The University of Hong Kong

Careers Education and Placement Centre

Where did the 1996 Biochemistry graduates go?

I.Introduction

The information contained in this paper is extracted from the Graduate Employment Survey of 1996 to answer the following questions about Biochemistry 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 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 1996

Altogether 30 persons graduated from the University with a B.Sc. degree in Biochemistry. Among them, 23 (77%) responded to the survey. Most (65% or 15) of the Biochemistry graduates were in full-time employment within six months of graduation. The remaining 35% (8) took up further studies. No one was unemployed. (Table 1)

	Biochemistry												HKU Overall *
	Total				Male				Female				HKU Overall *
	'96		'95		'96		'95		'96		'95		'96		'95
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
No. of respondents	23	100	23	100	14	100	13	100	9	100	10	100	2139	100	2068	100
F/T employed	15	65.0	21	91.3	9	64.0	11	84.6	6	66.7	10	100	1743	81.5	1726	83.5
P/T employed seeking F/T job	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	34	1.6	18	0.9
Unemployed seeking F/T job	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	34	1.6	36	1.7
Further studies	8	35.0	2	8.7	5	36.0	2	15.4	3	33.3	0	0	314	14.7	281	13.6
Emigration/home country	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0.28	1	0.1
Not seeking F/T job	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	0.4	6	0.3

Table 1. Employment situation

* HKU overall refers to the figure for the total HKU population and includes M.B.,B.S. and graduates.

III. Further Studies

50% (or 4 graduates) took up postgraduate studies in the same discipline as their first degree. 88% (or 7 graduates) studied in local tertiary institutions while 1 graduate studied in U.K. Table 2 shows the academic programmes Biochemistry graduates were engaged in and Table 3 shows the source of finance.

Field of Study	Academic programme
Field of Study	M.Phil.	Adv. Diploma/Diploma	Others
Arts		1
Science	6
Others			1

Table 2. Academic programmes

Source of Finance	No. of Graduates
Own Fund	2
Teaching Assistantship/Studentship	6

Table 3. Source of finance for further studies

IV. Time Taken to Secure Employment

Among those graduates who were in full-time employment, 87% secured their first job offer before the end of September. By October, the percentage increased to 100% (or 15 graduates). (Figure 1) .

Figure 1. Time taken to secure employment

V. Employment Sectors

Over half (60% or 9) of the Biochemistry graduates were employed in commerce and industry, followed by 27% (4 graduates) in education and 13% (or 2 graduates) in civil service. (Figure 3.)

Figure 2. Employment sectors

Figure 3. Employment sectors by sex

VI. Basic Salary and Gross Income

Table 4 shows the average income of 1996 Biochemistry graduates in full-time employment.

	Basic Salary				Gross Income
	Biochemistry		HKU Average *		Biochemistry		HKU Average *
	'96	'95	'96	'95	'96	'95	'96	'95
Mean	$10,779	$11,674	$14,457	$14,204	$11,686	$12,778	$15,902	$15,662
Median	$10,000	$10,000	$12,000	$12,000	$11,233	$11,300	$13,542	$13,230
Minimum	$6,000	$7,900	$3,000	$2,000	$9,000	$8,667	$5,500	$3,792
Maximum	$15,135	$25,000	$55,000	$60,000	$15,135	$25,000	$60,000	$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. graudates.

VII.Number of Full-Time Job Offers

60% (or 6) of the graduates in full-time employment had two or more job offers. 40% (or 6 graduates) reported having received three to five job offers. (Figure 4).

Figure 4. No. of full-time job offers

VIII. Names of employers and Job titles

The job titles of the 15 graduates who took up full-time employment and the names of their employers are listed below.

Employers :	Job Titles :
CIVIL SERVICE -
* Civil Aviation Department	* Student Air Traffic Control Officer
* Housing Department	* Housing Officer
EDUCATION -
* The University of Hong Kong	* Research Assistant
* The University of Hong Kong	* Research Assistant
* The University of Hong Kong	* Research Assistant
* Organisation’s name not reported	* Service Executive
COMMERCE & INDUSTRY -
* Cene Co Ltd	* Sales Executive
* E I Freight (HK) Ltd	* Supervisor Management Trainee
* Hawking International (HK) Ltd	* Supervisor Management Trainee
* Star TV	* Technical Operator
* Star TV	* Technical Co-operative
* Treasure Land Property Consultants	* Marketing Executive
* Wide Code Industries Ltd	* Marketing Executive
* Organisation’s name not reported	* Sales Operation Officer
* Organisation’s name not reported	* Executive

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

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

September, 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