THE CONNECTION BETWEEN HIGHER EDUCATION AND THE MARKETPLACE: THE CASE OF CYPRUS 1

Maria Meletiou-Mavrotheris Cyprus College meletiou@cycollege.ac.cy Chrystalla Maouri Cyprus Ministry of Education & Culture Maouri1@prairienet.org

ABSTRACT
The study aims to explore the outcomes of locally received higher education in Cyprus in terms of subsequent employment. The study included the entire graduating class of 2003 (N=2180) in both the public and the private higher education sector in Cyprus. The students were administered a questionnaire shortly before graduation concerning their background, educational experiences, future plans and job seeking skills. The second phase of the study was a follow up survey approximately one and a half year after graduation examining the transition of this cohort into the workplace. In particular we explored the types of jobs and salaries the graduates received, their job satisfaction, and their perceptions on the usefulness of their degree and its relevance their current job requirements. This article utilizes some of the data collected though the longitudinal study to draw the profile of Cypriot students graduating from local higher education institutions and to depict their transition from college to labor force.

INTRODUCTION
The rapid expansion in higher education institutions observed in recent years throughout Europe, along with a shift to a more open and diverse higher education system have created a wider range of choices for college-bound students and have led to a large increase in the proportion of secondary school graduates choosing to pursue higher education studies. In Cyprus, the number of high school graduates electing to pursue a postsecondary degree has been steadily increasing during the last twenty years, and within the last decade we have witnessed an explosion in the enrolment of Cypriot students in higher education institutions. For example, in the 1980s, local enrolment in higher education was a little over 2000 students while last year the number of Cypriots attending college rose to over 12,000. Of course many Cypriots still choose to pursue degrees abroad with favorite destinations being Greece, the UK and the USA. It is interesting to note that, the number of women electing to pursue a postsecondary degree has been increasing and in the last couple of years women are the majority of the Cypriot college population both locally and in institutions abroad. This trend mirrors what is happening in other countries as well (e.g. NCES, 2005; NCES, ) where women represent over 50 percent of undergraduate enrolment. The increase in the number of students entering higher education in Cyprus can be explained by several factors. The increase in public expenditure on higher education, the positive economic outlook of Cyprus, the establishment of the University of Cyprus (the first University in the island) in 1992, as well as the expansion of private higher education institutions have played a major role in creating the necessary environment for students to pursue higher education
1

Presented at the Annual Workshop of the European Research Network on Transitions in Youth, August 2005, Valencia, Spain.

degrees. The question however to be answered is what are the outcomes of a college education once graduates make the transition into the workplace, what jobs graduates find, what salary they receive and how satisfied they feel about their college education. In other words, is their investment in a college degree really paying off? The current article contributes to the existing literature on the link between higher education and the labor market by reporting on research examining the association between employment outcomes of youth graduating from higher education institutions in Cyprus, and factors such as program of study and type of institution attended. The research has a number of objectives of interest to college-bound students and their parents, as well as to institutional and government policymakers: 1. Drawing the profile of students graduating from higher education institutions in Cyprus; 2. Evaluating the impact of systemic factors (institutional form of university or college attended, quality of education and services offered, etc.) and personal factors (choice of major, duration of study, etc. ) on labor market outcomes (employment status, salary and other job benefits, job satisfaction, relevance of position to program of study, etc); 3. Determining the degree to which the above-mentioned factors are affected by background characteristics such as gender.

