in banking — the second most popular choice after the media, the top option for the third year running. Teaching, marketing and accountancy were the next favoured options.

The trend emerged in the UK Graduate Careers Survey 2008, produced by High Fliers Research, which was based on interviews with 15,381 students at 30 leading UK universities.

“It is ironic,” the survey noted, “that this is the highest level of interest ever recorded in investment banking jobs, given the huge financial losses and staff cuts announced recently by well-known investment banks.”

The survey also indicated that final-year students were confident that there were plenty of graduate jobs available. About 40 per cent of third-year students expected to land or be looking for a graduate job, while a quarter were planning to stay on at university for postgraduate study.

Almost half of student job hunters wanted to work for major national or international companies — substantially more than for any other type of employer. A sixth preferred to work for an academic, artistic or voluntary sector organisation. Just 4 per cent wanted to start their own businesses or work on a freelance basis.

Almost half of all student jobhunters aspired to work in law, accounting, advertising, PR, marketing, teaching or investment banking. Worryingly, only 5 per cent wanted to work for engineering or industrial companies and fewer than 2 per cent aspired to work in IT firms or retailing. The insurance industry and estate agencies were the least attractive.

A record 48 per cent of the class of 2008 wanted to work in London, the survey suggested. This has been the top graduate destination for the past 13 years since the first survey was conducted. The next most popular destinations were the North West of England (7 per cent), the Midlands (6 per cent) and Scotland (5 per cent).

Students thought they would stay with their first employer for about three years on average. However, 5 per cent said less than a year. Only one in six of final-year students thought they would stay with their first employer for five years or longer.

On average, student job hunters hoped they would be paid £39,000 a year within five years of leaving university. A quarter banked on earning at least £50,000 after five years. Students at the London School of Economics expected to earn more than most by then — £62,000-plus.

By the time they are 30, most of the students expect to own a house or flat, more than half expect to be married and a quarter think they will be in a senior management position.

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