The information below details a portion of the results of the Follow-up Survey for the Class of 2008.
To summarize the final report, 376 of the 497 graduates reported their career status, for a 75.7% return rate. This year’s return rate was 13.1% higher than for the class of 2007. All respondents completed the survey on-line. Graduates were sent a postcard with the survey site address, and follow-up was done through phone calls and personalized e-mails. Data was collected between December 15, 2008 and February 28, 2009.
According to the Michigan State Recruiting Trends Survey for 2007-2008, published in Fall 2007, the college labor market was reported by employers as being between “good” and “very good”, a “historic high” (p. 3). At the time they published their report, the executive summary stated that “employers expected to increase the number of opportunities 7% over last year” for bachelor’s level candidates (p. 2). Unfortunately, while the year began as predicted by the time summer arrived declines in the economy began to show. During the months that data was collected, the unemployment rate in the country reached levels not seen since the early eighties.
Considering the condition of the job market, members of the Class of 2008 faired pretty well with a total placement rate of 93.6%, down just 3.8% from the previous year in which placement rates reached record levels. This year’s overall placement rate is consistent with the placement rate for graduating classes in the late nineties.
Of the Class of 2008, 72.2% indicated at the time of the survey that they were primarily pursuing a career, representing a 5.3% decrease from the previous class. A new question was added to the survey this year to capture respondents that had secured employment after graduation but lost or transitioned from that employment due to various reasons. As an example of how the condition of the economy impacted placement, six of the 24 respondents who reported that they were “in transition” at the time they completed the survey had been recently laid off from their jobs. Had they been included in the employment section, it would have increased the total placement rate to 95.2%.
More than 81% of employed graduates found their jobs through one of two ways, either direct application or networking. An interesting change to note this year is the significant increase in the percent of respondents who obtained employment as the result of a previous internship (which is included in the networking total). That figure was 13.3% this year, up from 4.3% last year. Education ranked as the #1 career field chosen by the St. Lawrence University graduating class for the eighth year in a row, followed by Banking/Finance/Investments, Sales & Marketing, Science & Technology, and Government/Non-Profit to make up the top five.
Graduate/Professional school attendance stayed the same this year, with 19.9% attending. Education, Science & Technology, and Law were the top three fields for graduate study with 13.3% of graduates choosing to study in one of the three.
Carol L. G. Bate, Ph.D.
Assistant Dean of Student Life and Director of Career Services
June 2009
