The information contained in this paper is extracted from the Graduate Employment Survey of 1996 to answer the following questions about Ph.D. graduates : -
Out of 124 Ph.D. graduates, 65 responded to our survey, representing a response rate of 52%. Of these, 89% were in full-time employment within six months of graduation. 1.5% (or 1 graduate) took up further studies. 7.7% (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
Ph.D.
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
65 100 27 100
48 100 22 100
17 100 5 100
148 100 64 100
F/T employed
58 89.2 24 88.9
44 91.7 20 90.9
14 82.4 4 80.0
124 83.8 49 76.6
P/T employed seeking F/T job
1 1.5 0 0
0 0 0 0
1 5.9 0 0
5 3.4 1 1.6
Unemployed seeking F/T job
4 6.2 1 3.7
3 6.3 0 0
1 5.9 1 20.0
5 3.4 2 3.1
Further studies
1 1.5 2 7.4
1 2.1 2 9.1
0 0 0 0
13 8.8 11 17.2
Emigration/home country
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
0 0 1 1.6
Not seeking F/T job
1 1.5 0 0
0 0 0 0
1 5.9 0 0
1 0.7 0 0
There was only one respondent (or 2%) who pursued further studies. This graduate took up a Postdoctoral programme in Canada. (Table 3)
| Field of Study | Academic programme |
|---|---|
| Postdoctoral | |
| Science | 1 |
| Source of Finance | No. of Graduates |
|---|---|
| Grant + Loan | 1 |
Among those graduates in full-time employment, 87% secured their first job offer before the end of September. The figure increased to 98% by the end of November. (Figure 1)
Figure 1. Time taken to secure employment
67% of the 1996 Ph.D. graduates who were in full-time employment were employed in the education sector, followed by 21% in commerce & industry, 7% in community, social & personal services and 5% in the civil service. (Figure 2)
Figure 2. Employment sectors
Figure 3. Employment sectors by sex
The remuneration received by 1996 Ph.D. graduates is shown in Table 4.
| Basic Salary | Gross Income | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ph.D. | HKU Average * | Ph.D. | HKU Average * | |||||
| ‘96 | ‘95 | ‘96 | ‘95 | ‘96 | ‘95 | ‘96 | ‘95 | |
| Mean | $34,835 | $37,612 | $28,280 | $28,971 | $40,981 | $40,621 | $32,056 | $31,435 |
| Median | $27,512 | $33,000 | $22,548 | $24,988 | $31,250 | $33,000 | $23,833 | $25,897 |
| Minimum | $12,000 | $15,000 | $10,800 | - | $13,000 | $16,250 | $12,600 | $6,601 |
| Maximum | $77,000 | $72,000 | $77,000 | $72,000 | $106,000 | $86,833 | $106,000 | $86,833 |
Table 4. Basic salary and gross income
* income received by research postgraduates
55% of the graduates in full-time employment had more than one job offer. (Figure 4)
Figure 4. No. of full-time job offers
The job titles of the 58 graduates who took up full-time employment and the names of the employers are listed below.
| Employers : | Job Titles : |
|---|---|
| CIVIL SERVICE- | |
| * Agriculture & Fisheries Department | * Fisheries Officer |
| * Agriculture & Fisheries Department | * Forestry Officer |
| * Health Department | * Scientific Officer (Medical) |
| EDUCATION - | |
| * City University of Hong Kong | * Principal Lecturer |
| * City University of Hong Kong | * Principal Lecturer |
| * City University of Hong Kong | * Lecturer |
| * City University of Hong Kong | * Lecturer |
| * City University of Hong Kong | * Research Fellow |
| * City University of Hong Kong | * Senior Lecturer |
| * Curtin University of Technology | * Professor, School of Accounting |
| * Hoi Ping Chamber of Commerce Secondary School | * Vice Principal |
| * Huazhong University of Science & Technology, PRC | * Associate Professor |
| * Lady Davis Institute For Medical Research Montreal, Canada | * Research Fellow |
| * Maria College | * Teacher |
| * Medical College, Shantou University | * Lecturer |
| * Nanyang Technological University | * Lecturer |
| * Texas University, U.S.A. | * Post-doctoral Research Associate |
| * The Chinese University of Hong Kong | * Instructor |
| * The Hong Kong Institute of Education | * Lecturer |
| * The Hong Kong Polytechnic University | * Assistant Professor |
| * The Hong Kong Polytechnic University | * Assistant Professor |
| * The Hong Kong Polytechnic University | * Assistant Professor |
| * The Hong Kong Polytechnic University | * Assistant Professor |
| * The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology | * Visiting Assistant Professor |
| * The University of Hong Kong | * Demonstrator |
| * The University of Hong Kong | * Lecturer |
| * The University of Hong Kong | * Lecturer |
| * The University of Hong Kong | * Lecturer |
| * The University of Hong Kong | * Tutor In Dental Technology |
| * The University of Hong Kong | * Post-doctoral Fellow |
| * The University of Hong Kong | * Post-doctoral Fellow |
| * The University of Hong Kong | * Post-doctoral Fellow |
| * The University of Hong Kong | * Post-doctoral Fellow |
| * The University of Hong Kong | * Post-doctoral Research Fellow |
| * The University of Hong Kong | * Research Officer |
| * The University of Hong Kong | * Senior Research Assistant |
| * The University of Hong Kong | * Senior Research Assistant |
| * The University of Hong Kong | * Senior Research Assistant |
| * The University of Hong Kong | * Senior Research Assistant |
| * The University of Hong Kong | * Tutor |
| * University of The Philippines in the Visayas | * Lecturer |
| COMMUNITY, SOCIAL & PERSONAL SERVICES - | |
| * Hong Kong Productivity Council | * Associate Consultant |
| * Hospital Authority | * Senior Occupational Therapist |
| * Sandnurst Bridge P/L | * Dentist |
| COMMERCE & INDUSTRY - | |
| * Anderson Asphalt Ltd | * Technical Manager |
| * Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing | * Engineer |
| * Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd | * Engineer |
| * Dalian Jinbei International Trading Co | * Manager |
| * Hewlett-Packard HK Ltd | * System Engineer |
| * Hong Kong Test Centre | * Assistant Manager |
| * Inchape Testing Services H.K. Ltd | * Research Chemist |
| * Kaifa Good | * Senior Chemical Engineer |
| * Ove Arup and Partners | * Graduate Engineer |
| * Springborn Testing & Research (HK) Ltd | * Q A Manager |
| * Television Corporation of Singapore | * Executive Newscaster |
| * York International (Northan Asia) Ltd | * Management Services Manager |
No Response = 1
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