University of Nottingham

Nottingham

Nottingham University named #1 for graduate employment (HighFliers research)

So the 2014 HighFliers report has been published and Nottingham University has ranked #1 for employment. Warwick has been knocked out of the top 5 and Oxbridge remain in the top 5 as expected.

http://www.highfliers.co.uk/download/GMReport14.pdf?utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=cm (page 31)

Is it correct or a complete joke? Opinions?

1) Nottingham
2) Manchester
3) Cambridge
4) Oxford
5) Bristol
6) Bath
7) Warwick
8) Leeds
9) London Imperial College
10) London University College
11) Birmingham
12) Durham
13) Sheffield
14) Loughborough
15) Edinburgh
16) London School of Economics
17) Newcastle
18) Exeter
19) Southampton
20) Strathclyde
21) York
22) London King’s College
23) Glasgow
24) Liverpool
25) Cardiff

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

Blue56

As a Nottingham student I can say whilst this is clearly pleasing, it's not completely representative. For example, an engineer from Imperial or Cambridge would be far more employable than an engineer from Nottingham (assuming both have equal academic records). Likewise, Oxbridge provide a lot of opportunity for postgraduates and research, therefore, these graduates aren't 'employed' as such but progress onto academia.

I can say Nottingham's careers department is excellent and there is a lot of opportunity for networking with various recruiters, even as only a fresher i've been privileged to network with companies such as all of the Big Four, Dreamworks and Google. The thing that Nottingham's good at is producing breadth in its graduates - which is good for certain employers, but not for others. Breadth as opposed to depth best sums up Nottingham.

University of Nottingham

Nottingham

Seems about right.

Original post by Dpdr

I'm also a fresher and I couldn't agree more. I'm doing economics and have had the opportunity to meet employers such as Lloyd's Banking Group, Citibank and Goldman Sachs. I know for a career in finance Nottingham is right on par with other prestigious unis so this doesn't shock me. I'm not too sure about other career paths though

Reply 4

nulli tertius

Be carefully of the wonderfully self-referential methodology.

As part of the campus research for The UK Graduate Careers Survey 2013,
18,252 final year students from thirty leading universities were asked
the unprompted question “Which employer do you think offers the best
opportunities for graduates?”.
Between them, finalists named over 1,000 different organisations during
the survey – the one hundred employers with the most student votes form
The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers for 2013.

Reply 5

RebelV005

Original post by lizzy95

Hey,
I received an offer from Nottingham to study Economics too :smile:

Since you're studying there, can I just ask- Do you think going to a London based uni would be advantageous in the sense that it will allow greater exposure/networking with the financial world.

Reply 6

lizzy95

Original post by RebelV005

Hey,
I received an offer from Nottingham to study Economics too :smile:

Since you're studying there, can I just ask- Do you think going to a London based uni would be advantageous in the sense that it will allow greater exposure/networking with the financial world.

Yeah if you're talking about unis like LSE and UCL then definitely! You'd also have the opportunity to do that at unis outside of London just some banks that have come to Nottingham are Citi, Goldman Sachs, Lloyd's Bank and there was the opportunity to network with staff from Black Rock, As long as you go to a prestigious university that is often targeted by the big employers you should be fine :smile:

Reply 7

RussellG

Original post by ohdearinsanityy

It must be somehow true.
But I think we should consider the number of students in each university.

Number of students (Nottingham=100)
1) Nottingham 35,175 (100)
2) Manchester 39,165 (111)
3) Cambridge 18,448 (52)
4) Oxford 21,535 (61)
5) Bristol 18,770 (53)
6) Bath 15,449 (44)
7) Warwick 28,165 (80)
8) Leeds 33,585 (95)
9) London Imperial College 13,410 (38)
10) London University College 23,250 (66)
11) Birmingham 26,073 (74)
12) Durham 16,355 (46)
13) Sheffield 26,960 (77)
14) Loughborough 16,120 (46)
15) Edinburgh 30,377 (86)
16) London School of Economics 8,810 (25)
17) Newcastle 19,700 (56)
18) Exeter 17,950 (51)
19) Southampton 23,315 (66)
20) Strathclyde 19,755 (56)
21) York 15,265 (43)
22) London King’s College 18,630 (53)
23) Glasgow 23,162 (66)
24) Liverpool 20,655 (59)
25) Cardiff 30,930 (88)

Nottingham and Manchester are two of the largest universities.
So the number of graduates working in good companies must be naturally much more than other universities, even if their odds of employment are less than other universities.

