mathematics students’ next steps after graduation

International Journal of Mathematical Education inScience and Technology, Vol. 40, No. 6, 15 September 2009, 777–793

Mathematics students’ next steps after graduation

Tom Bourner, Sue Greener* and Asher Rospigliosi

Brighton Business School, University of Brighton, Mithras House, Lewes Road,Moulsecoomb, Brighton, East Sussex, BN2 4AT, UK

(Received 11 December 2008)

This article is about what happens to newly minted mathematics graduates.It explores data from the first destination statistics from the perspective ofmathematics lecturers and others involved in institutions that providea higher education in mathematics. It also looks at reasons why this issue isimportant to those engaged in the higher education of mathematicsundergraduates. A key finding is that the employment of mathematicsgraduates is concentrated in the sector of the economy that includesbanking, property and financial services which makes the employmentprospects for new graduates in mathematics vulnerable to recession in thatsector.

Keywords: mathematics; employability; graduate employment; highereducation; statistics

1. Introduction and background

What do mathematics students do next after they graduate? This is the question thatprompted the study reported in this article. To address it we used the first destinationof graduates statistics to compare the employment prospects of maths graduates withthe destinations of graduates-in-total. This article looks at this issue from theperspective of those involved in the education of maths undergraduates, particularlyuniversity lecturers and course teams. Before offering our answer to the presentingquestion, it is worth addressing briefly another question: why does it matter?

The importance of knowledge of graduate destinations at national level wastaken to be self-evident by the Chair of the University Grants Committee (UGC)when the data on first destination of university graduates was first published in theearly 1960s:

It is clearly of importance to know what careers are followed by men and women whenthey graduate from the universities; it is important to the nation, to industry and theprofessions, to the universities, and to parents, schools and school pupils [1 p. iii].

The Chair of UGC elaborated the reasons for the importance in its publicationon the destinations of the following year’s graduates:

The country needs to know what becomes of the young people on whose highereducation in the universities a great deal of public money is spent. The professions,industry and commerce also need to know what proportions of those who

*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]

ISSN 0020–739X print/ISSN 1464–5211 online

� 2009 Taylor & Francis

DOI: 10.1080/00207390902971965

http://www.informaworld.com

graduate . . . they are respectively attracting. Much of the usefulness of a seriesof published statistical analysis lies in the changes it reveals over a number of years[2, p. iii].

It clearly matters to government, university administrators, university careersadvisors and prospective students, but why does it matter to individual lecturers inmathematics?

For student-centred maths lecturers the answer is obvious. They see the highereducation of mathematics students as serving the advancement of the studentsincluding their employment prospects. The answer is less obvious for subject-centredmaths lecturers, those who see the higher education of maths students as serving theadvancement of mathematical knowledge rather than preparing the students for life,including work, after graduation. It is, however, short-sighted for subject-centredlecturers to discount the impact of the fate of mathematics graduates in the labourmarket on the advancement of knowledge in mathematics. To see why, considerwhat would be the consequences of a sharp rise in the unemployment of mathsgraduates relative to that of graduates-in-total. First, policy-makers view a rise ingraduate unemployment in a particular subject as a sign that society’s relative needsfor that subject have fallen and a sign to shift resources away from that subjecttowards other subjects. Second, a rise in graduate unemployment in mathematicswould reduce the relative attractiveness of mathematics to potential students, somaths courses would have greater difficulty in recruiting applicants of the currentcalibre. A similar point was made recently by Arnoux and colleagues in their study ofthe French tertiary education system [3, p. 56]. Third, at the level of an individualuniversity, the senior administrators, seeking to improve the university’s perfor-mance rating, are inclined to expand subjects showing a relative decline in graduateunemployment and contract subjects with a relative rise, which impacts on the typesof demands made on individual lecturers. The employment prospects of mathsgraduates is therefore relevant to anyone who believes that the advancement ofmathematical knowledge would be served by more resources being allocated touniversity mathematics or maths courses attracting higher calibre students or freeingmathematical lecturers up from activities to attract prospective applicants to degreecourses in mathematics.