2. METHODOLOGY
To achieve its objectives, the research utilizes data from the base-year and first follow-up of a longitudinal study funded by the Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation that tracks recent graduates of higher education institutions in Cyprus. The survey population was the cohort of Cypriot students enrolled in all types of postsecondary program in Cyprus (ranging from 1- or 2-year programs providing vocational training to 4-year academic programs) that were in their final year of enrolment and were expected to graduate by the end of the academic year 20022003. The base-year study consisted of a survey administered to students in their final semester before graduation. The development of the surveys was based on the local and international literature (e.g. , 2000; Harvey and Green, 1994; Terenzini, 1997; Paleocrassas, Rousseas, and Vretakou, 2000; NCES, 1999; NCES, 2001a; NCES, 2001b; NCES, 2001c). Students were asked to provide detailed information regarding their personal characteristics, family socioeconomic background, secondary school education and performance, higher education experience, the attributes of the particular institution and program attended, and their employment and educational expectations after graduation. All 2180 final year undergraduate Cypriot students in all Cypriot higher education institutions (6 public and 20 private tertiary education institutions) were invited to complete the survey. A total of 1388 students responded (a response rate of 64%). The first follow-up study was conducted approximately eighteen months after graduation. The respondents to the base-year survey were tracked and invited to participate in a telephone survey inquiring information about their labor market experiences and occupational outcomes (type of employment, earnings, education-job matching, satisfaction from work). The survey had the form of a structured interview and was administered by trained interviewers. Again, the local and international research literature were used as a guide in designing the interview protocol (e.g. , 2000; NCES, 1999; NCES , 2001 NCES, 1999; NCES, 2001a; NCES, 2001b; NCES, 2001c; Sudmant and Heslop, 2001). In total, 1134 graduates (81% of the respondents to the base-line survey; 52% of the original population of 2002-2003 graduates) participated in the follow-up survey.

3. RESULTS
The data reported in this paper are drawn from both phases of the study. Data from the first phase have been used to draw the profile of Cypriot students enrolled in local higher education institutions, while data from the second phase were utilized to depict the recent graduates transition from college to the labor force.

3.1 CYPRIOT COLLEGE STUDENT PROFILE 3.1.1 Personal Characteristics

As can be seen from Table 1, almost three out of four participants in the study were women. This statistic reflects the overall picture of the total graduating population of 2003 where out of N=2180, 1551 were women, a percentage of 71%. The majority of the study participants (92%) were less than 25 years old with very few students graduating from higher education after the age of 30. It is evident from the data that students enter postsecondary education immediately after high school graduation. Non-traditional students are few, and they can be found mostly in the private sector of higher education. The majority of the graduating students were single and resided at the family home for the duration of their studies (70%). There was a difference in terms of gender concerning their living arrangements. More women (78%) lived at home compared to the male population (64%). However, it is interesting to note that only 18 percent of the students lived alone or with roommates while at college. According to the distribution of parental educational background, most of the students mothers (almost 54%) had at least graduated from high school, but only a small percentage had any postgraduate qualifications. The statistics were similar for the fathers educational level. It is worthwhile to note that 31 percent of the students parents had completed only elementary school education. The participants in the study come mainly from low and middle- income families. However, most of the students (72%) did not work while at college. From those students who reported a parallel to study employment, everyone reported income below 6,000. The cost of higher education was mainly shouldered by the parents of these students, (71%) and it was supplemented by government subsidies. Only 6 percent reported having a student loan and very few students had scholarships.

3.1.2 Institutions and Fields of Study

The study participants were enrolled in both public and private institutions of higher education. Fifty-five percent of the students were enrolled in private institutions of higher education, 17 percent at the University of Cyprus, and 28 percent in public institutions of higher education. Cypriot higher education institutions offer a variety of programs of study ranging from one year to a four - year bachelors degree. Programs of study are mainly academic but private colleges in particular offer vocational education as well tailored to meet the immediate needs of the Cypriot labor market. Programs in secretarial studies, aesthetics, culinary arts, travel and tourism are some examples of the programs available. These programs tend to be offered as associate degrees and are completed within one or two years. As seen in Table 2, the overall majority (64%) of the graduates were enrolled in three and 4year programs of study. However, there were some differences in enrolment in terms of gender. Males tended to enroll in greater numbers in three and 4-year programs (86%) compared to females (56%). Female graduates were more evenly distributed among the four categories and one third of them graduated from college with an associate degree. In comparison, very few males elected to enroll in one and 2-year programs (14%) favoring academic programs instead.

