Graduate employment survey plays an important role in the development of education and the allocation of public funding for universities

Recipients will be contacted via text message, post or email. The surveys are coordinated by the Aarresaari Career Services Network of Finnish Universities. 

For the past 20 years, the universities in Finland have conducted joint surveys to monitor graduate employment outcomes. These surveys provide comprehensive and comparable data on labour market trends and skills needs across sectors, supporting the development of teaching, academic guidance and education.

Survey highlights employment rates and salary progression among graduates

The results of the 2024 career monitoring survey revealed above-average employment rates among Tampere University graduates with a master’s degree or a doctoral degree. Among respondents with a master’s degree, 76% were employed in permanent, full-time positions. For doctoral graduates, this figure was 62%. These rates are approximately 7% higher than the national average.

According to the survey, the ability to identify and articulate one’s skills has the greatest impact on securing employment, although the importance of internship experience has also grown significantly in recent years. Of all the 2024 survey respondents with a master’s degree, 61% reported that internship experience was a key factor in finding employment – nearly 10% more than seven years ago. Doctoral graduates noted that the topic of their dissertation played an increasingly important role in their employment prospects.

There has been a positive trend in salary progression following the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2024, the median monthly income was €4,500 among respondents with a master’s degree and €4,800 among respondents with a doctoral degree. On average, median earnings have increased by €300 in a three-year period. However, median earnings vary considerably between sectors, reflecting the value placed by our society on different fields. 

“The highest median income – €7,000 – was reported by medical practitioners. Graduates with a master’s degree in business, administrative sciences, law or ICT reported a median monthly income of €5,000, while graduates working in engineering fields earned €4,700, in health and well-being fields €4,400, and in social sciences €4,200. The median monthly income was €3,500 for graduates in the humanities and arts, €3,400 in natural sciences and €3,300 in education,” says Senior Specialist Hanna-Leena Hietaranta-Luoma, who oversees the career monitoring survey at Tampere University. 

Career monitoring survey influences the allocation of public funding for universities

The career monitoring survey conducted among master’s degree graduates is directly linked to the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture’s funding model for universities, meaning that each completed survey brings a tangible financial benefit to Tampere University. 

One submission is worth approximately €5,500. In 2024, survey responses accounted for as much as €5.4 million of the total public funding awarded to Tampere University by the Ministry.

“Each response improves our understanding of graduate employment trends and supports Tampere University’s efforts to continuously develop its degree programmes to better meet the demands of working life” says Hietaranta-Luoma.