The Daily, Friday, May 4, 2001. Income prospects of British Columbia university graduates

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Income prospects of British Columbia university graduates

The research study, Income prospects of British Columbia university graduates examines the annual market income of individuals who obtained bachelor's degrees from universities in British Columbia between 1974 and 1996.

According to the study, men and women who graduated during the early 1990s earned less in the two years after graduation than did their counterparts a decade earlier.

However, incomes for graduates during the 1990s grew at a faster rate than they did during the 1980s. As a result, incomes for the more recent set of graduates eventually caught up with those of the earlier group, and surpassed them.

Male graduates with a bachelor's degree in 1990 earned 11.1% less two years after graduation than did their counterparts in 1980. However, the gap narrowed to 6.7% four years after graduation, and to 2.1% within six years. Within seven years of graduation, the gap had virtually disappeared.

Among women, the gap was less pronounced. Female graduates with a bachelor's degree in 1990 earned 3.4% less two years after graduation than did their counterparts in 1980.

However, incomes for female graduates caught up faster, surpassing the incomes for the 1980 group of graduates within four years. Seven years after graduation, female graduates from the class of 1990 were earning 11.5% more than their counterparts in 1980.

This study also examines incomes for graduates in eight major fields of study. It compares the rates of growth of median income in one field, in which people started with lower salaries, with those in another field in which people started with higher salaries. The study found that salaries grew in both groups, but they grew at a faster rate in the field where graduates started with lower salaries.

Income after graduation was relatively high for graduates with applied degrees such as engineering, education and health. For example, five years after graduation male engineering graduates had median annual market incomes 28% higher than social science graduates. For 1974 graduates, the gap in absolute terms was $11,959 in constant 1992 dollars.

The range of incomes narrowed over time. Fifteen years after graduation, the median salary for male engineering graduates was just 14% more than that of male social sciences graduates. For 1974 graduates, the gap in absolute terms was $8,322, again measured in constant 1992 dollars.

In contrast, annual incomes for women after graduation appeared to converge at a faster rate. For example, five years after graduation, women with health degrees made 38% more than their counterparts with social sciences degrees. Within 15 years of graduation, women in health earned just 8% more.

Note: University graduate data for this study come from university administrative records, while income data come from tax records for the years 1982 to 1997. The analysis used a sample size of more than 700,000 graduates. Market income includes income from earnings, net self-employment income, and income from assets, and is expressed in 1992 dollars. The study examines men and women in eight major fields of study: education, physical education, recreation and leisure; fine and applied arts; humanities; social sciences; agriculture and biological sciences; engineering and applied sciences; health professions and occupations; and mathematics and physical sciences. Those graduating with bachelor's degrees were included in this study. Some of these graduates may have gone on to take masters, doctorate or other degrees.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Andrew Heisz (613-951-3748), Business and Labour Market Analysis Division.