Student Profile Participants Age 18-22 23-24 25-29 <30 Marital Status Single Engaged Married Divorced Residence Parents House With Husband Alone Roommates Mothers Highest Level of Education Elementary School High School Some College Bachelors Degree Graduate Degree Male 386 173 140 51 17 331 26 29 3 246 52 35 53 Female 1002 839 92 54 22 783 129 79 8 726 121 38 117 Total 1388 1012 232 105 39 1114 155 108 11 972 173 73 170 Overall %

72.9 16.8 7.6 2.8 80.2 11.2 7.8 0.8 70.0 12.5 5.3 12.2

110 209 45 14 6

318 537 100 38 11

428 746 145 52 17

30.9 53.8 10.4 3.7 1.3

Income Level Low 152 427 579 54.9 Middle Low 102 187 289 27.4 Middle High 34 75 109 10.3 High 33 44 77 7.3 Table 1: Profile of graduating students in Cyprus higher education institutions

Duration of study 1-Year Programs 2-Year Programs 3-Year Programs 4-Year Programs Total

Gender Male Female Group Total Count Percent % Count Percent % Count Percent % 7 2.0 138 14.4 145 11.0 43 12.1 285 29.7 328 24.9 180 50.6 170 17.7 350 26.6 126 35.4 367 38.2 493 37.5 356 100.0 960 100.0 1316 100.0 Table 2: Duration of Study of Graduates by Gender

As demonstrated in Table 2, women received degrees in Education, Secretarial studies, Aesthetics, Economics and Management and Health. Men on the hand chose fields such as Engineering, Hospitality, Law Enforcement, and Business Management. It is interesting to point out however, that while more males graduated with a Computer Science degree, there were slightly more women receiving degrees in Math and in the Physical Sciences. In addition more men graduated with an Arts degree than women.

Male Law Forestry Classic Studies Police Academy Physica l Sciences Economics & Management Hospitality 1% 2% 1% 19% 1% 17% 9% 5% 1% 5% 5% 2%

Female

12% 20% 2% 1% 24% 10% 2%

Education 5% Computer 7% Science Communication Studies 2% Secretarial Studies Aesthetics Arts Engineer ing Social Studies Health 5% 0% 4% 20% 1% 12% 10% 15% Percentage % 20% 25%

2% 1% 9% 5% 10% 15% 20% Percemtage % 25%

Figure 1: Percentage of Males and Females Receiving Degrees by Field of Study Factors Percent % Intellectual development/Personal Growth 84.6 Acquisition of skills for work 82.7 Prospect of quick employment after graduation 78.8 Great working conditions after graduation 74.2 Accreditation 71.2 Prospect of large income 71.1 To satisfy parents wishes 49.6 Government Subsidies 49.3 Compatibility with raising a family 47.0 Easy transfer of credits for study abroad 45.5 Short duration of study 37.9 Table 3: Factors influencing the participants choice of field of study

Despite the differences in the chosen field of study between male and female graduates, it is evident that both enroll in applied fields of study such as Education, Business, Health, and Engineering. The enrolment in academic fields of study such as the Humanities and Mathematics is indeed very small among both men and women. This phenomenon can be partially explained from the reasons the participants provided when asked why they chose their particular field of study. The question was phrased in terms of parameters the participants rated on a four-point scale with 4 being strong agreement. In Table 3, we report the factors that greatly influenced our participants in their choice of program of study. Aside from the personal growth factor, most other reasons influencing enrolment in a certain field of study had to do with labor market outcomes such as possibility of large income, quick employment, good working conditions and training in specific skills needed in the labor market. It is interesting that while the parents paid for tuition and supported these students for the duration of their studies, fulfilling parental wishes was not a very important factor in determining field of study choices. These students were more concerned with securing a good paying job with great benefits immediately after graduation than anything else. The above results were not differentiated in terms of gender. However, when the participants were asked specifically whether they would choose the same field of study if they were a different gender we received some interesting results. While 67 percent of the men would choose the same field, only 43 percent of the women would do so. This was also true among the

