Strong earnings growth for early-career graduates
The full-time earnings of recent graduates increased by 35 per cent in the first three years after course completion according to new research published by Graduate Careers Australia (GCA).
The 2010 Beyond Graduation Survey (BGS), which followed up individuals who completed a course of study from an Australian higher education institution three years earlier, found that the median earnings of Australian bachelor degree graduates in full-time employment increased from $45,000 when they were surveyed in 2007 to $60,800 in 2010.
GCA Senior Research Associate, Mr David Carroll, emphasised that graduates should not expect this rate of growth to continue indefinitely.
"Graduates’ earnings increase notably as they accumulate work experience and skills in the early years after graduation; however we expect that this high rate of growth will begin to taper off as they mature in their careers," Mr Carroll said.
The research also found that Australian bachelor degree graduates enjoyed low unemployment rates during this period, with just 3.3 per cent of graduates in the full-time labour market reporting that they were unemployed at the time of the 2010 survey.
The majority of Australian bachelor degree graduates who were in full-time employment at the time of the survey considered themselves to be in a job that was related to their full-time career goals, with graduates from the study fields of education, health, and engineering and related technologies the most likely to be so employed.
Mr Carroll said that it was encouraging to see such a large percentage of graduates in jobs that they considered to be relevant to their own career goals. "The findings of this research show that a higher education remains a key step in a achieving a fulfilling career for many Australians," he said.
More than ten thousand higher education graduates responded to the 2010 BGS. A report of the key findings is available as a free download from www.graduatecareers.com.au.
Further information and comment
Copies of the recently released report, Beyond Graduation 2010, can be downloaded from http://graduatecareers.com.au/Research/Surveys/BeyondGraduationSurvey/index.htm
For comment please contact Mr David Carroll (Senior Research Associate) on (03) 9605 3713.
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