Australia spurns IT postgraduates: bad news for workers?

Stephen Withers
Monday, 08 September 2008 12:02

IT Industry - Market

A masters degree by coursework delivered fractionally better employment prospects, with an average of 11.3 percent of graduates still looking for full time work (excluding those involved in additional education programs).

The corresponding figures were an astounding 23 percent for computer science and 26.2 percent for electronic/computing engineering.

So what about a masters by research or a PhD? After all, we keep hearing that more education means better job prospects.

Sorry, no. A slightly bigger proportion of this group (11.9 percent) were still looking for full time work. And again, computer science and electronic/computing did worse than average, with 15.7 and 15.1 percent respectively still job hunting.

Is there any good news for IT workers?

Not really. Even if you do get a job in the field after completing a postgraduate qualification, salaries are generally nothing special relative to all employment areas.

The one standout seems to be a diploma or certificate, coupled with prior experience. The survey found a median salary of $69,000 for such people working in ICT, compared with $57,000 across all occupations. This was exceeded only by those entering managerial positions, who saw a median salary of $80,000.

The financial rewards of a taught masters or a research degree are close to average, as you'll see on page three.