Of course, most of the mathematics lecturers will not be located at the extremityof either the student-centred or the subject-centred spectrum. They will want highereducation in mathematics to serve both the advancement of mathematical knowledgeand the advancement of their maths students. The prospects of their students aftergraduation is therefore relevant to such lecturers as it impacts on both goals.

Most of the previous work that has been done on graduate first destinations,including graduate employment and unemployment, has tended to focus on theneeds and concerns of career advisors rather than lecturers. Such work that hastaken a lecturer focus in this field is either very old (e.g. [4,5]) or very general. Forexample, Bourner and Rospigliosi [6] examined how the pattern of destinations ofnew graduates-in-total has changed since the first destination statistics were firstpublished in 1962. In this article, we make a contribution to fill this gap by looking atthe first destination of maths students who graduated in 2007. This is the most recentdata currently available, and our analysis of the data placed particular emphasis onlooking for clues about the future prospects of mathematics graduates.

The data is based on questionnaire responses from the most recent crop ofgraduates, in this case 2007. The response rate was over 80% (slightly higher for

778 T. Bourner et al.

female graduates than for males). This very high response rate is a tribute to thetenacity of the university careers advisory services which collect the data.

In the next section of this article, the first destination of maths graduates iscompared with those of graduates-in-total. Differences that are significant at the10% level are indicated with a single asterisk, differences that are significant at the5% level are indicated by two asterisks and differences that are significant at the 1%level are indicated by three asterisks.

2. Findings and discussion

2.1. Destinations of mathematics graduates

Table 1 shows the first destination of maths graduates in very broad categories andcompares them with the totals for graduates of all subjects combined.

The first column shows that maths graduates were significantly less likely to beworking 6 months after graduating than graduates-in-total. Somewhat paradoxi-cally, the table also shows that maths graduates were also less likely to beunemployed as shown by the column headed ‘seeking employment or training’. Thisapparent paradox is resolved by the fact that maths graduates were much more likelythan other graduates to go on to further study or training. Table 2 explores the typesof ‘further study or training’ that maths graduates go on to do.

Table 2 shows that maths graduates were more than twice as likely as othergraduates to proceed directly to research degrees (4.6% against 2%). They were alsosignificantly more likely to go on to a taught higher degree. In fact, they weresignificantly more likely to go on to all of the categories of further study. We cannottell from this table whether this was because they were less well prepared foremployment than the other graduates or because they were better prepared forfurther study.

For those who do proceed directly to employment after graduation, where in theeconomy do they go? Table 3 looks at their distribution across the broad sectors ofthe economy.

Table 3 reveals that maths graduates were significantly less likely to be employedin industry than graduates of other subjects, which might come as a surprise to manypeople. They were also significantly less likely to be employed in retailing or

Table 1. The first destination of first degree graduates in 2007 – major categories.

Worka

(including workwith further study

or training)

Further studyor training

only

Seekingemploymentor trainingb

Total graduatesof knowndestinationc

Subject (%) (%) (%) (%) No.

Mathematics graduates 63.4 25.4 11.3 100 3015All graduates 69.4 16.1 14.5 100 172,665Significance level *** *** ***

Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (2007).Notes: aIncludes self-employment and voluntary/unpaid work as well as full-time paid work.bIncludes unemployed and those in part-time paid work only.cExcludes those not available for employment.

International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology 779

Table

2.Thefirstdestinationoffirstdegreegraduatesin

2007–sub-categories.

Further

study(includingwork

andfurther

study)

Work

Only

aHigher

degree

(Research)

Further

study

Higher

degree

(Taughtcourse)

Teacher

Training

andother

PG

Cert/Dip.

Other

study

ortrainingb

Seekingem

ployment

ortraining

Totalgraduates

ofknown

destination

Subject

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

No.

Mathem

atics

graduates

46.8

4.6

9.8

10.8

16.7

11.3

100

3015

Allgraduates

60.2

2.0

7.7

5.9

9.7

14.5

100

172,665

Significance

level

***

***

***

***

***

***

Source:

AsforTable

1.

Notes:

aIncludes

self-employmentandvoluntary/unpaid

work

aswellasfull-tim

epaid

work.

bIncludes

professionalqualificationsandstudyforanother

firstdegreeandcertificates/diplomasthatare

notpost-graduate

inlevel.


