Some 15% of undergraduates are planning to start their own company after graduating, research from small business insurer Direct Line for Business has revealed.
And many undergraduates already operate their own businesses while studying. Over 52,000 students currently run their own enterprise, in industries ranging from events promotion to software
Of those graduates planning to start their own business, 45% stated they were driven by the desire to be their own boss.
Over a quarter, (27%) believe they will earn more money by starting their own enterprise than they could by working for someone else. A worry over suitable job opportunities has motivated a further 19% to contemplate starting their own company.
Male undergraduates display a greater entrepreneurial spirit than their female counterparts. One in five (20%) male students plan to start their own enterprise post-university, compared to 11% of female undergraduates.
Given the billion dollar valuations of Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook and Larry Page’s and Sergey Brin’s Google, which were both started while the founders were at university, it is little wonder undergraduates are inspired to set out on their own.
Jane Guaschi, business manager at Direct Line for Business, said: “This research goes to show that we are truly a nation of entrepreneurs.
“It’s encouraging to know that companies such as Google, Facebook, Wordpress, Asceno, and even Time Magazine, which were all founded by students at university, are inspiring the Millennial Generation to strike out on their own.
“The latest generation of graduates is clearly fiercely independent and wanting to control the destiny of their own careers, rather than answering to anyone else.”
Those studying creative, arts and design courses at university are more likely than any other student to start their own business.
Over a quarter (26%) of those studying these courses plan to start their own company upon graduation.
Those studying STEM subjects such as engineering, science and maths are the least likely (12%) of all the university disciplines surveyed to consider starting their own enterprise upon graduation.