Class of 2003 Career Survey Results

Career Survey Report - Class of 2003

Survey and Responses

The Career Services Office conducts an annual survey of the previous year’s graduating class to determine the career and employment status of the new graduates.  The 2003 survey was mailed out in early January to 1135 alumni representing bachelor degree graduates from January, May, and August 2003.  A second mailing was sent out in February and follow-up phone calls were conducted in April and May.  For the fourth year, we utilized an on-line survey located on our web site that allowed graduates to send their results to us over the Internet.

Through these combined efforts we yielded a total of 574 replies, a response rate of approximately 51 percent.  Appendix A provides a comprehensive listing of the majors included in each field of study and the number of respondents from each major.  The chart below offers a short summary of the respondents.

Fields of Study

# of Respondents

Social Sciences

140

Education

132

Management

108

Humanities

137

Sciences

 57

Total

574

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. 

Employment Status 1

Six months to a year after graduating, 86 percent of the class of 2003 was employed. Of those employed,  86 percent were employed on a full-time basis  (up five percent from the class of 2002)  and 14 percent (up one percent from 2002) were employed part-time. 

Eighty respondents indicated that they were not currently employed. These respondents fell into one of the following categories: they were in graduate school (37); they could not find employment it their field or location (28), or they were not looking for employment at this time (15).

Graduates Reason for Not Employed

Numbers are represented as frequency, not percentages

The unemployment rate for the Class of 2003 of 4 percent remains the same as the previous year’s graduates.  Although the overall the job market for new college graduates is starting to improve, it may take a while to see a measurable recovery. The unemployment rate of BSC graduates for the Class of 2003 respondents was still slightly lower than the Massachusetts unemployment rate of 5.6 percent during the same time period as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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

  

Location of Employment2

 

Bridgewater graduates continue to work in the Commonwealth and contribute to the vitality of the Massachusetts economy; approximately 92 percent of this year’s respondents are employed in the state. For the Class of 2003 graduates, only two percent indicated that they were employed in other New England states, and another six percent were employed outside the region.

   

Fields of Employment3

The Class of 2003 graduates are employed in a variety of fields.  Thirty-nine percent indicated that they were employed in Business, either manufacturing or non-manufacturing. Thirty-two percent reported employment in Education (including Elementary, Early Childhood, Physical Education and Special Education), 11 percent in Human Services and Non-Profits and 8 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 service. The number of graduates in government positions increased slightly from 5.4 percent in 2002 to 6.5 percent in 2003.

Two percent of the Class of 2003 indicated that they were self employed.  Less than two percent of graduates indicated that they were in the Military and/or had entered full-time volunteer service i.e., Peace Corp and VISTA.

Relation of Position to Academic Major4

Graduates were asked to identify the degree to which their position was related to their academic major.   Seventy-five percent felt that their current position was either directly or somewhat related to their major.  It appears that despite some continued uncertainty in the job market the majority of the graduates in the Class of 2003 were able to secure positions closely related to their field of study. 

BSC Preparation5

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 85 percent over the past ten years.

 “The academic program at BSC prepared me for my current position”

Salary Data 6

[Out of the 574 returned surveys, 425 answered the salary range question representing 74% of the respondents.]

 BRIDGEWATER STATE COLLEGE
Class of 2003 Salary Data - Employed Full-time
Data is represented in percentages.

Annual Salary $

Social Sciences Humanities Sciences Education Management
< 12,000

3%

0%

0%

7%

0%

12,000-14,999

4%

4%

3%

7%

1%

15,000-17,999

2%

2%

0%

7%

0%

18,000-20,999

5%

10%

3%

10%

2%

21,000-23,999

6%

11%

8%

4%

8%

24,000-26,999

23%

7%

14%

10%

7%

27,000-29,999

13%

14%

3%

8%

6%

30,000-32,999

9%

13%

22%

14%

14%

33,000-35,999

8%

11%

11%

9%

10%

36,000-38,999

2%

1%

8%

4%

9%

39,000-41,999

5%

2%

3%

4%

6%

42,000-44,999

0%

2%

0%

0%

1%

45,000-47,999

1%

2%

0%

0%

3%

48,000-50,999

1%

1%

0%

0%

2%

51,000 -53,999

0%

1%

3%

1%

3%

54,000 & over

3%

0%

11%

1%

12%

Missing

14%

18%

14%

13%

16%

 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 31percent, Humanities 16 percent, Social Sciences 14 percent, Sciences six percent and Management Science graduates represented only 3 percent in this category.

$ 21,000-32,999
In this range the Social Science majors led with approximately 51 percent followed closely by Science majors at 47 percent, Humanities at 45 percent and Education majors at 36 percent. Management students in this range represented 35 percent.

$33,000-44,999
In this range Management Science represented 26 percent of the graduates.  In this same range Science majors represented 22 percent followed by Education majors at 17 percent, Humanities at 16 percent and Social Science at 15 percent.

