The information contained in this paper is extracted from the Graduate Employment Survey of 1996 to answer the following questions about M.Phil. graduates : -
Out of 146 M.Phil. graduates, 83 responded to our survey, representing a response rate of 57%. Of these, 80% were in full-time employment within six months of graduation. Twelve graduates (15%) went on for further studies. 6% (or 5 graduates) were still looking for full-time employment at the time of the survey in December 1996. (Table 1)
Table 1. Employment situation
M.Phil. HKU Overall (Research Postgraduates)
Total Male Female
'96 '95
'96 '95
'96 '95
'96 '95
No. %
No. %
No. %
No. %
No. %
No. %
No. %
No. %
No. of respondents
83 100 37 100
57 100 26 100
26 100 11 100
148 100 64 100
F/T employed
66 79.5 25 67.6
48 84.2 16 61.5
18 69.2 9 81.8
124 83.8 49 76.6
P/T employed seeking F/T job
4 4.8 1 2.7
1 1.8 0 0
3 11.5 1 9.1
5 3.4 1 1.6
Unemployed seeking F/T job
1 1.2 1 2.7
0 0 1 3.8
1 3.8 0 0
5 3.4 2 3.1
Further studies
12 14.5 9 24.3
8 14.0 8 30.8
4 15.4 1 9.1
13 8.8 11 17.2
Emigration/home country
0 0 1 2.7
0 0 1 3.8
0 0 0 0
0 0 1 1.6
Not seeking F/T job
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
1 0.7 0 0
The percentage of M.Phil. graduates who went on for further studies decreased to 15% from 24% last year. All of them were enrolled on Ph.D. programmes. 67% (or 8 graduates) pursued their studies in local tertiary institution, 25% ( or 3 graduates ) went to U.K. while 8% ( or 1 graduate ) went to Australia.
| Field of Study | Academic programme |
|---|---|
| Ph.D. | |
| Arts | 3 |
| Science | 2 |
| Social Sciences | 2 |
| Computer Science | 2 |
| Civil Engineering | 1 |
| Electrical & Electronic Engineering | 1 |
| Others | 1 |
Table 2. Academic programmes
| Source of Finance | No. of Graduates |
|---|---|
| Own Fund | 1 |
| Teaching Assistantship/ Studentship | 5 |
| Full Scholarship | 3 |
| Scholarship + Own Fund | 1 |
| Scholarship + Teaching Assistantship/ Studentship | 2 |
Table 3. Source of finance for further studies
Among those graduates who were in full-time employment, 96% secured their first job offer before the end of September 1996. The figure increased to 99% by the end of December 1996. (Figure 1)
Figure 1. Time taken to secure employment
Of those graduates in full-time employment, 39% (or 26 graduates) each joined the education sector and commerce & industry. 11% (or 7 graduates) each were employed in the civil service and community, social & personal services (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Employment sectors
Figure 3. Employment sectors by sex
On the whole, the 1996 M.Phil. graduates received a higher income than graduates of the previous year. (Table 4)
| Basic Salary | Gross Income | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M.Phil. | HKU Average * | M.Phil. | HKU Average * | |||||
| ‘96 | ‘95 | ‘96 | ‘95 | ‘96 | ‘95 | ‘96 | ‘95 | |
| Mean | $22,974 | $21,021 | $28,280 | $28,971 | $24,831 | $22,984 | $32,056 | $31,435 |
| Median | $21,000 | $19,900 | $22,548 | $24,988 | $21,667 | $21,000 | $23,833 | $25,897 |
| Minimum | $10,800 | $0 | $10,800 | $0 | $12,600 | $6,601 | $12,600 | $6,601 |
| Maximum | $60,000 | $38,000 | $77,000 | $72,000 | $70,000 | $41,617 | $106,000 | $86,833 |
Table 4. Basic salary and gross income
* income received by research postgraduates
50% of the graduates received two or more job offers (Figure 4).
