The University of Hong Kong

Careers Education and Placement Centre

Where did the 1997 Earth Science graduates go?

I. Introduction

The information contained in this paper is extracted from the Graduate Employment Survey of 1997 to answer the following questions about Earth Science majors : -

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

II. Employment Situation in 1997

Altogether 30 persons graduated from the University with a B.Sc. degree in Earth Science. Among them, 24 (80%) responded to the survey. Most (88% or 21 graduates) of the Earth Science graduates were in full-time employment within six months of graduation. 8.3% (or 2 graduates) were still looking for full-time employment at the time of the survey. Another 4.2% (or 1 graduate) went on for further studies. (Table 1)

	Earth Science																		HKU Overall*
	Total					Male							Female
	‘97		‘96		‘97				‘96			‘97				‘96			‘97		‘96
	No.	%	No.	%			No.	%		No.	%			No.	%		No.	%	No.	%		No.	%
No. of respondents	24	100	24	100			12	100		13	100			12	100		11	100	2272	100		2139	100
F/T employed	21	87.5	23	95.8			11	91.7		13	100			10	83.4		10	90.9	1829	80.5		1743	81.5
P/T employed seeking F/T job	0	0	0	0			0	0		0	0			0	0		0	0	37	1.6		34	1.6
Unemployed seeking F/T job	2	8.3	0	0			1	8.3		0	0			1	8.3		0	0	53	2.3		34	1.6
Further studies	1	4.2	1	4.2			0	0		0	0			1	8.3		1	9.1	339	14.9		314	14.7
Emigration/home country	0	0	0	0			0	0		0	0			0	0		0	0	4	0.2		6	0.28
Not seeking F/T job	0	0	0	0			0	0		0	0			0	0		0	0	10	0.4		8	0.4

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

Only one graduate pursued postgraduate studies. This graduate took up a Ph.D. programme in the same discipline as her first degree in a local tertiary institution. Table 2 shows the academic programme Earth Science graduate was engaged in and Table 3 shows the source of finance.

	Academic programme
Field of Study	Ph.D.
Science	1

Table 2. Academic programme

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

Table 3. Source of finance for further studies

IV. Time Taken to Secure Employment

Among those graduates who were in full-time employment, 71% secured their first job offer before the end of July. The percentage increased to 100% by the end of September. (Figure 1)

Figure 1. Time taken to secure employment

V. Employment Sectors

Most (81% or 17 graduates) of the Earth Science graduates were employed in commerce and industry, followed by 14% (or 3 graduates) in the civil service. The remaining 4.8% (or 1 graduate) joined the education sector. (Figures 2 & 3)

Figure 2. Employment sectors

Image40.gif (8342 bytes)

Figure 3. Employment sectors by sex

VI. Basic Salary and Gross Income

The remuneration received by 1997 Earth Science graduates is shown in Table 4.

	Basic Salary				Gross Income
	Earth Science		HKU Average*		Earth Science		HKU Average*
	‘97	‘96	‘97	‘96	‘97	‘96	‘97	‘96
Mean	$13,712	$13,780	$15,749	$14,457	$15,187	$15,040	$17,552	$15,902
Median	$14,300	$13,800	$12,500	$12,000	$16,088	$15,043	$14,521	$13,542
Minimum	$7,500	$10,000	$4,400	$3,000	$8,125	$10,833	$5,000	$5,500
Maximum	$17,145	$17,000	$59,000	$55,000	$21,417	$21,417	$74,000	$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. graduates.

VII. Number of Full-Time Job Offers

Of those in full-time employment, 76% of the graduates had more than one job offers. 48% reported having received three to six job offers. (Figure 4).

Figure 4. No. of full-time job offers

VIII. Names of Employers and Job Titles

The job titles of the Earth Science graduates in full-time employment and the names of their employers are listed below.

Employers :	Job Titles :
CIVIL SERVICE -
HKSAR - Geotechnical Engineering Office		Engineering Geology Graduate
HKSAR - Geotechnical Engineering Office		Engineering Geology Graduate
HKSAR - Geotechnical Engineering Office		Engineering Geology Graduate

EDUCATION -
S T F A Leung Ket Wah Primary School		Certificate Mistress

COMMERCE & INDUSTRY -

Atkins China Ltd		Graduate Engineering Geologist
Binnie Consultants Ltd		Assistant Geologist
Binnie Consultants Ltd		Assistant Geologist
Driltech Ground Engineering Ltd		Assistant Geologist
Fong On Construction & Engineering Co Ltd		Graduate Engineering Geologist
GPM		Editor
Halcrow Asia Partnership Ltd		Graduate Engineer
Halcrow Asia Partnership Ltd		Graduate Engineer
Hopeful Meat Ltd		Executive Trainee
IP Foundations Ltd		Assistant Geotechnical Engineer
IP Foundations Ltd		Assistant Geotechnical Engineer
Maunsell Geotechnical Services Ltd		Graduate Engineer
Micom Technology Co Ltd		Microprocessor Engineer
Ove Arup & Partners Co Ltd		Graduate Engineering Geologist
Strategic Financial Relation Ltd.		Account Executive
Vibro (HK) Ltd		Assistant Geology
Organization’s name not reported		Assistant Engineering Geologist

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. 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

Homepage : http://www.hku.hk/cepc

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

June, 1998

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