MANILA, Philippines – Fresh graduates working in law, healthcare-related industries, and journalism are the highest paid, according to Jobstreet’s 2017 Fresh Graduates Report.

Jobstreet Philippines country manager Philip Gioca presented the report to the press on Wednesday, March 15.

The report was based on the unique jobs published on Jobstreet from September to December 2016 and on a survey sent out to employers on fresh graduate hiring preferences. The survey had a total of 644 respondents.

The following are the highest paying jobs for fresh graduates, according to the report, based on the average salaries given:

1. Law/legal services – P27,124
2. Healthcare-related – P23,216
3. Journalism – P21,777
4. IT-related – P21,703
5. Education – P21,457
6. Actuarial science – P21,048
7. Training and development – P20,838
8. Banking/financial services – P20,092
9. Public relations – P20,055
10. Advertising/media planning – P19,960

Jobstreet noted that salaries in law, healthcare, and journalism have increased since 2015, while IT specialists – which was frequently in the Top 3 in the previous years – decreased.

Does it matter where you graduate?

According to Jobstreet’s employer survey, most of the graduates hired in 2016 were from Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP, 56%), the University of the Philippines (UP, 46%), and the University of Santo Tomas (UST, 44%).

When employers were asked from which school their best fresh grad hires came from, respondents ranked UP first, PUP second, and Ateneo de Manila University 3rd.

When asked if it matters which school you came from when it comes to being hired after graduating, Gioca said that it doesn’t: “I think it doesn’t matter anymore which school you go to because of the industries are so diverse.”

He added: “But you have to recognize that PUP actually churns about 50,000 graduates a year and if you compare it to an Ateneo, which I know is churning out a thousand. So there’s a discrepancy in that space alone,” he said.

Jobstreet’s survey also found that the manufacturing (33%), healthcare (26%), and IT – software (22%) industries are less likely to hire fresh graduates.

The main reasons companies have for not hiring fresh graduates are that the companies only have specialized positions (43%), they only hire applicants with work experience (29%), and there were no job vacancies (10%).

The 3 factors that affect a fresh graduate’s chances of getting hired are attitude, field of study, and asking salary. – Rappler.com