Nearly 80 percent of young people with a university degree get a job in their chosen profession within six months after graduation, but their monthly salaries are on average very low – between 3,500 and 5,000 kuna (€470-€670), showed a survey by the Croatian Agency for Science and Higher Education.

The survey was conducted on a sample of some 5,500 university students from all over Croatia who graduated in the year 2015/2016.

One in five people who get a job after graduation receive a salary under €470, mainly young women and those who graduate from public universities, while only 5.3 percent university graduates have monthly salaries between 7,000 and 10,000 kuna (€950-€1,350).

Some 2.9 percent graduates receive salaries over 10,000 kuna (€1,350), mainly men who graduated from a private university with very good or excellent grades.

Although their salaries are extremely low given their education, young people in Croatia who intend to stay in the country do not see money as the key element when choosing a job. The survey showed they were more interested in job security, autonomy, learning possibilities, and challenges.

Some 50 percent of surveyed graduates found a job in under two months after receiving their degree, while 85.6 were employed within a year after graduating. Some 56 percent found their first job in the private sector, Novi List daily reported.

Only 1.2 percent have started their own business.

Those who remained unemployed said there were not enough job openings in their profession, while some 10 percent of them also said they did not feel their studies have prepared them for the labour market. Another 10 percent said the working conditions offered to them were unacceptable, while some 7.5 percent are looking for employment abroad.

Under 30 percent of all those surveyed thought their university has prepared them for their first job, while student mobility is the last on the list of student activities, which means that Croatian university students almost never use the opportunity to spend a semester studying abroad.

(€1 = 7.40 kuna)

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