Newly graduated academic engineers are thriving. Just under 3,500 academic engineers and architects graduated in Finland in 2023, and according to TEK’s survey, 79 per cent of them already had a job or knew where they would be employed at the time of graduation.
This was revealed by the Graduate Survey, a yearly feedback survey for recent graduates conducted by the Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland TEK together with Finnish universities in technology.
Across the fields of education, the employment rate was highest among graduates of industrial management, of whom 89 per cent at least knew where they would be employed at the time of graduation. Employment rates were also high among graduates who had studied building construction and surveying technology (83%) and mechanical and energy engineering (82%). The lowest employment rates were found among architects: 67 per cent of new graduates already had a job or knew where they would be employed.
Academic engineers and architects tend to start their career already before graduating. 63 per cent of last year’s graduates had at least one year of work experience in their own field at the time of graduation.
TEK’s Analyst Arttu Piri points out that the positive employment figures of graduates are largely based on networks built while studying and the workplaces where the students complete their master’s thesis.
“Last year's surge in the number of graduates is partly due to the backlog caused by COVID-19 being cleared. Some students struggled with the pandemic lockdowns and remote learning and their studies were delayed. The main reasons for delays, however, were working while studying and factors related to the master’s thesis,” says Piri.
Great degree, but difficulties coping
Academic engineers and architects are satisfied with their degree. 79 per cent of last year’s graduates would choose the exact same degree again. The graduates who were most satisfied with their degree were the architects graduating from Aalto University (97%), and the academic engineers from Åbo Akademi University (87%) and LUT University (85%).
“The results are proof of the high quality of education in technology and the attractiveness of the field. These are the people who will shape the future – without them, there will be no innovations or sustainable growth,” says TEK’s Director of Public Affairs Juhani Nokela.
However, one in three graduates had been worried about coping either constantly or several times during their studies. The situation has not improved in recent years. In 2022, 36 per cent of graduates had been worried, while in 2021, 32 per cent had been worried.
“These results are concerning, but the survey indicates that new graduates also consider looking after their well-being to be a key working life skill. Hopefully, this way of thinking will spread across workplaces with them,” says Arttu Piri.
More survey results: TEK Graduate Survey
TEK Graduate Survey was responded to by 59% of all academic engineers and architects who graduated in Finland last year.
What topics does TEK study?
We at TEK are constantly researching the field of technology: employment, salaries, equality, and coping with work or studies, for example. We have studied and published information on many themes for years – you are welcome to examine and compare the results using, for example, time series visualizations. Read more about our research: