Understanding Waiting Time from Graduation to First Employment: Survival Analysis-Based Evidence from Ethiopia

Abstract

Most students considered that having a university degree is sufficient to be employed. However, obtaining a job after graduation becomes challenging, especially in developing countries. As a result, some graduates have to wait a considerable amount of time to get their first job. We estimated the average waiting time for first employment for 2019 first-degree graduates from Debre Markos University (Burie campus), Ethiopia. The median waiting time for the first employment of graduates was 35 weeks, showing that 50% of graduates managed to secure their first job 35 weeks after graduation. In addition, Cox proportional hazard and log-normal accelerated failure time models were fitted to model waiting time for first employment with various factors. It was found that cumulative grade point average, gender, internship, and age of the graduates were significant factors that affect the waiting time for first employment of graduates. Finally, we documented that though cumulative grade point average is important to pass the first phase of elimination criteria, it is not the only metric that employers consider.