The University of Hong Kong

Careers Education and Placement Centre

Where did the 1997 M.Urban Design 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 M.Urban Design graduates : -

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

Out of 9 M.Urban Design graduates, 5 responded to our survey, representing a response rate of 56%. Of these, 80% (or 4 graduates) were in full-time employment within six months of graduation. Another 20% (or 1 graduate) went on for further studies. Nil unemployment was reported. (Table 1)

	M.Urban Design						HKU Overall
	Total		Male		Female		(Taught Masters)
	‘97		‘97		‘97		‘97
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
No. of respondents	5	100	2	100	3	100	123	100
F/T employed	4	80.0	1	50.0	3	100	111	90.2
P/T employed seeking F/T job	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Unemployed seeking F/T job	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	3.3
Further studies	1	20.0	1	50.0	0	0	5	4.1
Emigration/home country	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Not seeking F/T job	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	2.4

Table 1. Employment situation

III. Further Studies

There was only one graduate who pursued postgraduate studies. He took up a Ph.D. programme in the same discipline in a local tertiary institution. (Tables 2 & 3)

	Academic Programme
Field of Study	Ph.D.
Urban Planning	1

Table 2. Academic programme

Source of Finance	No. of Graduate
Scholarship & Own Fund	1

Table 3. Source of finance for further studies

IV. Time Taken to Secure Employment

Among those graduates who were in full-time employment, 75% secured their first job offer before the end of May. The percentage increased to 100% after December. (Figure 1)

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V. Employment Sectors

67% (or 2 graduates) of the M.Urban Design graduates were employed in the education sector. The remaining 33% (or 1 graduate) joined the commerce and industry. (Figures 2 & 3)

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VI. Basic Salary and Gross Income

The remuneration received by the 1997 M.Urban Design graduates is shown in Table 4.

	Basic Salary		Gross Income
	M.Urban Design	HKU Average*	M.Urban Design	HKU Average*
	‘97	‘97	‘97	‘97
Mean	$20,183	$22,388	$20,517	$24,481
Median	$16,050	$24,000	$16,050	$25,000
Minimum	$12,000	$10,000	$13,000	$10,000
Maximum	$32,500	$69,000	$32,500	$86,000

Table 4. Basic salary and gross income

* HKU average refers to the income received by taught master graduates.

VII. Number of Full-Time Job Offers

Of those in full-time employment, 50% of the graduates had more than one job offer. 25% reported having received four job offers. On average, each graduate received 2.0 job offers. (Figure 4)

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VIII. Names of Employers and Job Titles

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

Employers :	Job Titles :
EDUCATION -
Hong Kong Institution of Education		Research Assistant
Hong Kong Polytechnic University		Lecturer

COMMERCE & INDUSTRY -
Chesterton Petty Consultants Ltd		Research Analyst

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.

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

July, 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