An Overview
The percentage of social science graduates in employment six months after a first degree is traditionally lower than for graduates as a whole (55.7% as opposed to 67.7% for all subjects in 2001). This is clearly explained by the higher than average percentage going on to further study. In 2001 there are close to one in three (29.9%) social science graduates undertaking further study as opposed to under one in five (18.4%) for all subjects. Further study is particularly prevalent in law, where 55.3% of graduates took this option, the majority to qualify for the legal profession. It is also common for geography graduates, where 23% went on to further their education, often building on aspects of their first degree. Longitudinal studies, looking at destinations up to four years after graduation, such as research undertaken by the Enterprise Centre for Learning and Curriculum Innovation at the University of Manchester and the University of East Anglia report, From UEA to Employment, clearly show that percentages of social science graduates entering employment catch up with graduates as a whole between 18 months and three years after first degree graduation. Current research by the University of Warwick, Seven Years On: Graduates in the Changing Labour Market, which is a follow up of the earlier survey Moving On: graduate careers three years after graduation, should provide more career planning insight to social science graduates. In addition, the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) report, Britain Towards 2010: the changing business environment, presents even longer term implications for career choice and prospects. Types of Work
Social science graduates enter a wide variety of employment and it would be a mistake to see these courses as narrow vocational degrees. Economics graduates are dramatically successful in obtaining employment in the business and financial areas (24.6% as business and finance professionals compared with 4.2% for graduates as a whole; 13.1% as business and finance associate professionals compared with an average of 2.9% for all graduates). The over-representation in the business and financial areas is also true for geography and law graduates. Social science graduates in general are also more successful in obtaining employment in commercial, industrial and public sector management, compared with the average first degree graduate population. Another significant area of over-representation is the field of other professional, associate professional and technical occupations, where many graduates may be obtaining vital psychological, social (including research), and legal work experience prior to undertaking postgraduate professional training. Longitudinal studies, such as the one undertaken by the Enterprise Centre for Learning and Curriculum Innovation at the University of Manchester, show that social science graduates’ favoured sectors of employment in the long term are business services, health and social work, and education. Early Careers and Earnings
According to analysis of vacancies advertised in Prospects Today, the graduate vacancy bulletin, the average starting salary offered to social science graduates in 2001/2 was £18,272, above the average graduate salary of £17,515. Moving On also shows that three years after graduation, social science graduates continue to earn a salary comparable to the average graduate salary. According to Working Out, a survey of graduates 18 months after graduation, over 60% of social science graduates were working in jobs which were appropriate to their skills and qualifications and were ‘very’ or ‘reasonably’ satisfied with how their careers were developing. It also shows the importance of gaining relevant work experience, particularly for potential lawyers, or voluntary work as factors in obtaining successful employment. Trends
The destination statistics for social science graduates six months after graduation for 1998 and 2001 are similar (see Table 1). The only significant long-term trend is that, although still high, the percentage of law, psychology and sociology graduates undertaking full-time study is decreasing, and the percentage entering employment after first degree is increasing. The Royal Geographical Society announced their ability to award chartered geographer status from April 2002, together with a mission to promote geographers into teaching where there is currently a supply shortage. | | Table 1: The first destinations of social science graduates 1998-2001 | | Numbers graduating (survey respondents) | Entering employment [%] | Entering further study/ training [%] | Unemployed at time of survey [%] | Other [%] | | 2001 | 1998 | 2001 | 1998 | 2001 | 1998 | 2001 | 1998 | 2001 | 1998 | | All First Degree Subjects | 176,415 | 172,662 | 67.7 | 69.2 | 18.4 | 18.9 | 6.3 | 5.7 | 7.7 | 6.2 | | Economics | 2,910 | 2,615 | 66.7 | 71.3 | 16.1 | 15.2 | 7.4 | 5.7 | 9.8 | 7.8 | | Geography | 4,170 | 3,945 | 61.1 | 61.3 | 23.0 | 23.8 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 11.0 | 10.0 | | Law | 6,695 | 6,320 | 33.4 | 31.3 | 55.3 | 60.0 | 3.7 | 3.0 | 7.6 | 5.7 | | Psychology | 5,560 | 5,160 | 64.7 | 62.8 | 20.9 | 22.7 | 5.6 | 6.1 | 8.9 | 8.4 | | Sociology | 3,580 | 3,003 | 68.6 | 65.2 | 16.0 | 18.5 | 6.8 | 8.5 | 8.7 | 7.8 | | All social sciences | 22,915 | 21,043 | 55.7 | 54.5 | 29.9 | 32.6 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 9.0 | 7.7 |
References
- Graduate Career Dataset Report (longitudinal analysis of graduate labour market intelligence), Enterprise Centre for Learning and Curriculum Innovation, University of Manchester, January 2000. The Social , Economic and Political Studies graduate dataset contains 260 responses from social studies graduates of years 1990-1996 from five universities in the North West.
- From UEA to Employment, Economic Research Centre, University of East Anglia, June 1999.
- Seven Years On: Graduates in the Changing Labour Market, University of Warwick. To be published after December 2003.
- Britain Towards 2010: The Changing Business Environment, ESRC, 2000, Capstone Publishing. Economic and Social Research Council, Polaris House, North Star Avenue, Swindon SN2 1UJ.
- Prospects Today, CSU, weekly.
- Working Out? Graduates' Early Experiences of the Labour Market, DFEE/CSU/AGCAS/IER, 1999.
- Royal Geographical Society
Further Reading
Detailed information about types of work, written by AGCAS higher education careers advisers, can be found in explore types of jobs. Occupations especially relevant to social sciences graduates can be found under: AGCAS publications are also available in your local higher education careers service, or from CSU, Tel: 0161 277 5271. - Survey of 1996 Law Graduates and Careers other than Law. Produced by AGCAS Legal Profession sub-committee, available from university careers services.
- Entry into Legal Profession, Research and Policy Planning Unit, Law Society.
- Careers for Geographers, University of London Careers Service.
- Compass-Careers: Opportunities for Personal and Social Services, Hucksters, Riseden, Tidebrook, Wadhurst, East Sussex TN5 6PA.
Useful Website
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