» An overviewBusiness, management and finance degree courses continue to attract large numbers of students. According to figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), business retained its status as the most popular first degree subject group in 2004/5, with 12.4% of students choosing programmes within this broad area. In real terms, this meant over 150,000 students embarked on business, management or finance degrees. Large numbers of students means large numbers of graduates, but the market place for graduates in this section remains positive. The Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) 2006 Summer Survey of 235 UK’s leading employers revealed that vacancies for the 2005/06 recruitment season was up 16.7% on the previous year, reflecting an increase for the third year in a row. Moreover, almost a quarter (22.5%) of graduate vacancies were provided by accountancy and professional services companies. Following closely behind were opportunities offered by investment banks and fund managers, at 18.6% of all graduate vacancies. Graduates from disciplines covered in this section of What Do Graduates Do? are ideally placed to prosper in this specific marketplace. » DestinationsTable 1: First destinations of 2005 business and administrative studies graduates | Numbers graduating (survey respondents) | Entering employment (%) | Entering further study/training (%) | Working and studying (%) | Unemployed at time of survey (%) | Other (%) |
|---|
| Accountancy | 2805 | 52.8 | 7.5 | 25.0 | 6.5 | 8.2 | | Business and management studies | 15990 | 69.3 | 6.5 | 8.7 | 6.0 | 9.5 | | Marketing | 2260 | 74.0 | 3.6 | 5.3 | 7.1 | 10.1 | | All first degree subjects | 206965 | 62.9% | 13.9% | 8.8% | 6.2% | 8.2% |
Large numbers of students continue to study business-related courses with roughly 21,000 graduating from accountancy, business & management and marketing courses in 2005. According to the 2004/05 Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey, 77.8% of accountancy graduates entered work or were combining work and study six months after graduation in 2005 (see Table 1). This figure was very slightly higher for business & administrative studies graduates, at 78.0%, and for marketing graduates, at 79.3%. The figure for all degree subjects was 71.7% thus demonstrating the value employers attach to business-related degree subjects. A study from the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR) revealed a record 328,000 ‘City types’ jobs in 2005. This growth was largely due to company merger and acquisition activity, and the expansion of hedge fund markets. CEBR is also forecasting banking and financial services jobs in the City to top 330,000 by 2010. » Types of workThe DLHE data reveal that marketing remains a popular graduate career option and the number of graduates entering this sector is quite revealing. Six months after graduation in 2005, whereas just 4.5% of graduates from all subjects were employed in marketing, sales and advertising positions, 10.7% of business & management studies graduates and a significant 28.4% of marketing graduates were successful in entering this area of work. In addition, 16.1% of the marketing graduate cohort found work as marketing/advertising executives. One in five (21.1%) business and management studies graduates entered commercial, industrial, or public sector managerial positions compared with just 9.5% across all subjects. 46% of accountancy graduates entered accountancy, actuarial and business analyst types of roles compared with just 7.8% across all subjects, suggesting that this vocational degree is highly sought after in this particular area of employment. According to the UK Graduate Careers Survey 2006 from High Fliers Research, the top five destinations for 2006 finalists were: media, teaching, investment banking, marketing and accountancy. This is the highest ranking for investment banking since the survey began in 1995 and the first time that the accountancy sector has appeared in the top five destinations. The study of nearly 16,500 final year students at 30 higher education institutions found that 11.1% of finalists wished to work in the investment banking sector, 11.0% in marketing and 10.8% in accountancy. The buoyancy of business and finance types of roles is also supported by the previously mentioned AGR survey, which revealed that the largest share of vacancies by business function (ie types of work) in the 2005/06 recruitment year were in accountancy (23.6%), general management (17.8%) and investment banking (9.1%). According to the government’s Small Business Service, an agency of the Department of Trade and Industry, 99.3% of the UK’s businesses are classified as small (0-49 employees). One of the most important sectors in terms of numbers of companies is the financial services sector, so don’t just concentrate your thinking on the large blue chip employers. » Graduate salariesThe DLHE survey is the most comprehensive survey of graduates conducted in the United Kingdom. For the 2004/05 survey, just under half (49%) of first degree graduates (both full- and part-time) who were in full-time employment in the UK disclosed their pay. The average salaries by subject studied reported were as follows: Business Studies £17,723, Finance £19,541, Accounting £16,750, whilst the average salary for all subjects was £17,715. The AGR Graduate Recruitment Survey 2006 reported that graduate median starting salaries for the 2005/06 recruitment year saw a 2.9% year-on-year increase. The highest paying AGR members were investment banks and fund managers who paid a median starting salary of £36,000. Management consultants/business services firms offered a median salary of £28,500, accountancy/professional services firms offered £24,500, and banking and financial services offered £22,000. Another source of graduate salary data comes from analysis of job postings in the search job vacancies section of this website, the results of which was reported in Graduate Market Trends. In the year to 31 January 2006, the average salaries for positions in advertising marketing & PR was £18,794, and £18,597 for finance, insurance, pensions and actuarial work. » Contacts and resourcesPublicationsWebsitesResources on this siteGeneral linksPublications- Careers in Accountancy (7th Edition), Kogan Page, ISBN: 0749430486
- Q&A: Accountancy (2nd Edition), Trotman, ISNB: 0856606561
- Accountancy Uncovered (2003), Trotman, ISBN: 0856609005
- Getting into the City, Trotman, ISBN: 0856606839
- Careers in the City by Joanna Minett, Management Books 2000, ISBN: 1852523794
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