The Central Statistics Office (CSO) published a report on 36,470 graduates who left college between 2010 and 2014, revealing trends in graduate employment, re-enrolment in education, the sectors in which graduates are employed and their earnings over time.
Business, Administration & Law is the most popular field of study for both sexes, accounting for 26% of male graduations and 22.6% of female graduation, while Engineering, Manufacturing & Construction was the second most studied field for men. Health and Welfare was studied by 20.9% of female graduates, the second most popular field for women.
The statistics showed that men leaned more towards construction and internet technology related subjects, while women were found in higher numbers in welfare and arts subjects. More than four out of five graduates in Engineering, Manufacturing and Construction were male, while 80% in Information and Communication Technologies and 63% in Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries and Veterinary were men. Women represented four out of five graduates in Health & Welfare, 72% of Education graduates, and 61% of Arts and Humanities graduates.
Among the 36,470 graduates studied, the main field of study was Business, Administration and Law which was taken by one in four graduates followed by Arts and Humanities at 15% and Health and Welfare at 14%.
Those with higher classes of degree were less likely to be in “neither employment nor education” within a year of graduating college, with 7% of H1 graduates in this category compared to 12% of H3 graduates. About two-thirds of graduates with a H21, H22 or H3 were in employment in the first year after graduation.
The report found that, among employed graduates, those with a higher class of degree earned significantly more than their peers with lower class degrees five years after graduation. Median weekly earnings for level 8 graduates with a H1 award was €745 five years after graduation, €175 higher than the median of €570 for graduates with a H3.
Within a year of graduation, median weekly earnings were equal for men and women at €420 per week. However women earn €20 less than their male counterparts after 5 years at €635 per week. The field of study with the highest median weekly earnings for graduates from the 2010 class within five years of graduating was Information and Communication Technology, followed by Education and Health and Welfare.
