Pathways to employment: Subject choice, job requirements, and early employment outcomes for UK undergraduates.
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| Title: | Pathways to employment: Subject choice, job requirements, and early employment outcomes for UK undergraduates. |
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| Authors: | Pemberton, Sarah (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | British Educational Research Journal. Feb2026, Vol. 52 Issue 1, p481-516. 36p. |
| Subjects: | Graduate education, Labor market, Higher education, Great Britain. Higher Education Statistics Agency, Wages, Socioeconomic status, Vocational interests |
| Geographic Terms: | United Kingdom |
| Abstract: | Higher education in the United Kingdom has dramatically expanded in recent decades, along with questions about its effectiveness in preparing graduates for the labour market. With rising tuition fees and increasing competition for graduate jobs, many students opt to study 'professional' subjects—fields closely tied to specific professions. This paper examines the characteristics of students who study professional subjects at the undergraduate level, assesses their early economic outcomes, and explores whether they perceive their degree as necessary for their job. Using data from the UK Higher Education Statistics Agency (including administrative records) and from the Graduate Outcomes survey, this study examines graduates from the 2018/19 to 2020/21 cohorts. A survey‐weighted ordinary least squares regression model is used to analyse subject choice, employment status, and perceptions of degree necessity, and a generalised ordered logit is used to estimate employed salary band outcomes. Findings indicate that students from lower socio‐economic status backgrounds, women, older students, and UK nationals are more likely to pursue professional subjects, conditional on other factors. Graduates from professional fields have higher employment rates and salary bands 15 months after graduation than those from non‐professional subjects. Moreover, professional graduates are more likely to report that their degree was required for their job. In contrast, many non‐professional graduates find themselves in roles where their qualification is neither 'required' nor 'advantageous'. These findings highlight the increasing role of professional subjects in higher education in securing employment and economic mobility, while raising important questions about higher education's responsiveness to evolving labour market demands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of British Educational Research Journal is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: pbh DbLabel: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection An: 192157993 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Pathways to employment: Subject choice, job requirements, and early employment outcomes for UK undergraduates. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Pemberton%2C+Sarah%22">Pemberton, Sarah</searchLink> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22British+Educational+Research+Journal%22">British Educational Research Journal</searchLink>. Feb2026, Vol. 52 Issue 1, p481-516. 36p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Graduate+education%22">Graduate education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Labor+market%22">Labor market</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Higher+education%22">Higher education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Great+Britain%2E+Higher+Education+Statistics+Agency%22">Great Britain. Higher Education Statistics Agency</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Wages%22">Wages</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Socioeconomic+status%22">Socioeconomic status</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Vocational+interests%22">Vocational interests</searchLink> – Name: SubjectGeographic Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22United+Kingdom%22">United Kingdom</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Higher education in the United Kingdom has dramatically expanded in recent decades, along with questions about its effectiveness in preparing graduates for the labour market. With rising tuition fees and increasing competition for graduate jobs, many students opt to study 'professional' subjects—fields closely tied to specific professions. This paper examines the characteristics of students who study professional subjects at the undergraduate level, assesses their early economic outcomes, and explores whether they perceive their degree as necessary for their job. Using data from the UK Higher Education Statistics Agency (including administrative records) and from the Graduate Outcomes survey, this study examines graduates from the 2018/19 to 2020/21 cohorts. A survey‐weighted ordinary least squares regression model is used to analyse subject choice, employment status, and perceptions of degree necessity, and a generalised ordered logit is used to estimate employed salary band outcomes. Findings indicate that students from lower socio‐economic status backgrounds, women, older students, and UK nationals are more likely to pursue professional subjects, conditional on other factors. Graduates from professional fields have higher employment rates and salary bands 15 months after graduation than those from non‐professional subjects. Moreover, professional graduates are more likely to report that their degree was required for their job. In contrast, many non‐professional graduates find themselves in roles where their qualification is neither 'required' nor 'advantageous'. These findings highlight the increasing role of professional subjects in higher education in securing employment and economic mobility, while raising important questions about higher education's responsiveness to evolving labour market demands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of British Educational Research Journal is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=pbh&AN=192157993 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1002/berj.70013 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 36 StartPage: 481 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Graduate education Type: general – SubjectFull: Labor market Type: general – SubjectFull: Higher education Type: general – SubjectFull: Great Britain. Higher Education Statistics Agency Type: general – SubjectFull: Wages Type: general – SubjectFull: Socioeconomic status Type: general – SubjectFull: Vocational interests Type: general – SubjectFull: United Kingdom Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Pathways to employment: Subject choice, job requirements, and early employment outcomes for UK undergraduates. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Pemberton, Sarah IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 02 Text: Feb2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 01411926 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 52 – Type: issue Value: 1 Titles: – TitleFull: British Educational Research Journal Type: main |
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