Table

3.Theem

ploymentcategories

offirstdegreegraduatesin

2007whogained

UK

homeem

ployment.

Industry

aRetailand

wholesaleb

Business

Services

cEducation

Publicadministration,

defence

andsocial

security

d

Health,personal,

community,social

services

and

socialwork

eOther

fTotal

Subject

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

No.

Mathem

atics

graduates

7.1

14.1

53.9

12.0

5.3

7.4

0.2

100

2170

Allgraduates

10.3

17.7

25.7

12.0

6.8

27.5

0.2

100

150,975

Significance

level

***

***

***

***

***

Source:

AsforTable

1.

Notes:

aIncludes

manufacturingindustry,agriculture,forestry,fishing,mining,quarrying,electricity,glass,watersupply

andconstruction.

bIncludes

wholesaling,retailing,repairofmotorvehiclesandpersonalandhousehold

goodshotels,restaurants,transport,storageandcommunications.

cIncludes

financialactivities,property

development,renting,businessandresearchactivities.

dIncludes

publicadministration,defence

andsocialsecurity.

eIncludes

health,socialwork,other

community,socialandpersonalservices

f Includes

private

householdswithem

ployed

personsandinternationalorganizations/bodies.


wholesale distribution and they were much less likely to be employed in thepublic sector of the economy. So where were mathematics graduates more likely tobe employed? The answer to this question is ‘business services’, a sector thatincludes banking, financial services and the property market. In fact, the majorityof the 2007 maths graduates found employment in that sector. Thatpercentage, at almost 54%, was more than double the corresponding figure forthe graduates of other subjects. This is a significant finding as it shows thatmaths graduates are vulnerable to a downturn in banking, property and financialservices.

When the economy enters a recession, the rates of unemployment rise fastest andhighest for groups who are just entering (or re-entering) the labour market. Theseinclude school-leavers and newly minted graduates. We might therefore expect theunemployment rate for maths graduates coming onto the labour market to rise alongwith that of the graduates of other subjects. We might also expect unemployment torise most amongst the graduates of subjects who find employment in those sectorsthat are most affected by the economic downturn. Table 3 shows that mathematicsgraduates are amongst those who are most exposed to a recession in banking,finance, property and other business services. Mathematics lecturers who care abouthow well prepared their students are for their next steps after graduation willpresumably wish to ensure that they have an opportunity to gain appropriate skillsfor finding graduate employment.

What sort of actual jobs do the employed mathematics graduates do? Table 4looks at the data in terms of occupational categories.

Were maths graduates more successful than other graduates in finding ‘graduatelevel’ jobs or were many reduced to non-graduate jobs? The answer to this question ismixed. They were less likely than other graduates to be employed in jobs thatrequire the minimum general level of education of those leaving compulsoryeducation (10.1 compared with 13.3%). On the other hand, they were more likely tobe employed in administrative and secretarial occupations that normally requiresuccess only at GCSE or A level (15.3 against 13.0%).

Proceeding up the job hierarchy based on entry level qualifications, Table 4shows that almost a quarter (24.5%) of maths graduates found employment in‘associate professional’ occupations. These are the jobs that normally requirea substantial period of further study/training beyond A level. This compares withover a third (34.1%) for graduates-in-total who found employment in such jobs.At the top end of the hierarchy are ‘professional occupations’ which normallyrequire a degree or post-graduate entry qualification. Maths graduates wereconsiderably more successful than the rest of the population of new graduates insecuring such positions – Table 4 shows that such jobs accounted for over 40% ofmaths graduates compared with less than 30% of graduates in total.

In summary, the latest data on the next steps of graduates after leaving universityshows that, compared to other graduates, maths graduates were less likely to still beunemployed 6 months after graduation and they were more likely to:

(1) enrol directly for a research degree or other higher degree or teacher training(2) get a job in the ‘business services’ sector which includes banking, property

and financial services(3) get a graduate level job in a professional occupation, but also more likely to

get a job in administrative/secretarial services.


Table

4.Theoccupationalcategories


2007whogained

UK

homeem

ployment.

Subject

Managers

andsenior

officialsa

Professional

occupationsb

Associate

professional

occupationsc

Administrativeand

secretarial

occupationsd

Selling,service

andelem

entary

occupationse

Other

fTotal

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

No.

