Tag: UK graduates; Teresa Crew

Update of Beyond Graduation study. Does the subject you study matter?

Where I am up to with this research.  At present I am carrying out interviews with north Wales graduates to discuss their post graduation experiences.  I will be finishing my interviews in the next 2 weeks so please contact me if you have anything you would like to add to my research.  Let your voice be heard as at present research on graduate destinations tends to have a UK rather than local focus.

Findings to date – As I am in the progress of analysing my data I can’t give detailed update, but my preliminary findings supports existing evidence that suggests the subject you studied matters when it comes to post graduation opportunities.  My preliminary research suggests that Engineering graduates tend to have a smoother, more traditional graduate trajectory which often leads to secure employment or engagement with postgraduate study.  Business graduates often go onto self employment whilst Social Studies graduates tend to go onto further study or have healthy levels of engagement with full time or part time employment.  Engineering appears to benefit from a clear career path whilst Business and Social Studies graduates can either do very well or, unfortunately, not so well (if  secure employment is your aim).  Why do you think this is?

My early observations are that this may be because there are clearly defined jobs or careers that you associate with an Engineering degree – what career path would you associate with a Business or Social Studies degree?  Again I will stress that this is only my preliminary findings and that my analysis may differ slightly as time goes on – I do not finish this study until September 2012. There may be also examples of where the subject matters only when considered in conjunction with age, gender or other socio-economic characteristics   It may also be that graduates from specific subjects enter university for very different reasons i.e is gaining a graduate role the apex of going to university, or is gaining ‘higher’ knowledge something that you can’t put a price on?  What do you think?

Reminder of the details the study.  I am conducting research into the destinations of graduates from north Wales.  I am  focusing on those who graduated in 2008, with a degree in either Engineering & Technology; Social Studies or Business & Administration from either Bangor University; Coleg Llandrillo Cymru; Glyndwr University or OU Wales.

Further details.  If you would like to be kept up to date with the progress of this ESRC study or would like to contribute or even if you have any further questions you are welcome to email me on sopc2c@bangor.ac.uk, get in touch via this blog, or through Twitter @Beyond_Grad

Thank you.

Teresa

Study update – questions for graduates.  Thank you to all those who have taken part so far. My PhD experience would not be the same if I did not have the chance to hear about the experiences of other graduates in north Wales.  In an nutshell my research is finding evidence to suggest that the degree subject you study is important, as it can positively or negatively (depending on why you went to university), affect your post graduation experiences.  I am now on the final data collection stage of study.  If you have not taken part so far in my ESRC funded study there is still a chance.  I am posing 5 questions to Business; Social Studies or Engineering graduates from Glyndwr University; Bangor Univeristy and OU Wales:

• Who was the biggest influence in you going to university?
• Have your experiences post graduation been as expected?
• Knowing what you know now, would you still have gone to university?
• If you were looking for a new, graduate level, job today what methods would you use?
• Do any of the following (Welsh language skills; driving licence; having local contacts) influence your gaining employment/postgraduate opportunities?

Feel free to contact me with your observations to these questions via email sopc2c@bangor.ac.uk or Twitter (personal message).  I am also available to contact if you would like to talk face to face or on the telephone .  Thank you, Teresa

…………….For those who have came to my blog for the first time here is a recap of my study………I am conducting research into the destinations of graduates from north Wales. This study is being carried out in conjunction with the School of Social Science, Bangor University and is funded by the Economic Social and Research Council. This study aims to gain a thorough understanding of the experiences of north Wales graduates, post graduation, so as to help university careers services deliver careers advice and guidance that is responsive to what local graduates need.

Whilst I am mainly focusing on those who graduated in 2008, with a degree in either Engineering & Technology; Social Studies or Business & Administration from north Wales,  I am always interested in speaking to graduates from north Wales and beyond – no matter what your degree subject was.  I am however concentrating on people who graduated within the last five years.

 Where I am up to with this research.  At present I am carrying out interviews with north Wales graduates to discuss their post graduation experiences.  I am also setting up interviews with University and College Careers Services to discuss issues relating to careers advice and guidance for graduates.

 Details of the study.  Please see below for links to the letter to respondents;  information sheet and online survey.

• Letter to potential respondents –  https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1Mjl-rGaFkyV7pW2EvbHRo0-XOjICN8AtZCX4cRj18u0
• Information sheet – https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1I9_Ovkn1kR6OzMz2zsKcDcvqOKrz84WXbpfQgy9oFeI
• Online questionnaire – https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHdyNklFb2Rzb3FGaWw0OWhGai02WVE6MQ#gid=0

 Further details.  If you would like to be kept up to date with the progress of this ESRC study or if you have any further questions you are welcome to email me on sopc2c@bangor.ac.uk, get in touch via this blog, or through Twitter @Beyond_Grad

Thank you.

Teresa

Thanks to graduates from various institutions who have contacted me so far with their experiences post graduation. Whilst my current study is on north Wales graduates, it is with your help that I am gathering further evidence to conduct a comparison or UK study on graduate trajectories …For all those that are new to my blog, here is a recent post where I outline a possible comparison study with my current research…

Graduated in last 5 yrs? I’d love to hear from you!

Posted on May 1, 2012
My current research looks at the experience of graduates in north Wales, however I am also interested in what has happened to graduates across the UK, five years after graduation as I feel there is too much emphasis on getting people into university, but less so on “what happens next”. I would like to conduct a comparison study on the experiences of graduates from north Wales with another area in the UK, thus I am looking for case studies of graduates across the UK so I can provide a wider, and more informed picture of graduate destinations. If you would like to share your stories of what has been your experience post graduation, please feel free to contact me. Take a look around my blog as I discuss elements of my ongoing PhD research on north Wales graduates. If you have any further questions, email me on sopc2c@bangor.ac.uk; contact me through my blog or through Twitter (Beyond_Grad)

Thanks, Teresa