Reply 8

uniofnottingham

Official Rep

The results of the High Fliers report reflect the continuing investment in the student experience at Nottingham, and the focus the University has on providing the best possible support for students as they prepare for a challenging job market. It’s also a testament to the fantastic work of our academic staff and professional services, and the calibre of our students.

The University of Nottingham encourages and supports students to ensure they have a full-rounded experience whilst studying, which includes participating in work placements. This includes the Nottingham Advantage Award, which enables students to take extracurricular modules alongside their academic studies, which build skills and experience in areas such as PR, finance and career planning through activities with the University’s Careers and Employability Service, Widening Participation and the Students’ Union.

Reply 9

3458349058349053

Original post by uniofnottingham

Lies, damn lies and statistics.

As pointed out above the top 100 list has been achieved by asking people who have not yet graduated what firms they *think* offer the best graduate opportunities. This leads to a bias towards the firms that have the money to advertise on campus all the time. Whether these firms *do* offer the best grad opportunities is another matter entirely.

In many ways it is self-reinforcing. I get surveyed and say Apple is a top grad employer. Based on this survey they get put in a book sent to 60,000 people telling next year's students they are a top graduate employer. This influences the next survey results and so on....

These “top employers” are a small percentage of the total jobs market and therefore completely unrepresentative of most graduate destinations. The list is dominated by law/ accountancy/finance firms which is great if you have an Economics or Law degree. Less so if you have studied Sociology and Politics.

The survey focuses on quantity of targeting rather than quality. In my view one firm offering guaranteed paid internships for anyone that gets a first from Nottingham is better than 25 or 50 companies holding dull Q and A style events to advertise their graduate schemes.

Following on, is it really that surprising that Nottingham is targeted so much when it is a large multi-faculty university. Many smaller universities will not have law department/economics departments and therefore do badly judged against the metric ‘How often do Goldman Sachs turn up?’.

Reply 10

3458349058349053

Original post by uniofnottingham

I just feel like you are selling people a lie with these kind of surveys.

I graduated with a First from one of your social science departments. My personal tutor wrote me a reference placing me easily in the top 10 students in the year group. I completed a relevant internship while studying. I engaged extensively in extra-curricular during my time at Nottingham.

Graduating has been like falling off a cliff. I feel as though my graduate prospects armed with this degree are non-existent. I am so bitter at being 20k in debt and feeling like the victim of a Ponzi scheme.

Reply 11

Jkizer

Surprising in a way but understandable since Nottingham is an excellent, all round university

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 12

MominK

I got an offer from both Bristol and Nottingham for accounts and finance. Should i really take the order which both unis are targeted to account?

Reply 13

RebelV005

Original post by MominK

I got an offer from both Bristol and Nottingham for accounts and finance. Should i really take the order which both unis are targeted to account?

You're gonna study ACCOUNTS and finance, so you tell me! :P

Reply 14

RebelV005

Original post by MominK

I got an offer from both Bristol and Nottingham for accounts and finance. Should i really take the order which both unis are targeted to account?

There are several other surveys which disagree with this report, so it won't make much of a difference. They are both really good unis, it depends upon your taste now.

Reply 15

so confused!

Hey,

I have the following offers:

Nottingham: Msc Finance and Investments
Aston: Msc Accounting and Finance

I don't know much about UK universities.
Are these good?
Should I accept the offer?
If yes, then between the two universities, which one is better?

Please help!!!!!!

Reply 16

Angieganjy

Original post by MominK

I got an offer from both Bristol and Nottingham for accounts and finance. Should i really take the order which both unis are targeted to account?

I got theirs offers for the same course too :smile:

I chose nottingham though , cause Notts has such beautiful campus :smile:

Reply 17

lila.li

Hi guys I have received offers from both Bristol and Nottingham to study Economics but I don't know which one to choose. Do you think a bsc economics from Bristol will be more employable than the one from Nottingham?

Reply 18

lizzy95

Original post by lila.li

I'm currently studying Economics at Notts and will say that it's highly regarded in Economics and as a result does attract a wide breadth of employers for fairs and presentations etc. Not sure on Bristol as I didn't apply there but it's got a good reputation too from what I can gather

Reply 19

Theriverboatsong

Original post by uniofnottingham

I'd still like to see Nottingham back in the top 12 in the UK league tables sooner rather than later, back to where they were 10-12 years ago. From what I read in their strategic plan, Nottingham only talks about improving their QS World ranking. Prospective students care more about the UK league tables, and as such Nottingham's poor performance in UK league tables is hurting the calibre of applicant it is getting.