Mathsgraduates

7.5

41.5

24.5

15.3

10.1

0.9

100

2120

Allgraduates

8.9

29.0

34.1

13.0

13.3

1.5

100

143,570

Significance

level

**

***

***

***

***

**

Source:

AsforTable

1.

Notes:

aJobsin

thiscategory

tendnotto

beentry-level

jobsfornew

entrants

tothelabourmarket.

bNorm

allyrequireadegreeorequivalentqualificationandoften

requirepost-graduate

qualification.

cNorm

allyrequireasubstantialperiodoffurther

study/trainingbeyondschool-basededucation.

dNorm

allyrequireagoodstandard

ofgeneraleducationofthekindacquired

atschool(e.g.successwithGCSE/A

-levels).Someoccupationsin

thisgroup

alsorequireadditionalvocationaltrainingpossibly

work-based.

eTheminim

um

level

ofeducationisnorm

allythatacquired

bytheendoftheperiodofcompulsory

education.Someoccupationsin

thisgroupwillalso

haveshort

periodsofwork-relatedtrainingin

areassuch

ashealthandsafety,foodhygieneandcustomer

servicerequirem

ents.

f Process,plantandmachineoperatives

together

withskilledtrades

occupationsrequiringwork-basedtraining.


Are these findings equally applicable to male and female maths graduates? This is the

issue discussed in the next section of this article.

2.2. Gender issues

Table 5 compares male and female maths graduates at the highest level of

aggregation of first destination. The first thing that strikes the eye is that the

distribution for male and female graduates-in-total is more similar than it is for male

and female graduates of mathematics alone.For graduates-in-total, the only variation in the figures occurs after the decimal

point of each number in the relevant rows. By contrast, for mathematics graduates,

the females were much less likely to be unemployed 6 months after graduating than

male graduates. At 13% the unemployment figure for male maths graduates was not

far off the figure of 14.5% for graduates-in-total (Table 1), but the

unemployment figure for female maths graduates was only 8.8%. Table 6 looks at

whether the relative propensities of male and female maths graduates to take on

different forms of further study or training offers any clues in understanding this.Table 6 shows that the male maths graduates were much more likely to go on to

a higher degree than their female counterparts; they were more than twice as likely

to progress to a research degree and significantly (1% level) more likely to proceed to

a taught post-graduate degree. By contrast, their female counterparts were more than

twice as likely to go on to do a PGDip or PGCert which is required for teaching.Table 6 illuminates the differences in the study/training destinations of male and

female graduates, but it is not clear whether the differences simply reflect similar

gender-based differences amongst all graduates. That issue can be explored by simply

shuffling the rows from Table 6 to produce Table 7.Table 7 reveals that the distribution of female maths graduates was much less

similar to that of the distribution of female graduates-in-total than that of male

maths graduates (as shown in Table 6). In other words, as far as the destinations of

maths graduates are concerned, the effects of subject are much stronger than the

effects of gender. For example, although female mathematics graduates were half as

likely to progress to a higher degree as their male counterparts, they were twice as

likely to do a higher degree as were female graduates-in-total.Table 8 compares the distribution of female and male mathematics graduates

across different sectors of the economy.Table 8 shows that the main significant differences between the employment of

male and female maths graduates is that females were more likely to find

employment in teaching and males were more likely to find employment in banking,

financial services, property and other business services. There were no other

significant differences at the 1% level.In this case, it is worth noting some of the differences that were not significant for

the male and female maths graduates. For graduates-in-total the percentage of

males going into industry was much higher than for females (14.9 against 7.0%).

By contrast, there was no significant difference for the male and female maths

graduates. For graduates-in-total a third of the female graduates went on to the

sector titled ‘health, personal, community, social services and social work’ compared

with less than a fifth of male graduates-in-total. Again, for maths graduates there


was no significant difference between the percentage of female graduates going intothis sector (7%) and that of their male counterparts (7.6%).

Overall, the impression conveyed by this table is that the subject effect ismarkedly stronger than the gender effect. This impression can be tested by shufflingthe rows again to produce Table 9 which compares the first destination of femalemaths graduates with female graduates-in-total and likewise for male graduates.

