Career Survey Report - Class of 2007

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Survey and Responses

In this report, information is provided about graduates' employment status, the fields and location of employment, the techniques used to secure employment, and respondents' opinions about how well Bridgewater prepared them for their current position.  Results are reported for the entire group, and, when appropriate, for individual fields of study.

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Employment Status

Six months to a year after graduating, 87 percent of the Class of 2007 respondents were employed. Of those 87 percent were employed on a full-time basis and 13 percent were employed part-time. 

Seventy-eight respondents indicated that they were not currently employed. These respondents fell into one of the following categories: they were in graduate school (36), they could not find employment in their field or location (30), or they were not looking for employment at this time (12).

  Graduates Reason for Not Employed
Numbers are represented as frequency, not percentages

 

 Despite the slight economic downturn in late 2007 and early 2008, the job market for new college graduates remained steady. While unemployment rates nationally have increased to a four year high of 5.7% (August 2008) the average Massachusetts unemployment rate of 4.6 percent consistently stayed below the national average each month over the past year. The Massachusetts economy has faired better than the nation's because of its strengths in education, healthcare, technology and professional and business services. In addition, company growth coupled with the first of the baby boomers retiring or nearing retirement age will prolong the demand for new college graduates. The unemployment rate of BSC graduates for the Class of 2007 respondents was 4.8 percent.

(US Bureau of Labor Statistics and Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Workforce Development)

The graph below illustrates the BSC unemployment rate over the past five years and includes only
 those graduates who indicated they could not find a job in their field or location.

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Location of Employment 

Bridgewater graduates continue to work in the Commonwealth and contribute to the vitality of the Massachusetts economy.  Approximately 91 percent of this year's respondents are employed in the state.  Only four percent of the Class of 2007 graduates indicated that they were employed in other New England states, and another five percent were employed outside the region.

 

 

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Fields of Employment

The Class of 2007 graduates are employed in a variety of fields.  Thirty-eight percent indicated that they were employed in Business, either manufacturing or non-manufacturing. Thirty-three percent reported employment in Education (including Elementary, Early Childhood, Physical Education and Special Education), eleven percent in Human Services and Non-Profits and eight percent in Health-related fields.  The percentages have stayed consistent over the past few years. The survey data closely reflects the academic programs students have chosen to pursue while at BSC. Traditionally graduates seek employment in the fields of business, education, health and human services. The number of graduates in government positions was reported as six percent.

Three percent of the Class of 2007 indicated that they were self-employed.  Less than one percent of graduates indicated that they were in the Military and/or had entered full-time volunteer service i.e., Peace Corp and VISTA.

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Relation of Position to Academic Major

 

 

 

 

 

 

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BSC Preparation

Graduates were also asked how well they thought BSC had prepared them for their position by responding to the statement, "The academic program at BSC prepared me for my current position". Graduates used a scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Overall 84 percent agreed or strongly agreed with the statement. The response to this question has stayed consistent over time with responses ranging from 81 to 88 percent over the past ten years.

"The academic program at BSC prepared me for my current position"

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Salary Data

BRIDGEWATER STATE COLLEGE
Class of 2007 Salary Data - Employed Full-time
Data is represented in percentages.

For comparison purposes a list of regional salaries and national salaries is included on page 9.

Less than 12,000 to 20,999

On the lowest end of the scale from less than $12,000 - 20,999 Education majors represent 14 percent, Humanities 10 percent, Social Sciences 8 percent, Science graduates represented 6 percent and Business 2 percent in this category.

$ 21,000 - 32,999

In this range the Social Science majors led with approximately 49 percent followed by Humanities at 38 percent, Science at 33 percent, Education majors at 31 percent and Business majors at 28 percent.

$33,000 - 44,999

In this range Education represented 49 percent of the graduates.  In this same range Science and Business majors represented 42 percent followed by Humanities at 35 percent and Social Science at 30 percent.

$45,000 - 54,000 and over

On the upper end of the salary range Business majors represented the majority at 23 percent in this range. Closely behind were Science majors at 18 percent and then it trailed off with Social Sciences at 3 percent, Education at 3 percent and Humanities students representing 3 percent in this salary range.