2% 2% 3%
Further studies

24% 66% 10%

Em ployed Unem ployed Not in labour force

21%

Arm y services Child care/Other fam ily com m it. Em ploym ent abroad Other reason

72%

Figure 2: Employment Status

Figure 3: Reasons for not participating in the labor force

female education graduates. Traditionally, education graduates are employed immediately with very competitive salaries and good working hours that are compatible with raising a family. Consequently, females dominated this field of study. However, given a choice these graduates would follow a different career path such as doctor, pilot, mathematician, archaeologist etc.

3.2 COLLEGE GRADUATES TRANSITION TO THE WORKPLACE: LABOR MARKET OUTCOMES 3.2.1 Employment Status Employment Patterns
After obtaining their undergraduate degrees or diplomas and certificates, the majority of graduates joined the labor force. Sixty-six percent of the graduates were in employment at the time of the interview, 10 percent were unemployed, and 24 percent were not seeking employment (see Figure 2). The main reason, given by the vast majority (72%) of those graduates who were not seeking employment, was continuation of studies (see Figure 3). The second most likely reason to be out of the labor force was Army Service at 21 percent (in Cyprus, it is mandatory for all young males to serve in the army for two years). A small number of graduates were not interested in getting employed at the time of the survey due to child care or other family commitments, employment abroad, or personal reasons. In addition to almost three quarters of the graduates not participating in the labor force continuing their studies, a sizeable proportion of both employed (20%) and unemployed graduates (20%) were also engaged in further studies. The main reason given by the majority of them for seeking further education was to get an advanced degree that would make more favorable their position in the labor market. Of those graduates employed, 91 percent were employed full-time. Only 66 graduates (9%) were employed part-time, and one-third of those (22 graduates) reported that they were working part-time by choice.

Experience with Unemployment

According to the studys findings, the unemployment rate among recent graduates of higher education institutions in Cyprus is quite high. While only 10 percent of all graduates were unemployed at the time of the survey, the actual unemployment rate was higher. Given that only 90 percent of the respondents were participating in the labor force (i.e. either working or being available to work and looking for a job), the actual unemployment rate was 13 percent. Unemployment hit women a bit harder than men. Fourteen percent of females in the labor force were unemployed, compared to 10 percent of males in the labor force.
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Law Enf orc em ent 0 H ealth 0 Art s 4 Engineering 6 C om puter Sc ienc e 7 C las s ic al Studies 9 Educ ation 12 Secretarial Studies 15 Touris m /H otel Manag. 19 Aes thetic s 21 Bus iness Manag./Econ. 22 Math/Phy s ic al Soc ial Studies 0 10

Other Municipality Self-Employed Semi-govern. Organ. Government Bank Private Company

30 40

0 2 8 4 70 8 8 0 20 40 60 Percent (%) 80

33 36
20

Percen t (%)