In Table 9, one comparison, in particular, is worth emphasizing and that is therelative importance of business services in the employment of maths graduates ofboth sexes. Although female maths graduates were less likely to find employment inbusiness services than their male counterparts (50.3 against 56.6%) both groups weremuch more likely to do so than graduates-in-total of either sex (33% for males and20.5% for females). The importance of this issue is discussed in the next section ofthis article.

Finally, Table 10 shows the first destination of male and female maths graduatesin terms of the actual occupations in which they found their jobs.

Amongst the mathematics graduates, a higher percentage of females than malesobtained jobs in professional occupations, the ‘gold-star’ graduate jobs (45.5compared with 38.6%). This is in stark contrast to the positions for graduates-in-total where males were more likely to get the jobs in the professions. This situationis reversed in the case of ‘associate professional’ jobs (which require a period ofstudying or training after school but not necessarily a degree). Amongst graduates-in-total a higher percentage of female graduates found employment in ‘adminis-trative and secretarial’ and that applies to the female maths graduates too; these arethe occupations which have a history of employing more women. Recall (fromTable 6) that for female maths graduates the percentage of graduates who were stillunemployed 6 months after graduating was about 5 percentage points below that oftheir male counterparts. Table 10 offers a possible explanation for this in terms of thegreater likelihood of the females accepting (or being offered) employment inadministrative/secretarial jobs rather than remaining unemployed.

Table 5. The major categories of first destination of first degree graduates in 2007.

Worka

(includingwork with

further studyor training)

Furtherstudy ortrainingonly

Seekingemploymentor trainingb

Total graduatesof knowndestinationc

Subject (%) (%) (%) (%) No.

MathematicsFemale graduates 66.3 24.9 8.8 100 1245Male graduates 61.3 25.7 13.0 100 1770Significance level *** ***

All graduatesFemale graduates 69.6 16.2 14.2 100 99,255Male graduates 69.1 16.1 14.8 100 73,410Significance level ** ***

Source: As for Table 1.Notes: As for Table 1. Female and male graduates are shown separately.


Table

6.Thesub-categories

offirstdestinationoffirstdegreegraduatesin

2007(subject-centred).

Further

academ

icstudy(includingwork

andfurther

academ

icstudy)

Work

only

aHigher

degree

(Research)

Further

study

Higher

degree

(Taughtcourse)

Teacher

Training

andother

PG

Cert/Dip.

Other

trainingb

Seeking

employment

ortrainingc

Totalgraduates

ofknown

destinationd

Subject

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

No.

Mathem

atics

Fem

ale

graduates

47.8

2.8

7.2

15.7

17.7

8.8

100

1245

Male

graduates

46.0

5.9

11.6

7.3

16.1

13.0

100

1770

Significance

level

***

***

***

***

Allgraduates

Fem

ale

graduates

60.3

1.4

6.9

7.4

9.8

14.2

100

99,255

Male

graduates

60.1

2.7

8.9

4.0

9.6

14.8

100

73,410

Significance

level

***

***

***

***

Source:

AsforTable

1.

Notes:AsforTable

2.Fem

ale

andmale

graduatesare

shownseparately.


Table

7.Thesub-categories

offirstdestinationoffirstdegreegraduatesin

2007(gender-centred).

Further

academ

icstudy(includingwork

andfurther

academ

icstudy)

Work

only

aHigher

degree

(Research)

Further

study

Higher

degree

(Taughtcourse)

Teacher

Training

andother

PG

Cert/Dip

Other

trainingb

Seeking

employment

ortrainingc

Totalgraduates

ofknown

destinationd

Subject

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

No.

Fem

ale

Mathem

atics

47.8

2.8

7.2

15.7

17.7

8.8

100

1245

Allgraduates

60.3

1.4

6.9

7.4

9.8

14.2

100

99,255

Significance

level

***

***

***

***

***

MaleMathem

atics

46.0

5.9

11.6

7.3

16.1

13.0

100

1770

Allgraduates

60.1

2.7

8.9

4.0

9.6

14.8

100

73,410

Significance

level

***

***

***

***

***

**

Sources:AsforTable

1Notes:AsforTable

2.Fem

ale

andmale

graduatesare

shownseparately.


