The University of Hong Kong

Careers Education and Placement Centre

Where did the 1996 History graduates go?

I. Introduction

• 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

Of the 42 respondents who reported to major in History, 34 graduates (81%) were in full-time employment within six months of graduation. 10% (4 graduates) pursued further studies. 7.2% (3) of graduates were still looking for full-time employment at the time of the survey in December 1996. (Table 1)

	History												HKU Overall*
	Total				Male				Female
	‘96		‘95		‘96		‘95		‘96		‘95		‘96		‘95
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
No. of respondents	42	100	48	100	9	100	13	100	33	100	35	100	2139	100	2068	100
F/T employed	34	81	44	91.7	5	55.6	11	84.6	29	87.9	33	94.3	1743	81.5	1726	83.5
P/T employed seeking F/T job	2	4.8	1	2.1	1	11.1	1	7.7	1	3	0	0	34	1.6	18	0.9
Unemployed seeking F/T job	1	2.4	1	2.1	1	11.1	1	7.7	0	0	0	0	34	1.6	36	1.7
Further studies	4	9.5	2	4.2	2	22.2	0	0	2	6.1	2	5.7	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	1	2.4	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	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 B.D.S. graduates.

III. Further Studies

The percentage of History graduates pursuing further studies increased from last year’s 4.2% to 9.5%. All of them (4 graduates) studied in local tertiary institutions. Table 2 shows the academic programmes the graduates were engaged in and Table 3 shows the source of finance for further studies.

Field of Study	Academic programme
	M.Phil.	Postgraduate Certificate
Arts	2
Education		2

Table 2. Academic programmes

Source of Finance	No. of Graduates
Own Fund	1
Teaching Assistantship/Studentship	2
Government Grant + Loan	1

Table 3. Source of finance for further studies

IV. Time Taken to Secure Employment

Among those graduates who were in full-time employment, 91% (or 31 graduates) secured their first job offers before the end of September. By October, the figure reached 100%. Compared with last year, the graduates, on average, took shorter time to secure employment (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Time taken to secure employment

V. Employment Sectors

Of those in full-time employment, 53% (or 18 graduates) were employed in commerce & industry, followed by 38% (or 13 graduates) in the education sector. 8.8% (or 3 graduates) joined the civil service (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Employment sectors

Figure 3. Employment sectors by sex

VI. Basic Salary and Gross Income

The remuneration received by the 1996 History graduates is shown in Table 4.

	Basic Salary				Gross Income
	History		HKU Average*		History		HKU Average*
	‘96	‘95	‘96	‘95	‘96	‘95	‘96	‘95
Mean	$13,668	$13,678	$14,457	$14,204	$14,334	$14,342	$15,902	$15,662
Median	$11,000	$14,900	$12,000	$12,000	$12,650	$14,905	$13,542	$13,230
Minimum	$8,200	$6,000	$3,000	$2,000	$9,208	$6,000	$5,500	$3,792
Maximum	$19,800	$26,600	$55,000	$60,000	$20,095	$26,600	$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. graduates.

VII. Number of Full-Time Job Offers

68% (23) of the graduates in full-time employment had more than one job offer. (Figure 4)

Figure 4. No. of full-time job offers

VIII. Names of Employers and Job Titles

The job titles of the 34 History graduates in full-time employment, and the names of their employers are listed below.

Employers :	Job Titles :
CIVIL SERVICE -
* Education Department	* Assistant Education Officer
* Government Information Services	* Assistant Information Officer I
* Transport Department	* Executive Officer
EDUCATION-
* Chan Shu Kui Memorial School	* Graduate Master
* Clementi Secondary School	* Assistant Education Officer
* Heep Wo Primary School	* Teacher
* Hong Kong Baptist University	* Executive Officer II
* Kiangsu-Chekiang College (Kwai Chung)	* Graduate Mistress
* Leung Shek Chee College	* Graduate Mistress
* Pok Oi Hospital Chan Kai Memorial College	* Graduate Master
* SKH Li Ping Secondary School	* CM Supply Teacher
* SKH Tang Shiu Kin Secondary School	* Certificate Master
* SPHRC Kung Yik She Secondary School	* Graduate Master
* The University of Hong Kong	* Research Assistant
* Wa Ying College	* Graduate Mistress
* Organisation’s name not reported	* Teacher
COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY -
* Francis Chan Chok Fai & Co	* Secretary
* Gallery Ltd	* Account Executive
* IFN Financial Press Ltd	* Proofreader
* Loyal Garment Ltd	* Secretary
* Max Share Ltd	* Leasing Officer
* Pioneer Elastic Fabric Ltd	* Secretary
* Pobomb Far East Ltd	* Assistant Merchandiser
* San-Tohno Ltd	* Administrator
* Swire Properties	* Conference Assistant
* Swire Resources Ltd	* Administrative Assistant
* The Best Information Co Ltd	* Research Assistant
* The Hiroshima Bank Ltd	* Secretary
* Vector Electronic Co Ltd	* Sales - Co-ordinator
* Yaohan Department Store (HK) Ltd	* Secretary
* Sony Corporation of Hong Kong Ltd	* Occupation’s name not reported
* Organisation’s name not reported	* Manager’s Assistant
* Organisation’s name not reported	* Customer Service Officer
* Organisation’s name not reported	* Secretary

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.

Margaret Lee
Nelson Yip

September, 1997