Figure 4: Unemployment rate based on major

Figure 5: Ideal employer for unemployed graduates

As seen in Figure 4, there were significant variations in graduates unemployment rates with respect to field of study (the fields of Forestry, Law, and Communication Studies were excluded, as the extremely small number of study participants graduating from these fields would not allow one to draw valid conclusions). All of the graduates who had majored in Health and Law Enforcement secured employment right after graduation. On the other hand, graduates who had majored in Social Studies and Math/Physical Science apparently had difficulties in getting a job. One in three graduates from these fields participating in the labor force was unemployed. Graduates that had majored in Business/Economics, Aesthetics, and Tourism/Hotel Management, also had higher unemployment rates compared to the rest of the graduates. Unemployed graduates were asked to determine the reasons for which they were not able to secure employment. Almost half of them declared that they were unemployed because they could not find a job relevant to their area of study. Another 20 percent noted that they worked previously, but they resigned because they did not find the job interesting enough. Very few were the unemployed graduates that did not work because they could not find any job. Rather, most of these graduates were unsuccessful in securing a post related to their studies. Eighty-four percent of the unemployed graduates stated that they sought to find employment related to their field of study. At the same time however, a large number of graduates (16% the unemployed graduates) noted that they would be interested in any type of profession. Obviously, these young adults feel so frustrated as a result of the difficulties they face in finding a job relevant to their major, that they are willing to even work in sectors totally unrelated to their field of study. Unemployed graduates were asked to select from various types of prospective employers the one which they considered as the ideal employer. The big majority (70%) selected the government as the ideal employer where they would want to get employed (see Figure 5).

3.2.2 Employment Experiences Employer Types

The two main employers of Cypriot youth graduating from local higher education institutions are the private sector and the government. These two sectors absorbed 81 percent of the 2003 graduates (see Figure 6). A small percentage of graduates were employed in banks, semigovernmental organizations, or municipalities (8%). Also, a small percentage of graduates were self-employed (4%). As seen in Figure 7, the large majority (78%) of graduates of public higher education institutions were employed by the government, while the majority of graduates of private higher education institutions worked in the private sector (61%). Almost half of the graduates of the University Cyprus worked in the government (47%) and roughly one-in-three (36%) in the private sector.

Self -Employed .Semi-govern Government Bank Private Company 0 1

4 2 37

Percent (%)

Municipality 0

100 80 60 40 47,3 20 35,6 0

44 10 20 30 40 50
Univ ersity of Public Inst. Cy prus of Higher Ed. Private Company Bank Semi-govern. Self-Employed Other Public Inst. of Higher Ed. Government Municipality

78 61 17 12

Percent (%)

Figure 6: Graduates employers

Figure 7: Graduates employers, based on type of institution attended

.Priv ate Inst .of Higher Ed Public Inst. of .Higher Ed Univ ersity of Cy prus

Other Municipality Self -Employ ed Semi-gov ern. Gov ernment Bank Priv ate Company 0 200
7

400 540 400 547 645 675 430

400 600 800

645 675

430
0 200 400 600 800

Median Gross Monthly Salary (in Cyprus Pounds)

Median Gross Monthly Salary (in Cyprus Pounds)

Figure 8: Median gross monthly salary, based on type of employer

Figure 9: Median gross monthly salary, based on type of institution attended

Full-Time Salaries
The mean gross monthly salary of our cohort in full-time employment was 530, and median 500. Seventy-five percent of the graduates had a gross monthly salary under 640 and 95 percent under 890. In order to elucidate further the compensation the graduates received in the first year as members of the work force we analyzed the parameters of employer, type of institution attended, duration of study, and program of study. As demonstrated in Figure 8, the median of the gross monthly income of employed graduates has considerable variations depending on the type of employer (we chose the median instead of the mean as our measure of a typical salary due to this measures resistance to outliers) The best employers in terms of gross monthly salary were the banks. Entry salaries were also high for government employees while the private sector ranked as the bottom of the compensation scale. In Figure 9 we observe that graduates from public institutions of higher education received the highest salaries while degree holders from the private sector had the lowest gross salary income. This might be due to the fact that the majority of graduates of private higher education institutions were working in the private sector where salaries are lower. Additionally, private institutions of higher education offer a variety of degrees in both vocational and academic fields. Many of the graduates of private higher education institutions had graduated from 1-year or 2-year vocational programs of study. As shown in Figure 10, the graduates of 1-year and 2year programs have much lower earnings than the graduates of 3-year or 4-year programs. On the other hand, it is interesting to note that while somebody would expect the graduates of 4year programs to receive the highest salaries among the cohort, it is actually the graduates of 3year programs who have the highest earnings. The reason for this phenomenon is probably the fact that 3-year programs are offered by public higher education institutions such as the Nursing School, the Higher Technological Institute, and the Police Academy. Most graduates of these institutions get hired upon graduation by the government, where as already seen, salaries tend
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4-Year Program 3-Year Program 2-Year Program 1-Year Program 0 200

