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Mathematical Sciences & IT

Editorial

View statistics: IT | Mathematics

An Overview
Destinations
Graduate Salaries
Further Resources
Useful Web Sites

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An Overview

Mathematics and computing graduates acquire not only specific knowledge in their subjects, but also general training in many of the skills demanded by work environments across most industrial sectors. These include the ability to think logically, analyse information, handle difficult problems, communicate effectively and work on projects. As employers place high value on this combination of knowledge and skills, this puts mathematics and computing students in a strong position in the graduate recruitment market.

According to the Higher Education Statistics Agency's First Destination Statistics for the graduates of 2000, mathematics and computing graduates were in a wide range of occupations six months after graduation and a large majority entered occupations which utilised both their technical and numerical skills.

Destinations

The table below shows the first destinations of mathematical sciences and IT graduates six months after graduation in 1997 and 2000. During this period, unemployment amongst computing and mathematics graduates rose by 0.9%, despite the overall unemployment rate for all first degree graduates having fallen by 1.4%. Looking at the two subject areas more closely reveals that the unemployment rate for mathematics graduates has fallen slightly by 0.5% whilst that for computing graduates has risen by 1.4%. The percentage of computing graduates entering employment during this period has fallen by 3.7% and the rate of further study/training has increased only marginally by 0.3%.

	The first destinations of mathematical sciences and IT graduates, 1997-2000
	Numbers graduating (survey respondents)		Entering employment [%]		Entering further study/ training [%]		Unemployed at time of survey [%]		Other [%]
	2000	1997	2000	1997	2000	1997	2000	1997	2000	1997
All First Degree Subjects	170,751	171,279	68.4	67.8	19.2	19.4	5.5	6.9	6.9	5.9
Computing	6,960	6,111	79.9	83.6	7.4	7.1	7.8	6.4	5.0	2.9
Mathematics	2,834	2,539	62.0	60.8	26.0	28.3	5.3	5.8	6.7	5.1
Computing and Mathematics	9,794	8,650	74.7	76.9	12.8	13.3	7.1	6.2	5.5	3.5

The increase in unemployment amongst computing graduates may be due to the fact that many IT jobs are open to graduates from any degree background. Job hunting for computing graduates is, therefore, now much more competitive: personal qualities, skills, relevant work experience are all as equally valuable as the title and class of the degree. In addition, although there is a general shortage in IT skills, this is more pronounced in certain areas. Students, therefore, need to focus their module selection on these areas rather than traditional computing skills.

According to Working Out? a recent longitudinal study of the graduate labour market, over 75% of computing and mathematics graduates who were in employment 18 months after graduation stated that they were in jobs for which a degree was required, well above the average figure of 63%.

79.9% of computing graduates from 2000 were in employment six months after graduation. This is significantly higher than the figure for mathematics graduates (62%) and the average of all first degree subjects (68.4%). Of these computing graduates who were in employment, 66.1% entered the IT profession. According to Moving On, a study of career progress three years after graduation, graduates on vocational courses tend to enter the labour market directly and are more likely to be in jobs where their qualifications are required. This may explain why only 7.4% of computing graduates remained in further education compared with 26% of mathematics graduates. Mathematics graduates, particularly those intending to enter pure mathematical fields, are more likely to opt for further study as they often find higher level qualifications are required to broaden their knowledge and acquire specialist skills. On the contrary, IT firms are keen to train graduates on the job without first insisting they obtain postgraduate qualifications.

Nearly 40% of employed mathematics graduates were working as business and finance professionals, or business and financial associate professionals six months after graduation. In comparison only 3.3% of computing graduates entered these types of occupations. It is clear that mathematics graduates focus on careers in the business and finance areas whereas computing graduates focus on the IT side.

With the huge influence of the internet and e-commerce, there has never been a better time to be a graduate entering the IT profession. On-line services and web presence are becoming imperative to companies. As the IT industry continues to grow, Financial Times recently reported that many large companies are experiencing skill shortages. One reason given was the lack of women being attracted into the industry. According to research by Computer Weekly, female graduates are more likely to enter non- IT-related professions.

Graduate Salaries

In the year to May 2001, the average starting salary advertised in Prospects Today offered to mathematics and statistics graduates was £17,852, slightly over the average of £17,786 for all degree disciplines. However, the salaries offered to graduates of 'any computer related subjects' and computer studies were significantly higher at £18,737 and £19,266 respectively, a reflection of the skill shortages in the IT area. These figures are shown in the graph below.