In this section, we start to think about the likelihood of your son or daughter being employed after graduation.

Key data and trends of graduates six months after graduation

• Employment rates of graduates of Medicine and Dentistry was the highest and has remained so over the last few years both in the UK and within Thames Valley.
• Other subjects, in which most graduates were employed after leaving higher education and have been so over the last three years, include: Education; Subjects allied to medicine; and Veterinary science.
• The lowest proportion of graduates in employment was law students, which is not surprising given the high proportion of law graduates going onto further study.
• Subjects in which more than a quarter of a graduates enrolled in further study, included: Historical & philosophical studies; Biological sciences; and Physical sciences.

The following table shows the percentage of students employed six months after graduating in the UK and in Thames Valley by subject.

Graduate employment (by subject)

The following chart provides a simpler way of looking at these figures (for the Thames Valley 2009/10)

Want to know more about what graduates do and how much they earn?

Want to know about what graduates who have studied particular subjects do? Prospects produce overviews of What do graduates do? looking at how many graduates go onto study further, how many are in employment, what types of jobs graduates enter and how much they earn.

What does data on gender and age show about future prospects?

Data shows that the proportion of female graduates entering full-time and part-time employment is higher compared to male graduates in Thames Valley, the South East and the UK as a whole.  Male graduates, on the other hand, were more likely to go onto further study. The proportion of male graduates assumed to be unemployed is higher compared to female graduates. Younger graduates are less likely to be employed and are more likely to be engage in further study.

What do employers want?

Prospects also produces a guide on what graduate employers are looking for in applicants. It is a really good idea to think about employer expectations to help your son or daughter secure employment after their graduation.