500 610 420 380 400 600 800

Classical Studies Law Enf orcement Math/Phy sical Sciences Management/Economic Tourism/Hotel Mangt Education Computer Science Secretarial Studies Aesthetics Arts Engineering Social Sciences Health 0

650 600 560 464 410 540 400 343 535 593 515 600
200 400 600 800

350

Median Gross Monthly Salary (in Cyprus Pounds)

Median Gross Monthly Salary (in Cyprus Pounds)

Figure 10: Median gross monthly salary, based on program duration

Classical Studies Law Enf orcement Math/Phy sical Sciences Management/Economic Tourism/Hotel Mangt Education Computer Science Secretarial Studies Aesthetics Arts Engineering Social Sciences Health 0 200 400 600 800 1000

Figure 11: Median gross monthly salary, based on program of study

4-Year Program 3-Year Program 2-Year Program 1-Year Program
8

500 600 600 650 400 545 380

Median Gross Monthly Salary (in Cyprus Pounds)

0 200 400 600 800 Median Gross Monthly Salary (in Cyprus Pounds)

Males

Females

Figure 12: Median gross monthly salary of males and females, based on program of study

Figure 13: Median gross monthly salary, of males and females, based on program duration

to be higher compared to the private sector. By contrast, many of the graduates of 4-year programs are employed by the private sector. In Figure 11, significant variations in 2002-2003 degree recipients income are observed based on their area of study. The highest earnings appear to be made by individuals that had studied Law Enforcement and Health (i.e. those individuals that had graduated from the Police Academy and the Nursing School), Mathematic/Physical Sciences, and Engineering. The lowest earnings were made by the graduates that had majored in Aesthetics, Classical Studies, Secretarial Studies and Education. The fact that these study areas attract a large percentage of the female population attending college means that many women end up in fields where compensation tends to be particularly low. In our study, while the median monthly gross salary of the male graduates was 635, that of women was only 477. Men earned more than women in all fields of study where there were graduates of both genders, except Computer Science and Law Enforcement. The females that acquired a degree in these two male dominated sectors were remunerated equally as well as men. The assertion that female graduates tend to get a lower compensation than men is further confirmed if we examine the income of male and female graduates based on the duration of their program of study (see Figure 13). Obviously, mens earnings were higher than womens earnings, both in 2-year, as well as in 3-year and 4-year programs of study (all of the graduates of 1-year programs were females). Female graduates not only make a smaller income, but also have lower demands and expectations than men. In a question where the graduates had to state what they considered as satisfactory monthly salary in Cyprus, the median of the salaries females gave was only 600, compared to 800 for men. Comparing the median of the salaries graduates consider as

70 60 Percent (%) 50 40 30 20 10 0

O ther

60 0 81 21 65 25 62
0 20 40 60 80 100

62

M unicipality Self-Employed Semi-government. G overnment Bank

13

11

14
To som e ex tent To a great extent

Private Company

To no extent To a lit tle at all ex tent

P ercent (% )

Figure 14: Level of use of skills and knowledge Figure 15: Percent stating that the skills and knowledge acquired during studies on the job acquired during studies are utilized to a great extent
80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

4%
67

Percent (%)

Yes No

24% 72%

11

14
To s om e ex tent To a great extent

Selfem ployed

To no To a little ex tent at all ex tent

Figure 16: Fit between job and program of study

Figure 17: Degree obtained at college, was a requirement for getting the job

satisfactory, based on duration of program of study, the same pattern is observed. The male graduates of 2-year programs consider 700 as a satisfactory salary, while women would be satisfied with only 500. Similarly, the median salary that male graduates of 3-year and 4-year programs consider as satisfactory exceeds by 100 that of women (800 vs. 700).