Table

8.Theem

ploymentcategories


2007whogained

UK

homeem

ployment(subject-centred).

Industry

aRetailand

wholesaleb

Business

Services

cEducation


defence

and

socialsecurity

d

Health,personal,

community,social

services

and

socialwork

eOther

fTotal

Subject

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

No.

Mathem

atics

Fem

ale

graduates

6.5

13.0

50.3

16.8

5.9

7.0

0.5

100

925

Male

graduates

7.6

14.9

56.6

8.4

4.8

7.6

0100

1245

Significance

level

***

***

**

Allgraduates

Fem

ale

graduates

7.0

16.7

20.5

15.2

7.0

33.3

0.2

100

88,625

Male

graduates

14.9

19.0

33.0

7.3

6.4

19.3

0.1

100

62,350

Significance

level

***

***

***

***

***

***

***

Sources:AsforTable

1.

Notes:AsforTable

3.Fem

ale

andmale

graduatesare

shownseparately.


Table

9.Theem

ploymentcategories


2007whogained

UK

homeem

ployment(gender-centred).

Industry

aRetailand

wholesaleb

Business

Services

cEducation


defence

and

socialsecurity

d

Health,personal,

community,social

services

and

socialwork

eOther

fTotal

Subject

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

No.

Fem

ale

Maths

6.5

13.0

50.3

16.8

5.9

7.0

0.5

100

925

Allgraduates

7.0

16.7

20.5

15.2

7.0

33.3

0.2

100

88,625

Significance

level

***

***

***

**

MaleMaths

7.6

14.9

56.6

8.4

4.8

7.6

0100

1245

Allgraduates

14.9

19.0

33.0

7.3

6.4

19.3

0.1

100

62,350

Significance

level

***

***

***

**

***

Sources:AsforTable

1.

Notes:AsforTable

3.Fem

ale

andmale

graduatesare

shownseparately.


Table

10.Theoccupationalcategories


2007whogained

UK

homeem

ployment.

Managersand

seniorofficialsa

Professional

occupationsb

Associate

professional

occupationsc

Administrative

andsecretarial

occupationsd

Selling,service

andelem

entary

occupationse

Other

fTotal

Subject

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

(%)

No.

Mathem

atics

Fem

ale

graduates

5.1

45.5

23.0

18.0

8.4

0100

890

Male

graduates

9.3

38.6

25.6

13.4

11.4

1.6

100

1230

Significance

level

***

***

***

**

***

Allgraduates

Fem

ale

graduates

7.4

26.8

37.0

15.4

12.7

0.7

100

82,705

Male

graduates

11.0

32.1

30.2

9.8

14.2

2.7

100

60,865

Significance

level

***

***

***

***

***

***

Sources:AsforTable

1.

Notes:AsforTable

4.Fem

ale

andmale

graduatesare

shownseparately.


Female maths graduates were less likely to find employment as managers or

senior officials than their male counterparts (5.1 compared to 9.3%) and this too

reflects a gender imbalance that is also found in the figures for graduates-in-total.

3. Conclusion

This article has produced a range of findings that are relevant to people involved in

the higher education of mathematics students, including:

(1) at least until 2007 the percentage of mathematics graduates still unemployed

at the end of the year in which they graduated was lower than the average for

all other subjects,(2) mathematics graduates were more likely to register directly for further study

or training than graduates-in-total,(3) they were more likely to get a job in the ‘gold standard’ of professional

occupations that require a degree or post-graduate qualification for entry,

but were also more likely to get a job in administrative/secretarial services,(4) they were more likely to get a job in ‘business services’, a sector that includes

banking, finance and property services,(5) compared to their male counterparts, female maths students were not only

less likely to be unemployed 6 months after graduating but also less likely to

be employed in a professional occupation and they were more likely to be

employed in job in administrative/secretarial services. Female graduates were

less likely to find employment in business services than their male

counterparts, but not much less so. The business services sector employed

more maths graduates of both sexes than graduates-in-total.

