Glamorous degrees, mundane graduate lives
The Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey
Every year all UK universities record their graduates' destinations six months after they have completed their degrees, through the national Destinations of Leavers from Higher education survey, formerly known as the First Destinations Survey. The Higher Education Statistical Agency sets a target for universities to obtain a response from 80% of their graduates, so the results offer a reliable representative snapshot of graduates' employment. Universities receive occupations, employers, salaries and locations amongst other information from graduates of each course. This information is often held by the university's careers service.The destinations of graduates from glamorous sounding degrees are not necessarily glamorous, and the destinations of graduates from mundane sounding degrees are not necessarily mundane.
Jobs and salaries from a glamorous BSc might include this kind of detail:
| BSc Glamorous Studies, 2003 Destinations, six months after graduation | ||
Occupation |
Employer |
Annual Salary |
| Stock Replenisher | AB Supermarkets, Milton Keynes | £10,000 |
| Customer Assistant | Sidcup Telemarketing Services | £9,670 |
| Data Entry Keyer | National Sandwich Toasters | Not disclosed |
| Bar Person | The Grey Duck, Swindon | £9,000 |
| ...and so on… | ||
...while jobs and salaries from a mundane sounding BEng might include this kind of detail:
| BEng Mundane Engineering, 2003 Destinations, six months after graduation | ||
Occupation |
Employer |
Annual Salary |
| Software Developer | Zonko Games plc, Amsterdam | £23,500 |
| Design Engineer | Prime Consulting Engineers, London | £19,600 |
| Scuba Diving Instructor | Solomon Islands Dive School | Not disclosed |
| Project Manager | Reliant Offshore Survey | £23,800 |
| ...and so on… | ||