The University of Hong Kong

Careers Education and Placement Centre

Where did the 1997 Comparative Literature 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 Comparative Literature 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 60 respondents who reported to major in Comparative Literature, 82% (or 49 graduates) were in full-time employment within six months of graduation. 3.4% (or 2 graduates) were still looking for full-time employment at the time of the survey. Another 15% (or 9 graduates) went on for further studies. (Table 1)

	Comparative Literature																HKU Overall *
	Total					Male						Female
	‘97		‘96		‘97				‘96		‘97			‘96				‘97			‘96
	No.	%	No.	%			No.	%	No.	%		No.	%	No.	%	No.			%	No.		%
No. of respondents	60	100	44	100			4	100	3	100		56	100	41	100	2272			100	2139		100
F/T employed	49	81.7	36	81.8			3	75.0	2	66.7		46	82.1	34	82.9	1829			80.5	1743		81.5
P/T employed seeking F/T job	1	1.7	1	2.3			0	0	0	0		1	1.8	1	2.4	37			1.6	34		1.6
Unemployed seeking F/T job	1	1.7	3	6.8			1	25.0	0	0		0	0	3	7.3	53			2.3	34		1.6
Further studies	9	15.0	4	9.1			0	0	1	33.3		9	16.1	3	7.3	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	0	0			0	0	0	0		0	0	0	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

Eight graduates were enrolled in local tertiary institutions and one graduate went to U.K. Of these, seven graduates pursued postgraduate studies in the same discipline as their first degree, while one graduate took up a M.Phil. programme in social sciences. (Tables 2 & 3)

	Academic Programmes
Fields of Study	M.Phil.
Arts	7
Social Sciences	1

No Response = 1

Table 2. Academic programmes

Source of Finance	No. of Graduates
Own Fund	2
Teaching Assistantship/Studentship	6
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, 94% secured their first job offers before the end of September. The percentage increased to 100% by the end of December. (Figure 1)

figure1.gif (15692 bytes)

V. Employment Sectors

69% (or 33 graduates) were employed in commerce and industry, followed by 23% (or 11 graduates) in the education sector and 6.3% (or 3 graduates) in the community, social and personal services. The remaining 2.1% (or 1 graduate) 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 Comparative Literature graduates was a little higher than that of their predecessors in the previous year. (Table 4)

	Basic Salary				Gross Income
	Comparative Literature		HKU Average*		Comparative Literature		HKU Average*
	‘97	‘96	‘97	‘96	‘97	‘96	‘97	‘96
Mean	$12,937	$11,784	$15,749	$14,457	$14,032	$12,458	$17,552	$15,902
Median	$10,700	$9,900	$12,500	$12,000	$11,917	$10,804	$14,521	$13,542
Minimum	$8,000	$7,500	$4,400	$3,000	$8,000	$7,500	$5,000	$5,500
Maximum	$20,865	$21,360	$59,000	$55,000	$20,865	$21,360	$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, 63% of the graduates had more than one job offer. 43% had reported having received three to eight or more job offers. (Figure 4)

figure1.gif (15692 bytes)

VIII. Names of Employers and Job Titles

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

Employers :	Job Titles :
CIVIL SERVICE -
HKSAR		Executive Officer II

EDUCATION -
Caritas Bianchi College of Careers		Graduate Mistress
Chan Shu Ki (La Salle) College		Graduate Master
Fung Kai No.2 Secondary School		Graduate Mistress
Hong Kong School for the Deaf		Graduate Mistress
Kwun Tong Government Secondary School		Assistant Education Officer
St Paul’s College		Graduate Mistress
Tack Ching Girls’ Middle School		Graduate Mistress
Tak Oi Secondary School		Graduate Mistress
The University of Hong Kong		Research Assistant I
The University of Hong Kong		Temporary Library Assistant II
Organization’s name not reported		Library Assistant

COMMUNITY, SOCIAL & PERSONAL SERVICES -
Chung Ying Theatre Co		Publicity Assistant
Edward Lam Dance Theatre		Assistant Administrator

COMMERCE & INDUSTRY -
Addison Wesley Longman (China) Co Ltd		Assistant Editor
Cathay Pacific Airway Ltd		Cabin Crew
Chevalier (Insurance Brokers) Ltd		Assistant Officer
Chun Yeung Knitting Co		Secretary
Classroom Publications Ltd		English Editor
CNBC		Interpreter
Condo Design Ltd		Sales Executive
Dao Heng Bank Ltd		Retail Banking Services Trainee
DDB Needham Worldwide Communication Group		Copywriter
Design Management Ltd		Administrative Assistant
Everwise Ltd		Assistant Merchandiser
Fance House		Marketing Executive
Golden Network Ltd		Junior Marketing Executive
Hongkong Bank		Counter Services Officer
Hongkong Bank		Counter Services Officer
J & R Bossini International Ltd		Customer Services Officer
Jackel Porter Co Ltd		Marketing Trainee



Just Gold Co Ltd		Corporate Services Assistant
Manhattan Card Co Ltd		Temporary Customer Service Representative
Nu Life International Ltd		Product Research Assistant
Point of View Bookstore		Shop Assistant
Ronald McDonald House		Assistant Manager
Scarfell Enterprise Ltd		Administrative Assistant
Television Broadcast Ltd		Junior Research Writer
Television Broadcast Ltd		Production Assistant
The Hong Kong & China Gas Co Ltd		Graduate Trainee
Wharf Cable Ltd		Assistant Programme Officer
Wilkinson & Grist		Legal Executive Trainee
Organization’s name not reported		Administrative & Personnel Officer
Organization’s name not reported		Legal Executive Trainee

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