Final-year students looking forward to life of milk and honey

The inaugural Ireland Graduate Survey shows final-year university students looking forward to a comfortable, settled life with plenty of money and a dizzying array of lifestyle options - all by the time they reach 30, writes Seán Flynn, Education Editor

Final-year students in our seven universities are hugely optimistic about the future. Most believe they will own property by the time they are 30. Many expect to purchase a buy-to-let investment property within the same timeframe.

Only one problem: the vast majority (two-thirds) seem in no hurry to enter the jobs market and, when they do, the focus is very much on quality of life issues - rather than the cash they might need to buy that house.

Some two-thirds of those surveyed will proceed to postgraduate courses and/or travel around the world.

You get the distinct impression from the survey that most final-year students are enjoying life to the full, despite the pressure of those final exams. Most live at home. They have little personal debt (an average of just €2,000). And they are hugely confident they have the academic and personal skills to do well in the future.

The survey indicates that many exist within a kind of comfort zone. They are confident of a strong degree, with 86 per cent predicting they will receive a first or a 2:1.

And they are optimistic that the jobs will fall into their lap. Some 40 per cent of final years believe there are plenty of jobs for students leaving university in the summer, with similar numbers thinking there are some jobs, but not enough for all. Only 13 per cent of students feel there are only limited vacancies available upon graduation.

By the time they are 30, most envisage a comfortable settled life with plenty of money and a dizzying array of travel and lifestyle options.

What emerges from the survey is a picture of a group of people who have looked at the working lives of their parents and decided that is not for them. While money is important, the survey indicates that modern students put an even stronger store on a decent work/lifestyle balance. They are also very reluctant to take on a job which might involve night-time or weekend working.

Results for job applications already made show that accountancy was the most popular choice. Around one in seven finalists aspired to work within this profession in 2007. Accountancy had more than double the number of finalists applying compared to the next most popular choices of investment banking, teaching, engineering and research and development.

Career sectors which saw the fewest finalists applying included transport or logistics, the Garda, buying or purchasing, property and general management.

The survey is also revealing about the differing student profile in our universities. At the University of Limerick and Dublin City University some 50 per cent of final years plan to go directly into the jobs market. This figure is much lower at other colleges.

Students may be in a comfort zone, but the survey results contradict the notion that most breeze through college without much thought about their future job prospects. In fact, most final-year students have already begun to focus on the jobs market.

More than two-thirds of finalists had used their local university careers service while looking for a graduate job in 2007. Some 40 per cent had met with a professional careers advisor for a consultation.

An impressive 68 per cent of all finalists had used employers' recruitment websites, and 65 per cent had read at least one graduate recruitment brochure as part of their careers research.

The survey gives employers a unique insight into the career expectations and aspirations of final-year students just weeks before they graduate.

In total, the survey included face-to-face interviews with 3,191 final-year students, or about 20 per cent of final-year students across the seven universities. This makes it one of the largest pieces of independent research ever conducted in Ireland.

The survey underlines the lack of a racial and cultural mix in our universities. Over 96 per cent of students are white; the universities with the most diverse student base are NUI Maynooth and DCU. Overall, only five per cent of students have come from overseas to study, with the largest proportions at Trinity College Dublin and DCU.

Final-year students are generally aged between 21 and 22. Just 5 per cent were aged 25 or older. The noticeable exception to this was Maynooth where 14 per cent of finalists were aged 25 or older.