$45,000-54,000 and over
On the upper end of the salary range Management majors represented the majority at 20 percent in this range. Closely behind were Science majors at 14 percent and then it trailed off with Social Sciences at 5 percent, Humanities at 4 percent and Education students representing only 2 percent in this salary range.

Methods of Obtaining Current Position 7

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%

  • Hired from internship or part-time employment - 20% 

  • Internet/Newspaper job postings - 28%

These successful strategies mirror the consistent advice and recommendations of the National Association of Colleges and Employers annual hiring trend survey. Employers continue to advise students to focus on networking and gaining relevant work experience while in college.  Employers have indicated they will continue to find new hires first in their internship and co-op programs. Whether hired by a past internship employer or not, practical work experience has become a key factor in enhancing student marketability in a competitive job market.  

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

Graduate School8

Ninety nine students were enrolled in graduate school at the time of the survey, which represents about 17 percent of respondents. Of the ninety nine, 50 were enrolled full-time and 49 were enrolled part-time. The consistent trend over the last several years indicates between 15 to 18 percent of our graduates go directly on to graduate school. Increasingly, graduate programs are encouraging applicants to have at least one to three years of professional work experience before enrolling. Many BSC students wait at least a year or two before applying for graduate study.

Of those enrolled in graduate school, 67 are in masters programs, 9 in post baccalaureate programs, 4 in professional degrees and 4 in doctoral programs.  Of the ninety nine graduates who were enrolled in graduate study, 37 are enrolled at BSC. A list of all the colleges and universities where Class of 2003 graduates are enrolled can be found in Appendix B.

Internships & Undergraduate Research9

Graduates were asked about their involvement with internships. The vast majority of respondents (82%) received academic credit for the experience, and most felt the internship (96%) was related to their field of study. Although there has been a growing trend by some industries and organizations to pay interns, most students (76 percent) did not get paid. 

The chart below identifies the questions asked and the overall response rate from the 157 graduates who indicated that they participated in an internship. This does not include student teaching. For comparisons purposes we have included the responses for both the class 2002 and 2001.

 Internship Questions Comparison - Class of ’01, ’02 and ‘03 

Question

Class of 2001

Class of 2002

Class of 2003

Did you complete an internship? 27%  Yes
72%   No 		36%  Yes
64%   No		 22% Yes
78% No
Did you receive academic credit? 75%   Yes
25%   No 		83%  Yes
17%   No		 81% Yes
19% No
Was the internship related to your field? 91%   Yes
  9%    No 		93% Yes
  7%   No 		96% Yes
  4% No  
Was the internship required by your major? 49%  Yes
51%   No 		49% Yes
51%  No 		34% Yes
66% No
Was the internship paid? 24%  Yes
76%  No 		28% Yes
72%  No 		24% Yes
76% No

For the third year we included 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: 

  • Included in Appendix C is a Summary Sheet of the responses to survey items for all graduates. 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. 

  • A complete copy of this report and a listing of employers will be available on the Career Services website in late August 2004.  http://www.bridgew.edu/CareerServices/.

  • Special thanks to Alice Parsons & Denise Diliddo who assisted in the data collection and reports.

Average Starting Salary Offers
For Entry Level Graduates 2003 Data

Major

Northeast Average  $

National Average  $

Accounting

41,734

40,647

Business Administration

37,123

36,012

Human Resources

38,205

35,400

MIS

41,904

40,556

Marketing

33,439

34,038

Economics/Finance

41,179

39,438

 

 

 

Advertising

24,250

29,495

Communications

31,970

30,565

Journalism

28,600

28,541

Public Relations/Org. Comm.

31,045

31,128

 

 

 

Elementary Education

32,425

29,702

Early Childhood

37,000

26,686

Physical Education

26,000

27,434

Secondary

35,016

29,264

Special Education

29,367

29,122

 

 

 

Criminal Justice/Corrections

29,029

28,646

English

28,122

28,786

Foreign Language

31,857

31,048

History

33,253

31,862

Liberal Arts/Gen. Studies

40,000

30,166

Political Science/Government

32,159

31,183

Psychology

29,521

27,683

Sociology

29,713

28,065

Social Work

28,825

26,719

Other Social Sciences

30,835

29,098

Visual & Performing Arts

33,000

28,982

 

 

 

Biological Sciences

29,280

29,456

Chemistry

44,536

37,733

Environmental Science

31,650

31,057

Geology

32,000

32,828

Mathematics/Statistics

43,550

40,512

Physics

44,927

42,365

 

 

 

Computer Science

48,404

47,109

Programming

45,000

45,346

 Information Systems

38,467

38,282

Systems Analysis

n/a

41,118

   

 

 

Reprinted from the EACE July 2003 Salary Survey with permission of the National Association of Colleges and Employers, copyright holder.

Last Modified: July 7, 2005