Students and starters pessimistic about job prospects

Graduate students and career starters have become more pessimistic about their job prospects, according to the Nobiles Motivation Monitor. 40 percent of them expect to have to fight for a starting job and only 29 percent think that employers are desperate for them. In 2007 this was 21 percent and 29 percent, respectively.

The Nobiles MotivatieMonitor is an annual survey of the motives and attitudes of highly educated Dutch graduate students and career starters towards work, careers and employers. A total of 1607 respondents participated in the survey.

At the moment, salary determines job satisfaction for only 13 percent of the students and the career starters, against 30 percent in 2008. A large majority (63 percent) finds job satisfaction more important than salary. In 2008 this was 43 percent.

The salary expectations of students have become a lot more realistic. In 2008, they expected a salary 395 euro above the actual starting salaries for career starters. In 2011, these salary amounts have grown towards each other and the difference is only 67 euros.

The graduate students and career starters feel less aversion to work overtime. In 2007, 52 percent were not willing to work overtime every week, compared to 42 percent in 2011.