21 occupational integration of university graduates

Around 9 out of 10 students who graduated with Master's degrees, LPs and DUTs in 2011 were in employment in December 2013, some 30 months after entering working life. 90% of the positions held were full-time posts. The median net monthly wage for full-time positions was €1,910 for Master's graduates. This outcome was accompanied by a slight increase in the number of students continuing their studies after passing their degree.

The class of 2011 for Master's degree programmes was the first to include students on so-called 'Master of Education' courses designed to prepare students for the competitive entrance examinations for entering the teaching profession. By their very nature, the occupational integration of graduates from such courses is very specific in comparison with other Master's graduates. 97% of graduates from these courses are in employment, with 87% in public-sector posts. They earn lower wages than those paid to graduates from other Master's degree programmes (chart 21.01). These Master of Education courses are not included in the following analysis.

30 months after entering working life, those who graduated with a Master's degree in 2011 enjoyed the same occupational integration as that recorded for their predecessors the previous year: 90% of Master's graduates (excluding those from Master of Education courses ¹) were in employment at 1 December 2013 (chart 21.01). Occupational integration for those who graduated with a vocational bachelor's degree (Licence professionnelle - LP) (92%) or a technology university diploma delivered by the IUT (Diplôme universitaire de technologie -  DUT) (89%) in 2011 showed a slight improvement (from 91% and 88% respectively for 2010 graduates).

The positions held are primarily full-time posts (over 90%) and of a good level, with 87% of Master's graduates, 71% of LP graduates and 58% of DUT graduates working in managerial positions or in intermediate occupations. A large majority of them are in stable employment (80% for LP graduates and just under 75% for Master's and DUT graduates).

The median net monthly wage for full-time positions was €1,910 for Master's graduates, stable on the previous year. It is higher than that earned by those aged 25-29 who work as managers or in intermediate occupations (€1,800). The median net monthly wage for LP and DUT graduates was markedly lower (€1,600 and €1,500 respectively).

All the indicators relating to the occupational integration of graduates are calculated on the basis of graduates who did not continue or return to their studies in the two years after they obtained their diploma. There was an increase in the number of Master's and LP graduates either continuing or returning to their studies.

This was particularly noticeable in the case of LP graduates (from 29% to 34%), but was less significant for Master's graduates (from 39% to 40%). Young people who left university in 2011 were confronted with a gradual rise in unemployment until early 2013, which may have contributed to more of them opting to continue or return to their studies.

As in previous years, recruitment conditions for graduates of Law, Economics and Management (LEM) and Science, Technology and Health (STH) Master's degree programmes (who accounted for three quarters of all graduates) were distinctly better than those for graduates of Human and Social Sciences (HSS) and Humanities, Languages and Arts (HLA) Master's degree programmes, in terms of their occupational integration, the quality of their jobs and the wage they were paid (chart 21.02).

Isabelle Maetz

¹ The class of 2011 for Master's degree programmes was the first to include students on so-called 'Master of Education' courses designed to prepare students for the competitive entrance examinations for entering the teaching profession. These Master of Education courses have been excluded from the results published and from the analysis in order to make it possible to compare statistics between two years.