Career
Coachcafé
Personal development for young alumni
The Coachcafé is an evening programme which is intended for young alumni (who graduated no more than five years previously) and involves three rounds of discussions. Each round will focus on one question:
1. What is your talent?
2. What is your dream?
3. What is your next step?
Each meeting will involve three participants, young alumni of Maastricht University, and one coach. The coach will supervise the discussion, ask stimulating questions, inspire the participants and help them find answers.
The concept has proved successful and similar events have been organised in various locations in the Netherlands for years. It helps young alumni to adopt a more mindful approach to what their true strengths and wishes are.
Independent team players
It has been shown that UM alumni are more competent than their colleagues trained elsewhere in ten professional skill areas. They have strong problem-solving abilities, work in a project-based manner, quickly find their way around information, and are masters at producing new ideas.
UM alumni are well capable of operating and managing independently while at the same time being strong team players who are open to colleagues. Moreover, they are broadly oriented towards Europe and the world and have excellent knowledge of English thanks to the usually English-taught programmes. They are doing equally well in national and international companies as in academic, cultural and societal institutions.
Maastricht University in de rankings
| Ranking | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QS World University Ranking | 121 | 169 | 173 | 200 | |
| THE | 98 | 88 | 94 | 103 | |
| Sjanghai | 281 | 260 | |||
| QS under 50 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 13 |
| THE under 50 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 6 |
For more information see rankings and accreditations
UM alumni and the labour market
Every year, Maastricht University surveys the labour market position of its alumni. We execute this investigation among master alumni who graduated 1, respectively 5 and 10 years ago.
The surveys provide for an interesting picture of the transition into the labour market of our graduates. Some remarkable findings of the 2018 edition are:
- More than 75% of our alumni work in a job requiring at least a master’s degree.
- More than 75% of our alumni work in a job that logically relates to their master programme.
- One year after graduation, alumni earn on average €2700 gross per month. 5 years after graduation, this increases to €3800, and another 5 years later this is €4400. They mostly work 40 hours per week (contract hours). It is good to realize that there are large differences across study programme.
- 5 years after graduation, two thirds of our alumni is employed at the same employer they started their career. 5 years later, this is still almost 50%.
- However, for both cohorts (5 and 10 years after graduation) we see that almost 50% wants to change employers, and almost one third actually expects to do so within a year.
- Finally, one year after graduation, no less than 89% of the alumni say they are (very) satisfied about their Master programme.
- In addition, 80% of the alumni would again choose the same programme at Maastricht University if they had to make that decision again. 5 and 10 years later these percentages are still high, 75% and 73%, respectively. In addition, if they would make a different choice, a large number of graduates would stay loyal to Maastricht University. In fact, we find that for each cohort only 10% would actually prefer another university.
For more interesting results of these surveys, please visit the website of our ROA, our institute for labour market research: www.roa.nl, see publications/factsheets.
We gratefully thank all alumni for participating in this research. Among the respondents, we selected five to receive a prize (subscription to a magazine). The winners in 2019 are Nina Bertels, Muyun Zhang, Lisanne Renskers, Lukas Bornemann and one graduate who preferred not to be mentioned here.
Vacancies and internships
Looking for a job or an internship? Visit UM Career Services they can provide you with information on:
links to UM vacancy databases
links to external vacancy websites
information on working and living abroad
workshops
career events
career advice
setting up your own company
Or go the UM Vacancy Board to see vacancies for recent graduates and professionals. The board also lists internships, part-time jobs and voluntary positions.
Life long learning
Maastricht University has a wide range of Postgraduate Programmes. So there is always a possibility to broaden or update your knowledge long after you have graduated. UM offers short courses, workshops and study programmes over a longer period of time. Also, the Language Centre has lots to offer if you have ambitions to learn a new language or improve one you master already. For some programmes counts that alumni are offered the courses or workshops for a special price.
Career Services
How can we be of service to you NOW, now that you just graduated?
Maastricht University Career Services is there to help students prepare for their professional career. But of course we won't forget about our alumni.
Up till 6 months after graduation you can make use of the following services:
- CV check and Quick Career Advice
- Vacancy database of UM Career Services
- Orientation workshops and career preparation workshops
- Presentations, network and career events
- Job interview simulation (individually and with video recordings)
- Individual assessment training
- Individual support from our career counsellors
- Online tips & tools
How can we be of service to each other LATER in your career?
UM Career Services can even be of service to the company or organisation for which you are employed. Your employer can also be of great value to us. We can assist each other through the following:
- The possibility to offer work placements and/or (starter) vacancies for free via our vacancy database
- The possibility to represent your company or employer at career events
- The organisation of a company visit for students
- Help in finding the right contacts within Maastricht University and/or study associations
- Enlisting UM students by means of a presentation, lecture or participation in a career event.
More information Career & Studies