The University of Hong Kong

Careers Education and Placement Centre

Where did the 1997 History 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 History 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 sectors 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

Of the 37 respondents who reported to major in History, 81% (or 30 graduates) were in full-time employment within six months of graduation.. 8.1% (or 3 graduates) were still looking for full-time employment at the time of the survey. Another 11% (or 4 graduates) went on for further studies. (Table 1)

	History																		HKU Overall *
	Total					Male							Female
	‘97		‘96		‘97				‘96			‘97				‘96			‘97		‘96
	No.	%	No.	%			No.	%		No.	%			No.	%		No.	%	No.	%		No.	%
No. of respondents	37	100	42	100			10	100		9	100			27	100		33	100	2272	100		2139	100
F/T employed	30	81.1	34	81.0			6	60.0		5	55.6			24	88.9		29	87.9	1829	80.5		1743	81.5
P/T employed seeking F/T job	2	5.4	2	4.8			1	10.0		1	11.1			1	3.7		1	3.0	34	1.6		34	1.6
Unemployed seeking F/T job	1	2.7	1	2.4			1	10.0		1	11.1			0	0		0	0	53	2.3		34	1.6
Further studies	4	10.8	4	9.5			2	20.0		2	22.2			2	7.4		2	6.1	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	1	2.4			0	0		0	0			0	0		1	3.0	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

Two graduates who pursued postgraduate studies were enrolled in local tertiary institutions, while one graduate went to U.K. Table 2 shows the academic programme History graduates were engaged in and Table 3 shows the source of finance.

	Academic Programmes
Fields of Study	M.Phil.
Arts	1
Social Sciences	1

No Response = 2

Table 2. Academic programmes

Source of Finance	No. of Graduates
Own Fund	2
Teaching Assistantship/Studentship	1

No Response = 1

Table 3. Source of finance for further studies

IV. Time Taken to Secure Employment

Among those graduates who were in full-time employment, 86% secured their first job offer before the end of August. The percentage increased to 100% by the end of November. (Figure 1)

figure1.gif (15692 bytes)

V. Employment Sectors

47% (or 14 graduates) of the History graduates were employed in the education sector, followed by 43% (or 13 graduates) in commerce and industry. The remaining 10% (or 3 graduates) joined the civil service. (Figures 2 & 3)

figure1.gif (15692 bytes)

VI. Basic Salary and Gross Income

In general, the average income of the 1997 History graduates was higher than that of their predecessors in the previous year. (Table 4)

	Basic Salary				Gross Income
	History		HKU Average*		History		HKU Average*
	‘97	‘96	‘97	‘96	‘97	‘96	‘97	‘96
Mean	$15,831	$13,668	$15,749	$14,457	$16,416	$14,334	$17,552	$15,902
Median	$14,758	$11,000	$12,500	$12,000	$15,489	$12,650	$14,521	$13,542
Minimum	$8,500	$8,200	$4,400	$3,000	$8,500	$9,208	$5,000	$5,500
Maximum	$33,355	$19,800	$59,000	$55,000	$33,355	$20,095	$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, 53% of the graduates had more than one job offer. 33% reported having received three or more job offers. (Figure 4)

figure1.gif (15692 bytes)

VIII. Names of Employers and Job Titles

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

Employers :	Job Titles :
CIVIL SERVICE -
HKSAR		Assistant District Officer

EDUCATION-
Chan Shu Kui Memorial School		Graduate Mistress
Chan Sui Ki (La Salle) College		Graduate Master
Cheng Chek Chee Secondary School		Graduate Mistress
Fung Kai No.2 Secondary School		Graduate Mistress
HKCWC Fung Yiu King Memorial Secondary School		Graduate Mistress
Hong Kong College		Graduate Mistress
Kung Yik She Secondary School		Graduate Mistress
MFBM Chan Lui Chung Tak Memorial College		Graduate Master
Rhenish Church Grace School		Certificate Mistress
Sin To School		Certificate Mistress
The University of Hong Kong		Research Assistant
The University of Hull		Administrative Officer
Yuen Long Merchants Association Secondary School		Graduate Mistress
Organization’s name not reported		Graduate Mistress

COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY -
Banky Parking Ltd		Administrative Assistant
DHL International (HK) Ltd		Customer Service Representative
Hong Kong Economic Times		Reporter
LG Chemical (HK) Ltd		Sales Assistant
Ling Kee Publishing Co Ltd		Assistant Editor
Nippon Express		Customer Service Clerk
Paper Communication Publications Ltd		Editor
The Rowland Co		Assistant Account Executive
Wharf Cable TV		Production Assistant
Yulan International Co Ltd		Administrative Assistant

No Response = 5

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