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Determinants of Job Finding among College Graduates: with Emphasis on the Effects of GPA

Taeyoung Jung1 · Keyyab Lee1

1 College of Business Administration, Hongik University

Published: March 2005 · Vol. 8 No. 2 · pp. 159-184
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Abstract

This study analyzes the effect of GPA on job finding using database on college graduates. Contrary to many studies which found no relationship between GPA and job finding, our analyses find that GPA has a significant effect on job finding, especially for finding employment in large companies. This inconsistency seems to come from the fact that those with low GPA adjust their level of aspiration before they enter the job market. As a result, GPA does not seem to have an effect on finding employment itself. Nevertheless, it does have an effect in finding employment in jobs considered to be highly desirable, that is, finding employment in large companies. As control variables, our analyses includes variables such as sex, age, military service completion, majoring in science and engineering, location of campus, transfer status, multiple major, participation in internship, completion of preparatory courses for employment. Our analyses find that military service completion has a positive effect in finding employment itself but has a negative effect in getting a job in large companies. Similarly, age has a negative effect in getting a job in large companies, although it has no effect in finding employment per se. These results seem to imply that those who completed military services before they enter the job market are well aware of the negative effect of age in the job market, which leads them to adjust their level of aspiration instead of leading them to put more efforts in preparing themselves for finding a better job. Sex has no effect in finding employment, although it does have a signigicant effect in finding employment in large companies. Our analyses find an interesting result concerning the relationship between location of campus, majoring in science and engineering, and finding employment. Difficulty of finding employment among those who major in science and engineering, a phenomenon cited to be a problem our society is currently facing, seems to be a problem of those who graduate from colleges whose campus is in areas other than Seoul. Among those who graduate from colleges located in Seoul, those who major in science and engineering do not differ in finding employment from those with degrees in other fields. Furthermore, they have a better achievement in getting a job in large companies compared with those who have degrees in other fields or those with science and engineering degrees from colleges located in areas other than Seoul.
Keywords: 취업취업률취업확률학점학사관련변수