Australia spurns IT postgraduates: bad news for workers?

Stephen Withers
Monday, 08 September 2008 12:02

IT Industry - Market

ICT professionals with a coursework masters reported median salaries of $65,700 compared with $68,000 overall ($49,500 vs $50,000 for those entering full time employment for the first time), while those with a research masters or PhD attracted $65,000 compared with $64,000 overall ($67,000 vs $60,000 for those entering full time employment for the first time).

The number of research masters/PhD graduates working in ICT and in their first full-time job was quite small, so take that last comparison with a pinch of salt.

So what sort of jobs did people with postgraduate qualifications in electronic/computing engineering or computer science most likely to get?

For diploma or certificate holders, the three most common occupations were computer network professional, ICT support technician and telecommunications engineering professional (13.3 percent for each). A coursework masters was most likely to lead to employment as a programmer, and almost a quarter of those gaining a research degree are now university lecturers or tutors.

That last point should be no surprise, as it is not uncommon for junior academics to be working towards a PhD alongside their employment.

The situation was much the same for computer scientists. The main difference was at the diploma/certificate level, where people were most likely (14.8 percent) to go into programming. Programming was also the most common outcome for coursework masters graduates (17.5 percent), while 38.9 percent of research masters and PhD graduates were working as lecturers or tutors.

And you know the way we keep hearing about efforts to attract more women into the IT industry? Page four reveals how well they do in terms of salaries.