Job Requirements
The survey explored more closely the connection between education and the labor market by examining whether graduates were in jobs that require a college degree and are related to their program of study. The study inquired graduates about their perceptions regarding the relevance to their area of study of the job they held at the time of the interview, and about the skill level required by their job. Sixty-four percent of the employed graduates stated that, in performing their job duties, they apply to a great extent the knowledge and skills they acquired in their college program (see Figure 14). Considerable variation in responses can be observed by type of employer (see Figure 15). The percentage of workers in semi-governmental organizations or in the banking sector reporting great utilization in their current job of the skills and abilities attained in their education was very small (only one graduate worked in a municipality, thus statistics obtained concerning municipalities cannot be considered reliable). On the contrary, in their big majority self-employed graduates stated that they utilized to a large degree the knowledge and skills acquired from their study. The corresponding percentage for graduates employed in the public sector was 65 percent, and for graduates working in private companies 62 percent. One indicator of the utility of college programs is the degree to which respondents consider their current job to be related to their educational training. Sixty-seven percent of employed respondents stated that they were in a job closely related to their higher education training. Two-thirds noted that their job was to a great extent related to their university or college training (see Figure 16). At the same time, however, a large proportion of graduates (20% of

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Reason Percent % Did not find a job related to my major 50.5 Higher income in current job than in jobs related to my major 26.3 Working in a family business 1.1 Found a job related to my major, but did not like it 2.1 Other reason 20.0 Total 100.0 Table 4: Reasons for which graduates are working in jobs unrelated to their areas of study
Skill dev elop. Relation with management Relation with colleagues Job security Adv ancement Working conditions Job challenge Fringe benef its Pay Ov erall

75 73

91 93 85 87 87 100

53 64 61 0 20

40 60 80 Percent (%)

Figure 18: Percentage of graduates feeling quite or very satisfied with each job aspect

employed graduates) reported little or no fit at all between their field of study and their job. This strengthens the conclusion that the graduates of higher education institutions in Cyprus face serious underemployment problems and many work in professions with little or no direct relation to their field of study. This can also be seen in Table 4. Half of those graduates whose job had no direct relation to their college major, stated that they ended up in the particular job because they could not find a job related to their specialty. Twenty-five percent stated that they decided to work in a job unrelated to their area of study because of the low compensation offered in jobs relevant to their major. Employed graduates were asked whether the degree they had obtained at college was a requirement for getting the particular job they had at the time. Almost three quarters (72%) of all employed graduates reported working in jobs requiring college degree, while 4 percent were self-employed. The remaining 24 percent of the graduates stated that they worked in a job not requiring college education (look at Figure 17), something which implies that a lot of graduates worked in jobs that did not match their degree or their skill set.

Job Satisfaction
Employed graduates were asked to indicate their level of satisfaction with various aspects of their current employment, and also to indicate their overall level of job satisfaction. Satisfaction was measured on a four-point scale (1=Not satisfied at all, 2= A little satisfied, 3=Quite satisfied, 4= Very satisfied). Figure 18 presents the percentage of graduates who reported that they were quite or very satisfied (response scores of '3' or '4') with each aspect of their job. It also shows the percentage of graduates that expressed a high overall job satisfaction. This percentage reached 87 percent, indicating that most recent graduates feel quite satisfied with their job. There are, however, significant variations in the graduates level of satisfaction with different aspects of their work. Graduates were likely to report high satisfaction regarding "Relations with colleagues", "Relations with management", "Job Challenge" and "Working Conditions". They were less likely to report satisfaction regarding Advancement Opportunities, Skill Development Opportunities, and Pay. Hence, employed graduates are more satisfied with the intrinsic rewards they obtain from their job than they are with the material rewards it offers. While the big majority feels satisfied with their job environment and working conditions, they are not particularly happy about their income or with the opportunities for professional development and career advancement offered by their job.

