A 2012 HESA survey of 2011 graduates indicates that six months after graduation, 63% of public administration and social policy graduates had entered employment in the UK or overseas, with around 7% going on to undertake work and further study.

Of those entering work, around 11% went into social and welfare professions and 11% went into management in the commercial, industrial and public sectors. Around 6% went into jobs in business and finance, and just over half of public administration and social policy graduates initially went into non-graduate jobs, taking clerical and secretarial positions or working in retail or catering to gain experience and earn a living while deciding on their future career or applying for other jobs.

Where are the jobs?

Graduates of social policy/administration degrees have a wide range of career choices to choose from, with the majority going on to work in:

• local or central government (see Local Government Careers );
• Civil Service ;
• the voluntary sector;
• law enforcement agencies such as the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)  or the police (see Police Recruitment );
• further or higher education;
• market and social research organisations;
• private sector areas such as retail, banking.

For an insight into potential employment areas see:

• public sector - this sector has three areas: central government and Civil Service; regional and devolved government; and local government. Regional and national government develop and implement government policies, often working with local authorities and other agencies related to policy administration.
• health and social care - the UK health sector employs about two million people from a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds. National Health Service (NHS) infrastructure support is vital and includes occupations such as IT, legal services, personnel and finance.
• charities and voluntary work - defining this sector is very difficult due to the huge range of areas it covers, but it includes organisations such as charities, housing trusts, not-for-profit organisations and community groups.

For further information on possibilities in other employment areas, see job sectors. 

Statistics are collected every year to show what HE students do immediately after graduation. These can be a useful guide but, in reality, because the data is collected within six months of graduation, many graduates are travelling, waiting to start a course, paying off debts, getting work experience or still deciding what they want to do. For further information about some of the areas of employment commonly entered by graduates of any degree discipline, check out What Do Graduates Do?  and your degree...what next?