What do business and administrative studies graduates do?

Emma Lennox, careers consultant at Queen's University Belfast, delves into the outcomes data for graduates of business and administrative studies subjects - for What do graduates do? 2023/24

A degree in a business and administrative subject can open doors to careers in multiple sectors, combining skills in problem solving and communication with business acumen and innovation.

Graduates from this cohort demonstrate strong career progression, with Graduate Outcomes data showing 65.4% of business and administrative studies graduates in full-time employment as opposed to the average of 58% from all subjects surveyed. Subjects included within this professional skills cluster include economics, finance and accountancy, business and management studies, hospitality, leisure, tourism and transport (HLTT), and marketing.

Employment status

Within this academic grouping, the employability prospects of graduates showed consistently higher than average numbers in full-time employment, the highest being marketing (71.3%) and the lowest finance and accountancy (62.4%), still surpassing the all-subject average of 58%. Both fields have demonstrated an increase from last year, up from 68.7% (marketing) and 58.8% (finance and accountancy).

Within this subject group the landscape of graduate destinations is diverse, highlighting both the variety of industries and professional pathways available. The number of these graduates in part-time employment ranged from 9.7% for HLTT and 8.8% for marketing, to 4.3% for economics, reflecting the flexible hours and project-orientated work of the sectors. Interestingly, the two subjects showing the highest numbers of part-time graduates were the two most dominated by female responses - 1,570 female to 820 male for HLTT, and 1,375 female to 1,000 male for marketing. Economics, finance and accountancy, and business and management studies had significantly higher male responses.

Further study

11% of all survey participants reported both working and studying post graduation. Within this professional skills group,

economics and finance and accountancy graduates were higher again with 13.1% and 15.9% engaged respectively. While 8.1% of all graduates reported pursuing solely further study, business and administrative studies graduates reported a significantly lower average of 4.7%.

This difference could reflect either the reduced necessity for additional higher education, or that the upskilling qualifications are gained alongside the practical aspect of their job. It could also indicate that courses include professional qualification exemptions within the curriculum. 58.4% of finance and accountancy graduates were pursuing a professional qualification, whereas marketing and economics students were most likely to pursue a Masters level qualification, 56.9% and 52.1% respectively.

Salary

Notably this year there was very little increase, and sometimes a decrease in salary, when data compared no further study since graduation with those who had completed significant study since graduation. This could be influenced by macroeconomic factors impacting the economy nationally as this pattern is consistent with all subjects surveyed.

Economics graduates had the highest average salaries with 61.9% reporting their industry as business and finance, highlighting the range of professional career paths and graduate schemes open to this cohort. Conversely HLTT graduates had the lowest salaries reported. Despite lower numbers of graduate schemes available, 25.1% of these graduates reported working in their chosen sector, mainly in a business, HR and finance capacity (22.4%). This data highlights the contrasting opportunities and potential career paths for graduates in different fields.

Written by

Emma Lennox

Careers consultant

Queen's University Belfast