How do graduates progress in the job market?

According to the report ‘Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Institutions Longitudinal Survey of the 2002/03 cohort’, which looks at the career path of graduates who completed their courses in 2002/03 three-and-a-half years later, two-thirds of the 9,235 graduates surveyed entered employment on graduating, and three years later, 89% were employed.

At the time of the survey, most graduates in employment (80%) were working in occupations classified as ‘graduate occupations’. Humanities graduates were the most likely to begin their careers in non-graduate employment, with women slightly more likely than men (although men were more likely not to be working at all), with more vocational degrees like medicine, engineering, maths and computing and education least likely. But two years after graduating, levels of non-graduate employment had dropped substantially for all degrees, implying that these jobs are being used to get a ‘foot in the door’ for many graduates.

Content last updated: May 2008