New research out this week has revealed that high earnings and job security are the main priorities for male and female third-level students in Ireland, when it comes to contemplating their future career path. The findings were unveiled by Universum, part of the IrishJobs.ie hiring platform. Next on the list of priorities are a friendly work environment and work-life balance. In addition, flexible working has risen by two places in 2022, a rise from 10th place last year. In addition, the report found women value ethics and purpose more than men in their job search, who place greater onus on competitive remuneration and innovation. High earnings and job security are in the top two spots, on mounting concerns amongst students of the impact of inflation and rising cost of living.

Salary
The report also showed there are varying expectations in terms of salary when it comes to the men and women that took part in the survey. In regard to what their best salary might be, male students expect to earn €40,827 within their first full-time position after graduating, whilst female students forecast earning €37,097, representing a 9% pay gap. Although a gender pay gap is evident in all fields of study, it was highest amongst students of Natural Science, with females expecting to earn €4,344 less on average per year compared to their male counterparts.

Graduate roles
The IrishJobs.ie site shows the number of advertised grad roles rose by 94% in Q2 this year. Quarter-on-quarter, the number of grad roles increased by 13%, with jobs up 30% compared to 2019 figures. The highest number of grad jobs were posted by food, engineering, financial services, and professional services companies. According to Steve Ward, UK and Ireland Business Director at Universum: “There is a whole new cohort of Gen Z and Millennial students who will be looking to enter the workplace from this month. Employers that want to attract and retain this latest generation of talent need to ensure their recruitment and attraction strategies reflect what graduates are looking for in their employer." A total of 8,199 third-level students took part in the survey, within the Business/Economics, Engineering, IT, Natural Science, Humanities, Law, and Health/Medicine sectors in Ireland.