The inaugural Ireland Graduate Survey, details of which are published in today's edition, provides a fascinating insight into the views of more than 3,000 university students as they prepare for final exams this summer.
The most striking feature is the unbridled optimism evident among the Class of 2007. Most anticipate qualifying with a strong honours degree. Having completed their university education, students expect to breeze into a good, well-paid job by the time they are 30. By this stage, almost one in three expects to occupy a senior management position. The survey findings are dominated by this huge confidence in the future. More than 70 per cent expect to own their own house or flat by age 30; one in five expects to have two cars and a buy-to-let property investment.
Perhaps we should not be unduly surprised by this confidence. The class of 2007 represents a golden generation in Irish history. Since our universities are still dominated by the middle and upper classes, most of these students are the sons and daughters of those who have thrived during the economic boom. They live in an economy and a society which is barely recognisable from the one that existed at the time of their birth 21 years ago.
It is clear from the survey that the class of 2007 has looked at the stressful lives of their parents and is not hugely impressed. Asked about their career options, they place a high premium on a healthy work/lifestyle balance and on a job where there is no requirement to work long and anti-social hours. For the majority, the issue of working hours is more important than the initial salary.
Final-year students are in no hurry either to join the jobs market. Two-thirds plan to complete a postgraduate programme or travel extensively before beginning full- time employment. What emerges is a picture of a group who are content with their life, confident about their own personal skills and optimistic about their future careers. It is a rosy and reassuring scenario; a striking contrast with the air of depression and melancholy which afflicted previous generations of young Irish people.
That said, there are some findings in the survey which are scarcely encouraging. There is an evident lack of an entrepreneurial spirit among our young people: only a tiny minority want to start their own business. And there is little priority given to the whole concept of public service: only 13 per cent favour employment within the public sector. Interestingly, most students would prefer to work for a major national or international company because of the perception that these provide better training and long-term career prospects.