The University of Hong Kong

Careers Education and Placement Centre

Where did the 1996 Mathematics / Physics graduates go?

I.Introduction

The information contained in this paper is extracted from the Graduate Employment Survey of 1996 to answer the following questions about Mathematics / Physics majors : -

How many they employed six months after graduation ?
For those who pursued further studies, what programmes did they follow ?
For those who were employed full-time, how long did it take them to secure their first job offer ?
In which sectors were they employed ?
How much did they receive in salary ?
How many job offers did they receive ?
Who were their employers ?
What were their job titles ?

II. Employment Situation in 1996

Altogether 8 persons graduated from the University with a B.Sc. degree Mathematics / Physics. Among them, 7 (88%) responded to the survey. 71% (or 5) of the Mathematics/Physics graduates were in full-time employment within six months of graduation. 1 graduate (14%) was still looking for full-time employment at the time of the survey. 1 graduate (14%) went on for further studies. ( Table 1 )

	Mathematics / Physics												HKU Overall *
	Total				Male				Female				HKU Overall *
	'96		'95		'96		'95		'96		'95		'96		'95
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
No. of respondents	7	100	7	100	4	100	6	100	3	100	1	100	2139	100	2068	100
F/T employed	5	71.4	6	85.7	3	75.0	5	83.3	2	66.7	1	100	1743	81.5	1726	83.5
P/T employed seeking F/T job	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	34	1.6	18	0.9
Unemployed seeking F/T job	1	14.3	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	33.3	0	0	34	1.6	36	1.7
Further studies	1	14.3	1	14.3	1	25	1	16.7	0	0	0	0	314	14.7	281	13.6
Emigration/home country	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0.28	1	0.1
Not seeking F/T job	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	0.4	6	0.3

Table 1. Employment situation

* HKU overall refers to the figure for the total HKU population and includes M.B.,B.S. and B.D.S. graduates.

III. Further Studies

There was only one respondent (or 14.3%) who pursued further studies. This graduate took up a M.Phil. programme in a local institution.

Field of Study	Academic programme
Field of Study	M.Phil.
Science	1

Table 2. Academic programmes

Source of Finance No. of Graduates
Teaching Assistantship/Studentship 1
Table 3. Source of finance for further studies

Source of Finance	No. of Graduates
Teaching Assistantship/Studentship	1

IV. Time Taken to Secure Employment

Among those who were in full-time employment, half of them secured their first job offer before the end of September. By the end of November, all of them were in full-time employment. (Figure 1)

No Response = 1

Figure 1. Time taken to secure employment

V. Employment Sectors

All the graduates were employed in commerce & industry. (Figure 3)

Figure 2. Employment sectors

VI. Basic Salary and Gross Income

Table 4 shows the basic salary and gross income received by the 1996 Mathematics / Physics graduates.

	Basic Salary				Gross Income
	Math/Physics		HKU Average *		Math/Physics		HKU Average *
	'96	'95	'96	'95	'96	'95	'96	'95
Mean	$9,600	$14,632	$14,457	$14,204	$10,267	$14,632	$15,902	$15,662
Median	$10,000	$18,000	$12,000	$12,000	$10,833	$18,000	$13,542	$13,230
Minimum	$5,000	$7,000	$3,000	$2,000	$5,500	$7,000	$5,500	$3,792
Maximum	$13,000	$18,145	$55,000	$60,000	$14,083	$18,145	$60,000	$60,000

Table 4. Basic salary and gross income

* HKU average refers to the figure for the total HKU population and includes M.B.,B.S. and B.D.S. graudates.

VII.Number of Full-Time Job Offers

80% (or 4) of the graduates in full-time employment received one job offer. (Figure 3).

Figure 4. No. of full-time job offers

VIII. Names of employers and Job titles

The job titles of the 5 graduates who took up full-time employment and the names of their employers are listed below.

Employers :	Job Titles :
COMMERCE & INDUSTRY -
* Compuserve Consultants Ltd	* Software Engineer Trainee
* Gainyear Trading Ltd	* Personal Assistant
* Henderson Land Development Co Ltd	* Assistant Research Officer
* Hosey Trading Co Ltd	* Office Trainee
* Ricacorp Properties Ltd	* Property Negotiator

Table 5. List of employers and job titles

Note :Some alumni have indicated willingness to talk to individual students about their work. Their contact telephone number can be obtained from counsellors at CEPC.

IX. Further Information

Similar information on graduates from other disciplines of study are available for reference in the Careers Library. Please enquire with the CEPC. Careers Education and Placement Centre
3/F Wong Chuang Lai Wah Building
Meng Wah Complex
The University of Hong Kong
Pokfulam Road
Hong Kong

Telephone : 2859 2314
Fax : (852) 2559 5238
E-Mail : CEPC@HKUCC.HKU.HK

Opening Hours :
Monday - Friday (9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.) Saturday (9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.)

Margaret Lee
Nelson Yip

September, 1997

The analysis is based on information provided by the respondents, and the Careers Education & Placement Centre should not be held responsible for any errors arising therefrom.

No part of this report may be reproduced in any form or by whatever means,
without written permission from the Director of the Careers Education and Placement Centre,
The University of Hong Kong