By Jung Min-ho
Four in five college students think employers put a bigger emphasis on one's educational background than ability in hiring employees, a survey shows.
According to the survey conducted by the Hyundai Research Institute, 80.5 percent of 2,361 students from 132 universities said that having a degree from a prominent university is more useful than their ability when it comes to finding a job.
Most notably, 91.7 percent of survey participants who major in medicine, pharmacology and nursing said they agree with that notion.
The poll also highlighted the disparity in how students from different financial backgrounds perceive their job prospects.
A total of 67.3 percent of students who identified themselves as coming from high-income families said they believe they can get any job they want. The rate fell to 45.4 percent for students who classified themselves as members of low-income households.
"This comes in line with growing social concerns over solidifying succession of wealth and poverty, where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer," said Kim Byung-gyu, who conducted the survey.
While 64.9 percent of public college students said they believe they can get any job they want, just 56 percent of private college students said so.
A total of 37.1 percent said a sense of accomplishment is the most important thing to consider before choosing their job, followed by job stability (26 percent) and salary (20 percent).
When asked if they would like to work abroad, 59.3 percent said they would. The rate of response was higher among female students at 63.3 percent compared with 54.6 percent of male students.
Experts say an increasing number of students prefer working overseas, given that Korea has notoriously long working hours. According to government data in 2013, Koreans work 44.6 hours per week on average, the highest among OECD members.
Four in five college students think employers put a bigger emphasis on one's educational background than ability in hiring employees, a survey shows.
According to the survey conducted by the Hyundai Research Institute, 80.5 percent of 2,361 students from 132 universities said that having a degree from a prominent university is more useful than their ability when it comes to finding a job.
Most notably, 91.7 percent of survey participants who major in medicine, pharmacology and nursing said they agree with that notion.
The poll also highlighted the disparity in how students from different financial backgrounds perceive their job prospects.
A total of 67.3 percent of students who identified themselves as coming from high-income families said they believe they can get any job they want. The rate fell to 45.4 percent for students who classified themselves as members of low-income households.
"This comes in line with growing social concerns over solidifying succession of wealth and poverty, where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer," said Kim Byung-gyu, who conducted the survey.
While 64.9 percent of public college students said they believe they can get any job they want, just 56 percent of private college students said so.
A total of 37.1 percent said a sense of accomplishment is the most important thing to consider before choosing their job, followed by job stability (26 percent) and salary (20 percent).
When asked if they would like to work abroad, 59.3 percent said they would. The rate of response was higher among female students at 63.3 percent compared with 54.6 percent of male students.
Experts say an increasing number of students prefer working overseas, given that Korea has notoriously long working hours. According to government data in 2013, Koreans work 44.6 hours per week on average, the highest among OECD members.
