Oh, the places they’ll go: Where do CSB/SJU graduates go after graduation?

04/02/2007

Since graduation is right around the corner, you might be wondering what CSB/SJU graduates do after graduation? Do they go to graduate school? Do they get jobs? Do some choose to provide full-time service in organizations such as the Peace Corps or Americorps? Where are they living?

For many years, Career Services has been surveying graduating seniors to get a snapshot of what alums are doing their first year out of college. Seniors are surveyed in the spring of their senior year before graduation with follow up contacts throughout that first year out of school. This follow up could occur through phone calls, e-mails and paper copies sent to students’ permanent addresses.  If you get one of these at your home, please be sure to forward it to your son or daughter's new residence. The purpose of these contacts is to find out what grads are doing and also to offer our assistance in their job search/grad school search if needed.

The information provided is extremely helpfulfor Career Services and the services we are able to provide to our students. When current students ask us "What do grads do with their psychology (or accounting or history or biology, etc.) major?" we can give them ideas of the variety of occupational areas graduates pursue.

Likewise, when parents participate in "Campus Visit Days" and ask questions such as "Where do CSB/SJU grads go after they graduate? Are they employed? Do they go to graduate school?" we can provide the answers

Here are a few highlights for you to consider from the 2005 Graduate Survey. We’re currently wrapping up the data collecting for the 2006 graduates but have found that this data is fairly consistent from year to year.

• CSB/SJU had a response rate of 96.8 percent of their graduating alums respond to the survey.
• 64 percent of the class identified themselves as situated in full-time employment. Of those choosing full-time employment, graduates are working for organizations such as General Mills, Target Corporation, Mayo Clinic, Teach for America, