What do graduates do? 2008 (Winter 07/08)

• Summary
• First degree all subjects
• First destinations
• Types of work
• Subjects
• HND and foundation degrees
• Further information
• References

Summary

Each year, Graduate Prospects/The Higher Education Careers Services Unit (HECSU) and the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS) produce What Do Graduates Do?, an annual review of graduate first destinations. The publication is designed as a guide for careers advisers, teachers with responsibility for careers guidance, young people considering higher education as an option, and parents to give an overview of the first career steps taken by graduates from a range of degrees. The data comes from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey, conducted by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

In this article, Charlie Ball from HECSU presents an overview of the main findings from the 2008 edition of What Do Graduates Do?. This edition looks at those students from the UK who graduated from UK higher education institutions (HEIs) with a first degree, foundation degree or HND in 2006.

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First degree all subjects

263,050 UK-domiciled graduates received undergraduate first degrees from HEIs in the UK, a rise of 2.6% on 2005 [1]. The rate of increase in graduate numbers appears to have stabilised at a moderate level in recent years, and now seems unlikely to increase dramatically without significant changes in educational policy, although there is good reason to expect that the proportion of women getting degrees (57.1% in 2006) will continue to increase.

209,245 graduates replied to HESA’s DLHE survey in 2006, the largest sample that has ever been surveyed for this research. 57.8% of respondents were women, similar to the proportion for 2005.

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First destinations

Although the situation as a whole had remained positive, 2005 saw a marginal rise in graduate unemployment overall. A further increase in graduate numbers might have been expected to result in another modest rise, but the unemployment rate fell from 6.2% to 6.0% in 2006 (see Table 1), the lowest level for six years [2].

There was little variation in overall graduate destination outcomes between 2005 and 2006, suggesting relative stability in the UK graduate economy. 70% of graduates were working in the UK, or combining work and study, six months after graduation. 13.5% had gone onto study in the UK as their main first activity – 2.8% of whom were studying to be teachers.

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Types of work

146,375 graduates were working in the UK six months after graduating in 2006, of whom 58.9% were women – women being slightly more likely than men to go straight into work.

As in previous years, the health professions remain the most popular for graduates. 13.3% of all UK-domiciled graduates working in the UK were in the health sector (see Table1). Pre-registration house officers and nursing were two of the most common graduate jobs across the UK, and this is reflected in the importance of health as a graduate occupation.

Management also remains very popular, with almost one in ten graduates, 9.5%, entering management. The most common management job for graduates was in the retail and associated industries.

Business and finance roles were also important. 8.1%, or approximately one in twelve graduates entered roles in business, financial services and associated professions. These jobs were spread over a range of functions, with chartered accountancy the most common option.

The fastest growing group of occupations were in social and welfare, which accounted for 3.7% of graduate employment in 2006. Social work was the most important occupation for graduates in this section.

Overall, employment outcomes for 2006 were very similar to those in 2005, with only small changes in employment percentages in each category. The encouraging news was that in 2006 no falls were seen in the proportion of graduates in any of the categories of jobs covering graduate-level roles. Furthermore, there was another fall in the proportion of graduates in clerical and secretarial jobs in 2006. This category has fallen from 12.3% of graduate employment in 2004 to 10.4% in 2006. These positions are usually seen as entry level jobs that allow inexperienced graduates to gain and demonstrate the skills they need to progress in employment, and as a result, graduates pass quickly out of them into jobs that more commonly require graduate level skills.

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Subjects

Sciences

The number of physics graduates rose modestly again in 2006, up to 2,110, meaning that if the trend continues, then physics will have more graduates than chemistry in 2007. The unemployment rate for physics graduates also fell from 8.7% in 2006, to 8.2%. However this still leaves physics graduates more likely to be out of work six months after graduation than any of the other major science subjects, and more likely to be unemployed than graduates from several arts subjects popularly believed to have fewer employment options.

Relatively few physics graduates went into jobs in science - 5.8% - whilst nearly one in five, or 19.4%, went into jobs in business and finance.

As a contrast, a fall in the number of biology graduates was not enough to prevent the unemployment rate for biologists from rising sharply in 2006, up to 7.9% from 7% the previous year. Science remains the most popular employment option for biology graduates, as it does for chemistry graduates. The number of chemistry graduates fell again, this time by 7.1%, although unemployment rates fell to below the UK graduate average. Over a third of chemistry graduates, 34.3%, went onto further study, largely PhDs – a doctorate being the requirement for many R&D jobs in chemistry. However, there was also a welcome rise in the number of chemistry graduates going into teacher training.

The number of sports science graduates again rose strongly, but unemployment, still relatively low at 4.9% also went up. Sports and fitness occupations dominate employment for sports scientists, but management and teaching are also significant.

Maths, IT and computing

The number of mathematics graduates rose very slightly in 2006, but unemployment rates remained below the graduate average at 5.4%. Business and finance roles, already comfortably the most common employment outcome for maths graduates, saw a jump of 4 percentage points in 2006, with 37.9% of working maths graduates going into a role in the sector.

The number of graduates in IT and computing disciplines fell by 4.9% in 2006, down 785 to 15145. However, the unemployment rate for IT graduates, already the highest of any major subject, actually increased marginally to 10.4%. 1,225 computing or IT graduates from 2006 were out of work six months after graduating. 43.2% of those who did find work did so in IT jobs, and these generally had salaries higher than the average.

Engineering

Issues for graduates in IT disciplines were mirrored by those in electrical and electronic engineering. Despite falling numbers, unemployment rose and stood at 9.5% six months after graduating. However, like IT, there were rewards on offer for those who did get work – the majority of graduates in the discipline, 52.4%, were working in the IT or engineering industries. There is evidence of improvement, as the engineering industry took an increased proportion of graduates in the discipline, 31.2% as opposed to 26.8% in 2005.

The situation for mechanical engineers seems to be improving. The proportion of mechanical engineers employed in engineering rose sharply in 2006, up from 54.9% to 61.6%, indicating strengthening demand.

Both architecture and building and civil engineering remain success stories, with low unemployment (both standing at 3.4%) and with the large majority of graduates from both disciplines going onto employment in areas directly relevant to their degrees. Civil engineering in particular saw a sharp rise in graduates going into jobs in engineering, with nearly three quarters, 74.5%, of employed civil engineering graduates being in an engineering job six months after graduating. However, despite this clear demand, there was actually a fall in the number of graduates in the discipline in 2006, and this remains a concern for those industries that have need of civil engineers.

Social Sciences

Only geography of the social sciences saw a fall in graduate numbers in 2006, and this is especially noteworthy as geography also saw the largest fall in unemployment rates – down 2.5 percentage points to well below the graduate average at 3.8%. Law and psychology continued their rapid expansion of graduate numbers. However, sociology, politics and economics all saw unemployment rates above the national average, and only economics did not have more graduates than the average in non-graduate jobs six months after graduating.

Nearly half of all working economics graduates, 43.5%, went into roles in business and finance, and this option was also popular with politics, geography and law graduates. All social sciences also saw significant numbers of graduates go into management, with this being the most common graduate employment outcome for graduates in geography, sociology and politics. Psychology graduates, however, were more likely to take up social and welfare positions.

Law students remain the exception from these destinations. Over a third of law graduates, 34.8%, went onto further study, almost all at law school. Of those who did go into the workplace, the most common option (18.1%) was to go into legal roles.

Arts and humanities

Only English saw a fall in graduate numbers in 2006, and generally employment prospects appeared to be slightly more favourable than in 2005.

The unemployment rate for language graduates increased slightly, but it remains the only arts and humanities group to have an unemployment rate after six months lower than the national average, and graduate numbers increased after a period of decline.

The employment rate for media studies graduates remained high, with over three quarters, 75.5%, of graduates working or combining work and study, six months after graduation. One in six, 15.9%, of media studies graduates went to work in the media six months after graduation, but one in ten also went into marketing and sales jobs.

Performing arts (21.1%), fine art (19.6%) and design graduates (36.8%) were all most likely to go into jobs in the creative arts, media and design professions, whilst history graduates and modern language graduates were most likely to enter management, at 11.4% and 12.3% of UK-employed graduates respectively.

Education remains the most popular job area for English graduates, with 10.9% going into these roles, mainly as teachers. Performing arts graduates also went into education in numbers, with 13.3% going into teaching roles, often freelance. Modern languages and history graduates were also in demand from the business and finance industry, with 12.0% and 9.7% respectively of UK-domiciled graduates working in the UK six months after graduating in a business and finance position.

Business studies, accountancy and marketing

Although the number of business studies graduates fell in 2006, the subject remained comfortably the most popular, with one in thirteen first degrees awarded being in a business or management discipline.

There was little change in outcomes for business and management graduates, with business and finance roles (18.6% of working graduates) and management (22.4%) the most common jobs taken up by graduates in this area.

Similarly, the most common jobs for marketing and accountancy graduates were directly related to the subject of study. 30.9% of marketing graduates were in marketing or sales roles six months after graduating, whilst 44.7% of working accountancy graduates were in business or finance roles, largely as accountants.

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HND and foundation degrees

2006 saw another rise in the number of foundation degrees awarded, up to 7,915 from 5,090 in 2005. 19.9% of foundation degrees, 1,575, were awarded in academic studies in education, and other popular subjects included design, computer science, management and social work. 31.4% of foundation degree leavers went on to study for an honours degree, and unemployment rates remained extremely low at 2.2%. When combined with HNDs, which are slowly being replaced by foundation degrees, the unemployment rate fell significantly in 2006, down to 3.1% - lower than any first degree subject covered in ‘What Do Graduates Do?’. One in nine HND and foundation degree graduates (11.6%) who went into work, did so in management.

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Further information

See What do graduates do? 2008

References

1. What Do Graduates Do? 2007, Graduate Prospects and AGCAS, 2007.

2. What Do Graduates Do? 2002, Graduate Prospects and AGCAS, 2002.

Copyright © 2002-2012 HECSU | Content last updated: Feb 2008