Every year, the ROA researchers distribute three questionnaires. One for alumni who graduated one and a half years ago; the other two for people who left the UM five or ten years ago. About a third of all former students completed the questionnaire in 2019 and 2020. Of the first group, who flew the nest a year and a half ago, figures show that 93 per cent had a job. For the other two groups, this was 98 per cent.
Those who have just come from the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences (FASoS), have the hardest time finding a job. The unemployment rate is 15 per cent after a year and a half. After ten years, this is still 4 per cent. At the Faculty of Health, Medicine & Life Sciences (FHML), only 4 per cent is without work after a year and a half. Those who want the certainty of a job in the long term, are best off choosing a study programme at the Faculty of Psychology and Neurosciences (FPN). Everyone who graduated ten years ago and recently filled in the survey, had work.
But do they also have a job at master’s level? No, they don’t. After one and a half years, this applies to 72 per cent, on average. After five and ten years, it is 74 and 84 per cent, respectively. Graduates from FASoS often work below their level. FPN again scores the best in the long term: 93 per cent of the alumni who graduated ten years ago has a job at master’s level.
Anyone who feels that money is important, had better register at the School of Business and Economics. SBE graduates, on average, have the highest monthly salary: 3,000 euro after a year and a half, 4,538 after five years, and 5,693 after ten years. FHML and the Faculty of Law follow closely behind. Graduates from FASoS (2,200, 3,000, 3,650) and FPN (2,150, 3,088, 4,100) earn the least. This is set off by the fact that the economics graduates have the longest working week: an average of forty hours after one and a half years.
Lastly, ROA looked at the contribution that UM alumni make to society. What exactly is meant by that is not clear, but the do-gooders appear to come from FHML and FPN. They contribute (by their own account) a lot towards society.
The Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE) was not included in the survey because of a lack of sufficient responses.