New Report Reveals Gender Differences in Occupations Four Years After College

A new report from the U.S. Department of Education tracks what college graduates from 2008 were doing four years later in 2012. The study found that 69 percent of 2008 college graduates were employed but not enrolled in higher education. Seventeen percent were enrolled in higher education and 11 percent were enrolled and also were employed.

In the report, only occupation data was broken down by gender. The report found that 4.6 percent of women who graduated from college in 2008 were employed in STEM fields. For men the figure was 20.0 percent. Nearly 13 percent of women college graduates held jobs in elementary or secondary education, compared to 4.2 percent of male college graduates. Nearly 15 percent of women were employed in the health care field, compared to only 4.7 percent of male college graduates. Women were nearly twice as likely as men to hold social services jobs. Men were more likely than women to be employed in sales, business management, and the trades.

The full report, Four Years Later: 2007-08 College Graduates’ Employment, Debt and Enrollment in 2012, may be downloaded by clicking here.