Finnish University Graduates of Year 2003: Career and Employment Survey 2008

The survey charted the career and employment situation of people who had graduated from Finnish universities with a lower (BA/BSc or equivalent) or higher (MA/MSc or equivalent) degree in 2003. The survey was conducted five years after graduation. The first part investigated the respondents' education and work history. They were asked whether they had, after graduation, participated in job-related training, careers guidance or had studied for or completed any additional professional qualification or higher education degree. The length of time in paid employment after graduation was queried, including both work in general and work commensurate with their level of education. Further questions covered the number of employers, number of separate employment contracts and offices, whether the respondents had been entrepreneurs, self-employed or freelancers and for how long, or whether they had been outside the labour market because of a family leave. Possible periods of unemployment, obstacles to getting a job (e.g. lack of experience, challenging labour market situation in their field, gender), and employment situation at the time of graduation were investigated. Those who had not been employed at the time of graduation were asked how long it had taken to get their first job. Characteristics of the first job after graduation were surveyed, including contract type, employer type, and type of work. The respondents were also asked whether the first job had required an academic degree, whether it had been commensurate with their qualification, and to what extend they had been able to utilise knowledge and skills gained during their university studies. The next section focused on the respondents' current employment situation. Questions covered the type of main employer, type of work, monthly gross wage income, whether they could utilise the knowledge and skills gained during their university studies, whether the job was commensurate with their level of education, and if not, why they had accepted to take the job. The respondents were presented with a number of statements relating to their job (e.g. 'my work is important', 'I have too much work', 'my contract is not secure') and asked to what extent they agreed. The respondents with fixed-term contracts were asked about the reason why the contract was fixed-term, the duration of the contract, and whether the contract had been preceded by another fixed-term contract with the same employer. The survey also explored the respondents' satisfaction with their degree and studies. Questions covered satisfaction with the degree from the point of view of career, how important certain skills and know-how were in the respondents' current job and how well their studies had developed these skills. The skills mentioned included, for instance, theoretical or practical knowledge of their field, problem solving, managerial skills, negotiation skills, project management, communication in English, etc. Background variables included the university attended, gender, field of study, age group at the time of graduation, and information on the degree (level of degree, number of credits required for the degree).

本调查描绘了2003年毕业于芬兰大学，持有学士学位或同等学历（BA/BSc 或相当学历）或硕士学位或同等学历（MA/MSc 或相当学历）的毕业生在职业生涯与就业状况。调查于毕业五年后进行。首部分主要调查了受访者的教育和工作经历，包括毕业后的职业培训参与情况、职业指导、是否进一步学习或完成任何额外的专业资格或高等教育学位。调查还询问了毕业后的带薪工作时间，包括一般工作和与其教育水平相匹配的工作。进一步的问题涵盖了雇主数量、单独的就业合同数量和办公室数量，以及受访者是否曾为企业家、自雇者或自由职业者，以及持续了多长时间，或者他们是否因家庭休假而离开了劳动力市场。调查还探究了可能的失业期、求职障碍（例如缺乏经验、所在领域的劳动力市场状况具有挑战性、性别因素）以及毕业时的就业状况。对于毕业时未就业的受访者，询问了找到第一份工作所需的时间。调查还涉及了毕业后的第一份工作的特征，包括合同类型、雇主类型和工作类型。受访者还被询问第一份工作是否需要学术学位，是否与其资格相匹配，以及他们在多大程度上能够利用在大学期间获得的知识和技能。下一部分重点关注了受访者的当前就业状况，包括主要雇主的类型、工作类型、月总收入、是否能够利用在大学期间获得的知识和技能，以及工作是否与其教育水平相匹配，如果不匹配，为何接受这份工作。受访者还被呈现了与他们的工作相关的若干陈述（例如：“我的工作很重要”，“我有太多工作”，“我的合同不安全”），并要求他们同意的程度。对于固定期限合同的受访者，询问了合同为何是固定期限、合同期限以及是否之前与同一雇主有另一个固定期限的合同。调查还探讨了受访者对他们学位和学习的满意度。问题包括从职业角度对学位的满意度，某些技能和知识在受访者当前工作中的重要性，以及他们的学习如何发展了这些技能。提到的技能包括，例如，其领域理论或实践知识、问题解决能力、管理技能、谈判技能、项目管理、英语沟通等。背景变量包括就读大学、性别、研究领域、毕业时的年龄组以及关于学位的信息（学位水平、获得学位所需学分）。