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Methods of Obtaining Current Position

Graduates were asked to reveal what they considered to be the primary source used to obtain their current position.  The top three ways graduates landed their first job are highlighted below: 

Job Search Strategies:

• Networking with others - 43%

•  Internet job postings - 21%

• Hired from internship or part-time employment - 17%

Gaining relevant work experience while in college and developing a network of professional contacts can enhance student marketability significantly. Again this year, The National Association of Colleges and Employer Job Outlook Report highlighted the top ways in which employers seek new hires is through on-campus recruiting, internship programs, and employee referral programs; all three hiring methods are forms of networking.

 Other methods in which students obtained employment included BSC recruiting programs such as on-campus interviews, resume referrals, and job fairs. 

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Graduate School

One hundred and twenty students were enrolled in graduate school at the time of the survey, which represents about 19 percent of respondents. Of the 120 students 71 were enrolled full-time and 49 were enrolled part-time.  Historically 15 to 18 percent of our graduates go directly on to graduate school either full or part-time.

 Of those enrolled in graduate school 105 are in masters programs, 6 in post baccalaureate programs, 1 in professional degrees and 7 in a doctoral program.  Of the 105 graduates who were enrolled in graduate study 47 are enrolled at BSC. A list of all the colleges and universities where the Class of 2007 graduates are enrolled can be found in Appendix B.

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Internships & Undergraduate Research

Graduates were asked about their involvement with internships.The vast majority of respondents (78%) received academic credit for the experience, and most agreed the internship (93%) was related to their field of study. Although there has been a growing trend by some industries and organizations to pay interns, most students (62%) did not get paid.   The chart to the right answers the question "Did you complete an internship?" This does not include student teaching. For comparisons purposes we have included the responses for the last three years.

 

 The 34% of students that completed an internship were asked to respond to the following questions.

We include a few questions on undergraduate research. The questions asked if the student was involved in undergraduate research and if the experience helped them with the current responsibilities or assisted them in getting their job. The responses are illustrated in the charts below.

       

     

Notes/Acknowledgements:

•       Appendix C is a Summary Sheet of the responses to survey items for all employed respondents. For any major with more than 10 responses we can provide a break out report. Please contact Career Services at (508) 531-1328 for details.

 

Salary Survey
Average Starting Salary Offers for Entry Level Graduates 2007 

Major	Northeast Average  $	National Average  $
Accounting	48,271	46,718
Business Administration	50,371	43,701
Human Resources	45,027	41,680
MIS	49,250	47,648
Marketing	38,603	40,161
Economics	56,172	48,483
Advertising	30,000	33,831
Communications	36,305	33,798
Journalism	+	31,515
Public Relations/Org. Comm.	36,000	32,504
Elementary Education	33,167	34,565
Early Childhood	+	29,200
Physical Education	+	34,863
Secondary	+	36,508
Special Education	+	34,834
Criminal Justice/Corrections	33,083	32,724
English	27,543	32,553
Foreign Language	39,000	31,520
History	35,150	33,768
Liberal Arts/Gen. Studies	+	33,443
Political Science/Government	37,580	34,590
Psychology	30,717	31,631
Social Work	28,400	28,273
Sociology	34,423	32,033
Visual and Performing Arts	34,286	29,956
Other Humanities	32,500	30,401
Social Sciences    Anthropology & Geography	28,000	33,397
Biological Sciences	40,126	34,953
Chemistry	47,259	41,506
Environmental Science	32,600	38,336
Geology	+	40,786
Mathematics/Statistics	52,541	46,594
Physics	57,500	44,308
Computer Science	57,951	53,396
Computer Programming	60,000	60,500
Computer Systems Analysis	51,660	50,543
Information Systems	52,976	50,852

 Reprinted from the NACE Salary Survey and Northeast Regional Salary Survey, summer 2007 with permission of the National Association of Colleges and Employers, copyright holder.

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Last Modified: August 19, 2008