A third of graduates secure employment

A third of recent graduates have found full-time employment and 57 percent earn under £16,000, according to a national report published by Endsleigh.

Students who graduated from Warwick in 2013 are above the national average in both graduate employment and graduate salaries, according to separate research carried out by Warwick Student Careers & Skills.

80 percent of Warwick undergraduates went into graduate-level employment or further study.

Of those in further study (28.5 percent), 45.9 percent were doing a taught course at a higher education institution and 16.6 percent were aiming for a postgraduate diploma or certificate.

The average Warwick undergraduate salary was £23,000, with employers including Deloitte, NHS, Teach First and Jaguar Land Rover.

Nationally, 34 percent of recent graduates have found full-time employment within 12 months of graduating. 48 percent of those said that their current wage is lower than they would have expected before graduating.

59 percent of current finalists said that they expected to be in full-time employment within 12 months of graduation. This is nearly twice the number of recent graduates who actually managed to secure employment.

The research found that London-based graduates earn the most, with 48 percent earning £16,000 or more, compared to the national average of 38 percent.

Approximately 21 percent said that their salary was between £16,000 and £21,999.

The research also covered other aspects of university. 71 percent of recent graduates and 79 percent of current finalists said that university enhanced their chances of employment.

Furthermore, 43 percent of graduates said that university had set them up for the wider world and 79 percent said that university had helped them to build their self-confidence in meeting people and socialising.

Practically, 55 percent said that the experience had taught them how to manage their own money and 76 percent said that it helped to widen their interests.

Katie Gorman, a 2013 University of Warwick graduate in Classical Civilisation who went travelling soon after graduating, commented: “I figured a good degree from Warwick would stand me in good stead for getting a job but I’ve mostly found people don’t care, they want experience, not a degree!

“I think travel has given me more to put on my CV than my university career did.”

Gabriella Fryman, a 2013 MORSE graduate at Warwick, told the Boar: “I felt that when I started university that my life would just fall into place.

“I went straight from sixth form into university and fully expected to go straight into a job. I overlooked the fact that many people have degrees; a degree isn’t enough for employers.”

The Endsleigh report was based on national data from the NUS Services Research Department.

The survey follows the recent news that the University of Warwick was named the most targeted university by top employers.