Figure 4. No. of full-time job offers
The job titles of the 66 graduates who took up full-time employment and the names of their employers are listed below.
| Employers : | Job Titles : |
|---|---|
| CIVIL SERVICE - | |
| * Drainage Services Department | * Assistant Resident Engineer (E & M) |
| * Drainage Services Department | * Civil Engineering Trainee |
| * Education Department | * Education Officer |
| * Eelectrical & Mechanical Services Department | * Electronics Engineer |
| * Housig Department | * Executive Officer (Special Duties) |
| * Royal Observatory | * Experimental Officer |
| * Royal Observatory | * Experimental Officer |
| EDUCATION - | |
| * Caritas | * Lecturer |
| * Chinese University of Hong Kong | * Assistant Computer Officer |
| * Chinese University of Hong Kong | * Technician |
| * Chinese YMCA Secondary School | * Graduate Teacher |
| * City University of Hong Kong | * Assistant Computer Officer |
| * City University of Hong Kong | * Assistant Lecturer |
| * City University of Hong Kong | * Technician |
| * Hong Kong University of Science & Technology | * Full-Time Demonstrator |
| * Hong Kong University of Science & Technology | * Instructor |
| * Lingnan College | * Lecturer |
| * Lingnan College | * Assistant Lecturer |
| * PLK Vicwood K.T Chong Sixth Form College | * Graduate Master |
| * Po Leung Kuk | * Teacher |
| * The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology | * Research Assistant |
| * The University of Hong Kong | * Executive Officer II |
| * The University of Hong Kong | * Executive Officer II |
| * The University of Hong Kong | * Full Time Demonstrator |
| * The University of Hong Kong | * Research Assistant |
| * The University of Hong Kong | * Research Technician |
| * The University of Hong Kong | * Technician |
| * The University of Hong Kong | * Technician |
| * The Universtiy of Hong Kong | * Assistant Computer Officer |
| * Wah Yan College, Kowloon | * Graduate Master |
| * Wanchai School, Oi Kwan Road | * Teacher |
| * Organisation’s name not reported | * Graduate Master |
| * Organisation’s name not reported | * Research Assistant |
| COMMUNITY, SOCIAL & PERSONAL SERVICES - | |
| * Dr. Chan Kim Ho, Dental Surgeon | * Dental Surgeon |
| * HK Central Hospital | * Scientific Officer |
| * Hospital Authority | * Occupational Therapist |
| * Office of Emily Lau, Legislative Councillor | * Personal Assistant |
| * Oxfam Hong Kong | * Assistant Programme Officer |
| * Pok Oi Hospital | * Occupational Therapist |
| * Organisation’s name not reported | * Acupuncturist |
| COMMERCE & INDUSTRY - | |
| * ABB Transmission and Distribution Ltd | * Senior Project & Sales Engineer |
| * Alphametals Ltd | * Chemist |
| * Casil Optoelectronic Product Dev Ltd | * Deputy Managing Director |
| * Environmental Resources Management Erm Hong Kong Ltd | * Consultant |
| * Excel Systems Ltd | * Systems Engineer |
| * Gene Co Ltd | * General Manager |
| * GN Nettest (Canada) | * Software Engineer |
| * Hang Seng Bank Ltd | * Assistant Credit Risk Manager |
| * Hereaus Ltd | * Product Development Chemist |
| * Intel Semiconductor Ltd | * I T Specialist (Information Technology) |
| * International Computer Ltd | * Analyst Programmer |
| * Macau Jockey Club | * Chemist |
| * Next Media | * Researcher |
| * Quadbase Systems Inc | * Software Engineer |
| * Quick Shot Ltd | * Mechanical Engineer |
| * Ridgeville Ltd | * Reporter |
| * SRH | * Research Executive |
| * Television Broadcast Ltd | * Assistant Programme Officer |
| * The Hong Kong Electric Co Ltd | * Assistant Environmental Engineer |
| * Vitasoy International Ltd | * Research Technologist |
| * Walt Disney | * Specialist |
| * Zeppelin Capital Ltd | * Manager |
| * Organisation’s name not reported | * Advanced Product Development Engineer |
| * Organisation’s name not reported | * Product Specialist |
| * Organisation’s name not reported | * Project Officer |
| * Organisation’s name not reported | * Reporter |
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.
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
August, 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