One in four students will go into public service

Three quarters of students want to work after their studies, only 25 percent want to be self-employed. This is the result of a survey of more than 2,000 students conducted by the auditing and consulting company EY (Ernst & Young), which was reported on by the Funke Media Group (Saturday editions). Only after ten years of professional experience do 44 percent of them hope to start a company or work independently. Almost one in four respondents describe the public sector as a particularly attractive employer.

This is especially true for women: one in three female students surveyed (30 percent) can imagine a job in government agencies, while only 17 percent of men aspire to it. For law students, too, the public sector ranks first among the most popular sectors at 42 percent. According to the survey, the most important things for future employees are salary and salary increases (47 percent) and job security (42 percent). The ability to work flexibly and to balance private and professional life are also very important to around 38 percent of those surveyed. 34 percent also want to be close to their own home. One in four thinks working from home is important. There are big differences between men and women when it comes to work-life balance. 45 percent of female students attach great importance to this, while it is only important to 31 percent of men. On average, survey participants set a starting salary of 43,700 euros after graduation. 57 percent of respondents rated the IT and software industry as by far the most attractive sector – men and women alike. This is followed by science (39 percent), the pharmaceutical industry and the health sector (36 percent). Jobs in mechanical engineering (33 percent) and business and tax consultancy as well as auditing (32 percent) are also rated as significantly more attractive than the public sector. Meanwhile, 25 percent of respondents rank jobs in banks and the automotive industry on the same level as those in the public sector. At the bottom of the attractiveness ranking are jobs in retail (21 percent), insurance (18 percent), cultural institutions (16 percent) and transport and logistics (14 percent).

Photo: Humboldt University (archive), via dts news agency