A survey of graduates of Austrian universities of all types between 2004 and 2008 found that most have a relatively easy entry into the labour market, using traditional job-hunting strategies such as replying to adverts or making unsolicited approaches to employers. The favourable employment situation during these years may well have helped. The survey also revealed a link between the type of school attended and the type of university where students enrol.
About the survey
The International Centre for Higher Education Research Kassel (INCHER-Kassel) at the University of Kassel, Germany, conducted a representative survey (in German, 2.98Mb PDF) of all Austrian graduates of universities and universities of applied science (Fachhochschulen) for the period 2004–2008. The survey was commissioned by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Science and Research (BMWF).
The survey was carried out between December 2009 and February 2010. More than 100,000 former students who had graduated from Austria’s 21 universities and 15 Fachhochschulen between 2004 and 2008 were asked to participate and to complete an online questionnaire. At 23%, the response rate was quite high with a total of 23,816 questionnaires available for analysis.
Graduate characteristics
The sample consisted of 56% women and 44% men, with female graduates more often completing university courses (around 60%) than Fachhochschulen (42%). The average age of the respondents at the time of the survey was 27, although the average age at the time of graduation fell every year between 2004 and 2008. The reason for this can be found in the increasing number of shorter bachelor degrees and their graduates therefore younger.
Nearly all respondents (93%) had achieved the necessary level of education for university entry in Austria, with the rest predominantly from Germany, Italy and eastern European countries. Interestingly, graduates of academic secondary schools (Gymnasien) tend to study at universities while graduates from higher vocational schools (BHS) prefer Fachhochschulen.
Most of the respondents who were university graduates had chosen to study social sciences and economics (24%), humanities (19%), engineering (19%) or natural sciences (15%). Fachhochschule graduates on the other hand predominantly studied engineering or economics (89%).
The average length of study was 11.8 semesters, with again a difference between Fachhochschulen and university graduates; the former took 7.4 semesters to graduate but the latter took 10.8 semesters (art colleges), 12.6 semesters (regular university) and 15 semesters (medical universities) to complete their studies.
More than two-thirds of respondents attained a Magister degree, with another 17% graduating as Diplomingenieur (in technical subjects); 16% attained a Bachelor degree and 1% a Master degree. However, the share of bachelor students increased from 7% among graduates in 2004 to 26% in 2008.
Some graduates (33%) had already completed vocational training before entering university; graduates from Fachhochschulen in particular had undergone professional training before deciding to go back into education. A majority of respondents (70%) already had some job experience before taking up their studies and were thus not completely unfamiliar with working life and the labour market.
Job entry after graduation
Job entry after graduation seems to have been fairly easy for Austrians graduating between 2004 and 2008. One reason for this smooth transition into the labour market may be that most graduates continued working in the field in which they already had experience before graduation. Those graduates who were looking for a job found one, on average, within 5.3 months of graduation. Of the respondents:
- 46% started work immediately after graduation;
- 37% found a job within six months;
- 9% found a job after 7–12 months;
- 8% needed more than a year to find work.
The time it took graduates to find a job decreased between 2004 and 2008.
To find a job, graduates mostly resorted to the traditional job-search strategies:
- 79% responded to job advertisements;
- 67% sent unsolicited applications.
Social networks also played an important role during the job search process for 30% of respondents, while 22% of all respondents claimed they had used past internships to get into contact with potential employers. However, nearly two-thirds of respondents got their first job because they replied to a job advert or sent an unsolicited application.
The interviewees were also asked about the key factors they thought had helped them get their first job after graduation. The most frequently mentioned factors include personality, subject studied, flexibility, IT knowledge, specialisation and work experience. Less important factors were personal recommendation, grades, final thesis, the university’s reputation and experience of studying abroad.
In their first job, 85% of all respondents were employed on work contracts while the other 15% were working on a freelance basis. About half of all graduates (60%) had permanent employment contracts. Nearly three-quarters worked full-time and earned an average gross monthly salary of €2,100.
Current job situation
Respondents’ graduation was anywhere between 1–6 years before the survey was carried out. The current employment situation of some respondents was therefore quite different from the first jobs they had after completing their university education. A look at the employment situation at the time of the survey reveals that:
- 71% of the interviewed graduates were in employment;
- 15% were employed but undergoing training (3%) or continuing their studies (12%) at the same time;
- 8% were full-time students;
- 3% were on parental leave;
- 3% were looking for a job.
Most graduates (76%) were working full-time, with more men (86%) than women (68%) in full-time employment. Their effective working week amounted to an average of 42 hours, with the exception of doctors who reported an actual average working week of 56 hours.
Many respondents (40%) had only had a temporary employment contract in their first jobs after graduation. By the time of the survey, this figure had dropped to 25%. Nearly all graduates of Fachhochschulen (91%) were in permanent employment.
Between job entry and the date of the survey, gross monthly salaries had also risen to an average of €2,551. Not surprisingly, gross incomes differ widely depending on the course of study completed, ranging from €1,797 among art college graduates to €3,396 among graduates from medical schools.
The survey also looked at whether their studies had prepared the graduates for their current job, with 40% stating that their chosen subject was the only or best course to prepare them for the requirements of their jobs. However, another 39% said that other courses could have prepared them for their professional life just as well and 9% even thought that choosing another subject would have left them better prepared for their current position. A similar picture emerges of the extent to which graduates make use of the skills acquired during their studies. Half of all graduates state that they are able to use what they learned during their time at university, while 17% have no opportunity to use these skills.
However, the survey found that 74% of all graduates are very satisfied with their current job situation and only 10% claim to be very unsatisfied.
Reference
Schomburg, H., Flöther, C., Wolf, Vera., Kolb, K. and Guggenberger, H. (2010), Arbeitssituation von Universitäts- und FachhochschulabsolventInnen (AbsolventInnenbefragung 2010) (2.98Mb PDF), [Work situation of graduates of universities and universities of applied science) (Graduate survey 2010)], INCHER-Kassel, Kassel.
Marion Vogt, Forschungs- und Beratungsstelle Arbeitswelt (FORBA)