According to a wrap up of 2008 graduate intelligence, harvested by bigmouthmedia from a series of recruitment events, the majority of Scotland's class of 2008 believed that the education system is not properly aiding the transition from student life. Some 56% of the recent graduates polled believed that university had not sufficiently prepared them for life in the business world. The research revealed a worrying lack of awareness about opportunities in 21st Century industries. Over 46.3% of those surveyed said they knew little about opportunities in digital marketing and felt that universities should help increase awareness of such emerging industries.
Some 39% also believed they should have been told more about the search marketing sector during their time in higher education. Respondents revealed a tendency to use online media to supplement gaps in the curriculum. Some 89% said that they had learned more about search engine optimisation and online marketing reading a range of industry blogs such as Search Engine Land and Search Engine Watch. The research also revealed that a career in search marketing is beginning to appeal to university leavers from disciplines not typically attracted to the sector. While 24.4% of the recent graduates enquiring about a career in the industry had marketing/advertising degrees and 29.3% had been studying ICT/Computing, the clear majority – 46.3% – had studied unrelated subjects.
