UQ graduates shine in the job market

Job prospects for University of Queensland graduates continue to be the best in the State, according to the latest annual survey of new graduates.

Latest figures show that 83.4 percent of UQ graduates under the age of 25 who were available for full-time employment had found jobs within four months of completing their degree.

This University's performance is well ahead of the overall Queensland average of 78.4 percent and the national figure of 77.2 percent.

The figures are contained in the latest report from the Graduate Careers Council of Australia which last year surveyed almost 63,000 graduates who completed their studies at the end of 1996.

The report also casts a glow over the University as a place of further learning with 35.8 percent of these under-25 graduates going on to full-time study compared to 25.1 per cent nationally and just 22.4 percent for the whole of Queensland.

And the good news doesn't stop there ... University of Queensland graduates in this survey earned a median starting salary of $30,400, higher than the national and State equivalents.

Dentistry was the star performer with a median starting salary of $51,000, followed by mining engineering at $49,500, medicine $40,000 and chemical engineering on $35,000.

Ten areas where young graduates available for work enjoyed a 100 percent success rate included electrical engineering, pharmacy, medicine, veterinary science, geology and education.

Among other fields providing high levels of full-time employment were law at 98.2 percent, mining engineering (93.9), chemical engineering (93.8), dentistry (91.7) and civil engineering at 86.8 percent.

Vice-Chancellor Professor John Hay said the survey clearly illustrated that the University of Queensland was delivering educational and employment opportunities among the nation's best.

'Students can come to this University confidently knowing that their degree is the key that will open many doors for them in the areas of employment and further study,' he said.

For further information, contact Professor John Hay (telephone 3365 1300).