University survey results released Monday found that 56 percent of students from the May 2014 graduating class hold a full-time job and earn a median salary of $53,628.
The results of the University Career Center’s survey — which gathered data over six-month time frame — detailed the statistics of post-graduation employment for alumni who received bachelor’s degrees last year.
“If we can be more intentional about getting students into a career preparation program earlier in their college careers, then you’re going to see more students prepared to jump into the job market after graduation,” said Kelley Bishop, director of the Career Center and the President’s Promise.
Bishop said these full-time employment statistics can be improved. While it may be a challenge all colleges face, he suggested a higher focus on career preparation could be beneficial to students.
The report, which reflects 75 percent of the 2014 graduating class, indicates 5 percent are employed as part-time employees, 26 percent are continuing their education, 2 percent are participating in a volunteer or service program, 1 percent are involved in the military and 1 percent are starting a business.
“The economy for college grads is still going to improve, but it’s still competitive. We know we need to start integrating this Career Center service into academics,” Bishop said, noting resume-building classes as an example.
The Career Center is working to improve its services for undergraduate and graduate students to prepare them for employment after graduation, Bishop said. The center has various online resources, career workshops and one-on-one services to help guide students to future career paths, but some students still leave this university feeling unprepared for the job market, he said.
“Students put this all off until senior year and then scramble off,” he said. “You may have stepped over the steps of what finding out what you’re interested in and why. You must take the time to do experiential learning and begin forming professional contacts.”
Bishop also said the Career Center aims to dissuade students from pursuing graduate school simply because they are uninformed about the career opportunities already available with their current degree.
“There are some students enrolled in graduate school because they weren’t sure what they were going to do in their career field, so they just decided to continue on to their master’s degree [mostly] because they were under-informed of their career choices now,” he said.
Michael Wiederoder, a bioengineering doctoral candidate, said even with Career Center resources, he is nervous about what his future holds in the engineering industry.
“I would say the market is good; companies are investing in engineering majors,” Wiederoder said. “However, with bioengineering there is a greater supply-to-demand ratio than other engineering majors. I am worried about getting a job because my training is so specific that finding the right fit can be hard.”
Senior Brian Nowak said he was worried about employment prospects but used the Career Center throughout the past two years to find job postings on Careers4Terps.
“Going into the spring semester I was definitely stressed and just started going into overdrive to find a job, which thankfully worked out,” the finance and information systems double major said.
The survey also found this university was the single largest employer of 2014 alumni, employing 75 people from that graduating class.
Despite student concerns, Bishop said he believes this university will see an upsurge of companies recruiting on the campus, due in part to this university’s switch to the Big Ten and the rebounding economy.
“We’re going see a lot more interest from other employers because a lot of employers target the Big Ten schools,” he said. “The economy is doing so well, [companies] are looking to expand and find new talent.”
CORRECTION: Due to an editing error, a previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the report reflects 58 percent of students in the 2014 graduating class. The report reflected 75 percent of the class. The article has been updated.
