Information science grads get top pay

Monthly compensation of college graduates six months after graduation in 2014 [ZHANG CHENGLIANG/CHINA DAILY]

Recent graduates in information science receive the highest salaries when they enter the workplace, a survey found.

Information science bachelor's degree graduates received 4,846 yuan ($780) a month, and master's degree graduates 7,400 yuan a month, ranking at the top, followed by the real estate and finance industries.

The survey also found that 43.82 percent of recent finance major graduates were most satisfied with their salary, even though they were not paid the most, and 43.19 percent of master's graduates in finance were happy with their salary, both ranked first on the salary satisfaction list.

The findings were contained in the 2014 Chinese College Graduates' Employment Quality Report, released on Thursday by New Jincin, an education consulting and technology company in Beijing.

"The results showed that the information science and finance industries offer the most competitive salaries and promising futures, which matches China's Internet Plus action plan," said Zhang Jingxiu, executive director of the New Jincin Research Institute.

The plan, announced by Premier Li Keqiang last year while delivering the annual Government Work Report, aims to integrate the Internet with traditional industries and fuel economic growth.

China had 7.27 million college graduates last year and 7.49 million this year, with employment becoming a severe concern. The survey showed that the employment rate surpassed 90 percent last year.

Researchers sent out 300,000 e-mail questionnaires and received 98,000 responses from 1,300 higher education institutes across China, surveying graduates' employment experiences up to Dec 31.

"It is a global strategy to take the six months after graduation to survey graduates' employment quality, which allows more time for graduates to find jobs and researchers to analyze data," Zhang said.

The survey also found that nearly 70 percent of graduates who work in government sectors were satisfied with their jobs, ranking at the top of the employment satisfaction list.

Previous reports said that the employment rate for vocational school graduates was higher than for those with bachelor's degrees, which raised concerns about the value of higher education.

However, according to the new report, the employment rate in the six months after graduation of master's degree holders was the highest. The survey found that 94.9 percent of master's graduates were employed.

Among all college graduates, 91.53 percent were employed. The employment rate of vocational school graduates was the lowest, with 90.93 percent of them in jobs.

The average monthly salary of master's graduates was 5,521 yuan, while for bachelor's degree graduates it was 3,739 yuan a month.

Graduates from vocational schools received 2,848 yuan a month.

"The level of education still correlates with payment," Zhang said.