This paper looks at the relationship between young peoples’ tertiary education qualifications and their employment and earnings once they finish their tertiary study. It has a particular focus on differences in the post-study earnings between males and females, using the Employment Outcomes of Tertiary Education (EOTE) dataset.
Key Results
- Post-study income appears to be influenced by variables associated with tertiary study, such as completion of qualifications, the level of study and the field of study. Earnings generally increase with the level of study and there is a premium for completing qualifications for both males and females.
- There are differences between male and female participation and earnings in the labour market post-study. When controlling for participation in the labour market, males earn more than women after their tertiary education.
- These differences persist over the course of employment, but females’ earnings increase less than males’ over the four years post-study so that females earn less than males at all levels after four years.
- Females have a better return to tertiary education than males when measured by earnings premium over the national median earnings by gender but this may be in part due to the low overall baseline wages of females compared to males.
- There is evidence to suggest the better returns for women entering the workforce from study are due to gaining greater access to work.
- It is likely that labour market influences that have not been quantified in this study, such as industry and occupation worked in, also influence earnings differences between men and women after study. Future studies will make adjustments for these.