Czech graduates among more “modest” regarding starting salaries, according to Graduate Barometre

The results of an annual study conducted by research institute Trendence called the Graduate Barometre, suggests that Czech graduates of technical and economic universities are more modest than graduates in fellow former Communist bloc countries including Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovakia.

Photo: Filip Jandourek

On average, Czech graduates who took part in the poll, expected around 30,000 crowns per month – which is higher than the national average – but not particularly high for business and technical sectors. Some 11,500 graduates took part in the survey.

One student of Prague’s University of Economic told Czech daily Mladá fronta Dnes, he wasn’t “crazy” to expect a starting salary of 40 thousand when he found a job, but that 25 was probably reasonable. According to some experts, Czech graduates have their feet on the ground, recognizing that they lacked experience and that getting a job might not be as easy as once seemed.

The head of one personnel agency, for example, pointed out that following the economic crisis, experience was regarded by many employers as a must, making it harder for those just starting out to get their foot in the door. While others in the eastern European neighbourhood might expect greater salaries, the big question is whether that desire was reflected by reality. To quote a line form a recent popular action movie: “Want doesn’t get.”

As for dream jobs, according to the Graduate Barometre 2014 poll? In the field of business, 12.9 percent named the Mladá Boleslav-based carmaker Škoda Auto. Google finished a close second on the list (12.6%), followed by the Czech National Bank, third (25%). Energy giant ČEZ was fourth with 8.6 percent and Apple fifth with 8.0.

Regarding technical positions (Engineering and IT), Škoda Auto likewise finished first, followed by Google, the Czech Academy of Sciences, IBM, and again in fifth spot, ČEZ.

Analysts point out that both traditional and social media largely influenced the attractiveness of firms for young graduates, and that firms perceived or reported to be doing well, not surprisingly, had risen in attractiveness, while others had fallen. Some noted that ČEZ, which used to be number 1, may have suffered in graduates’ perception because of the cancelation of a major tender on new reactors at the Temelín nuclear power plant.