These findings are significant for everyone involved in the higher education of

maths students. Which findings are most significant is likely to depend on a person’s

particular role in the higher education of maths students. For example, university

careers advisors are likely to find all the results of considerable interest. Senior

administrators in universities are likely to be most interested in the employment and

unemployment rates of maths graduates and the percentage in non-graduate jobs;

these impact on university performance indicator ratings by which institutions are

judged and they affect the allocation of resources between universities. However, the

largest group to whom the findings are relevant are university lecturers and course

teams who are responsible for curriculum decisions that have the most direct impact

on the higher education of maths students.We have seen (Section 1) that the fate of newly graduated maths students has an

impact on both the prospects for the advancement of mathematical knowledge

(through its impact on the resources flowing into university mathematics and its

impact on the calibre of applicants to study university mathematics) and on the

advancement of the maths students themselves. This makes the prospects for maths

graduates relevant to both subject-centred and student-centred maths lecturers.This article has shown that a remarkably high percentage of maths graduates of

both sexes find employment in business services, the sector of the economy that

includes banking, financial services and property services. This heavy dependence on

a single sector of the economy puts the employment prospects of mathematics


graduates at risk. If this sector experiences a recession, then mathematics graduateswill be disproportionately affected.

From the mid-1990s the UK economy experienced a boom of unprecedentedlength and the ‘business services’ (including banking, finance and property)prospered the most. It is therefore likely that with the end of the boom the businessservices sector will decline the most and this is the sector that maths graduatesdepend on most for their employment. Such an eventuality would put new mathsgraduates at a disadvantage compared to other graduates and would adverselyimpact on university mathematics. A steep rise in the relative unemployment of newgraduates in mathematics would lead to a reduced choice of applicants for mathsdegrees, shifting resources to other subjects and pressure on maths lecturers toengage in activities related to student recruitment (such as school visits and ‘opendays’ for prospective students) rather than activities that contribute more directly tothe advancement of mathematical knowledge.

The potential problem, however, should not be exaggerated. There is little doubtthat a recession in business services would lead to a rise in the percentages of mathsgraduates finding other destinations. For example, it is likely that the percentage ofmaths graduates entering teaching in primary and secondary schools would rise asthis is a phenomenon which has occurred in past [7].

What can mathematics lecturers and course teams do in this situation? Theycould allow university careers advisors more time with their students to make themaware of the range of opportunities for employment of maths graduates outside ofbusiness services. They could allow a broadening of the curriculum of universitymathematics degrees to include units on skills for graduate employment. They couldtimetable sessions for specialists in graduate employment to work with the mathsstudents on strategies for finding graduate employment. These are only suggestionsand the range of options for addressing this potential problem is limited only by thecreativity and the imagination of maths lecturers individually and as course teamsthat plan the educational experience of maths graduates.

There are many conclusions that can be drawn from the findings of this article,but the one that stands out is the vulnerability of maths graduates to recession inbanking, property, finance and other business services. This leads to the furtherconclusion that mathematics lecturers individually and collectively need to turn theirattention to the question ‘how can we best prepare mathematics students for theirnext steps after graduation?’

The employment prospects of future maths graduates will depend on the answersthat can be found to that question as will the prospects for mathematics highereducation in universities in the forthcoming years.

References

[1] UGC, First Employment Destinations of University Graduates 1961–62, University Grants

Committee, HMSO, London, 1963.[2] UGC, First Employment Destinations of University Graduates 1962–63, University Grants

Committee, HMSO, London, 1965.

[3] P. Arnoux, D. Duverney, and D. Holton, The rise and fall of mathematical enrolments in the

French educational system: A case study, Int. J. Math. Educ. Sci. Technol. 40(1) (2009),

pp. 43–57.


[4] T. Bourner and A. Crilly, Mathematics graduates in the labour market, Int. J. Math. Educ.Sci. Technol. 13(2) (1981), pp. 227–239.

[5] N. Straker, The decline of school teaching as a career destination for mathematics graduates,Teach. Math. Appl. 6(4) (1987), pp. 151–156.

[6] T. Bourner and A. Rospigliosi, 40 years on: Long term change in the graduate employmentdestinations, High. Educ. Rev. 41(1) (2008), pp. 36–59.

[7] M. Berry, Graduates driven into teaching by depression, The Times Higher Education

Supplement, No. 72, (1973) p. 1.


mathematics students’ next steps after graduation

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