Students often refer to employment prospects when they are asked about why they chose their course. However, it is worth looking at the figures. The table gives the percentages of graduates in 2006 who, six months after graduation, obtained a graduate job (ie, one which normally recruits graduates), went on to further study, obtained a job but one that does not normally recruit graduates, or who were unemployed. The unemployment rate varies from 0 per cent (dentistry and medicine) to 15 per cent (Middle Eastern and African Studies) but for most subjects is within the range 5-9 per cent. In other words, for most subjects the chances of getting a job are about the same. Interestingly, business studies, a subject that is often considered to be highly employable, comes out in the middle at 7 per cent. One reason for some similarity in employment prospects is that a significant proportion of job vacancies do not specify any subject at all. You can take the most obscure subject in the UCAS Directory and still have over 40 per cent of jobs open to you. Another reason is that class of degree is important: students with first-class honours are very rarely unemployed whatever subject they studied.
Getting a job is one thing, but will it be a well-paid job? Graduate starting salaries vary between subjects. The tables are quite highly correlated so that subjects where graduates are likely to find a job are also those which are well paid (at least initially). However, there are some exceptions such as architecture, where graduate jobs seem to be relatively easy to come by but starting salaries are very much in the middle. Do remember that these figures do not reflect your earning prospects as your career develops. For example, nursing graduates receive quite good starting salaries but the longer term earning potential may well be less than that of some other subjects lower down the table.
It is worth considering the opportunities that will be open to you once you graduate – the career options that go together with your prospective subject (or subjects). For more information on the options available >