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Reason Job unrelated to my area of study Low salary Few career advancement opportunities Poor working conditions Lack of job security Poor work schedule Lack of job challenge Other reason

Count 67 147 26 40 45 64 22 24

Percent (%) 26.2 57.4 10.2 15.6 17.6 25.0 8.6 9.4

Table 5: Percentage of employed graduates wishing to change jobs for the specific reason

When asked whether they would prefer to find another job, one in three employed graduates (35%) responded affirmatively. The reasons they gave for wanting to change jobs appear in Table 5. More than half (57%) were not satisfied with the job pay. Underemployment also appears once again as a serious problem facing recent graduates, since one-fourth (26%) of the graduates wishing to change professions said they did so because their present employment was irrelevant to their area of study. Other reasons that prompted several graduates to want to change jobs are: poor work schedule, lack of job security, non-satisfactory working conditions, inadequate opportunities for professional development, and lack of job challenge. However, despite the fact that 35 percent of the employed graduates stated that they would wish to change employer, only half of them made any efforts to find another job. When asked what they consider as the ideal employer, employed graduates gave similar responses to the responses to the same question given by unemployed graduates. The majority of them (73%) again selected the government as the ideal employer.

CONCLUSIONS
Over the last decade the rate of enrolment in local higher education has increased rapidly. More and more students enter higher education to pursue degrees in applied and academic fields. The students pursuing higher education degrees in Cyprus enter college directly after high school, and tend to live with their parents who finance almost exclusively their studies. The majority of the college population is female. This cohort comes from low and middle-income background and is enrolled mostly in 3-year and 4-year degree programs. Women are more likely than men to enroll in vocational programs and congregate in traditionally feminized fields of study such as education, health and secretarial studies. Apart from the goal of personal growth and development, when choosing a field of study most graduating students reported a desire to secure a well paying prestigious job to ensure a good standard of living. Immediately after finishing their degrees, the majority of our cohort entered the labor market. Eighteen months after graduation, two-thirds of the graduates were already employed. Around one-fourth of the graduates were not in the labor force at the time of the follow-up survey. Three quarters of these graduates were engaged in further studies. One-fifth of both the employed and the unemployed graduates were also continuing their studies, seeking to obtain a more advanced degree that would make more favorable their position in the labor force. Unemployment rates for graduates varied considerably between fields of study, ranging from 0 percent in Health and Law Enforcement to over 30 percent in Social Studies and Mathematics/Physical Sciences. The main reason that unemployed graduates gave for not being able to secure employment was that they could not find a job related to their area of study. The compensation received by employed graduates was affected by the parameters of

12

employer, type of institution attended, duration of study, program of study, and gender. Graduates working in the public sector had higher earnings than those working in private companies. Graduates from public institutions of higher education, most of whom got employed by the government, received higher salaries than graduates from private higher education institutions most of whom got a job in the private sector. Graduates of 3-year and 4year programs had a higher compensation than graduates of 1-year and 2-year programs. Finally, individuals that had attended applied programs of study like Law Enforcement, Health, Mathematics and Engineering, had the highest salaries. The lowest earnings were observed in feminized professions like Aesthetics, Classical Studies, Secretarial Studies, and Education. Women received lower salaries than their male counterparts not only in female-dominated professions, but across disciplines. Men reported higher earnings in almost all fields of study. Employed graduates are generally satisfied with their job, and most work in jobs which are relevant to their studies and allow them to utilize the knowledge and skills acquired through their studies. At the same time, the survey results indicate that a lot of graduates are underemployed, working in jobs that do not match their degree or their skill set. Despite their overall satisfaction with their job environment and working conditions, employed graduates are not particularly happy regarding the compensation and career potential offered by their current job. One-third would prefer to change employer. For the majority of our participants, both employed and unemployed, the ideal employer would be the civil service instead of the private sector as the government pays higher salaries coupled with good benefits and job security.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
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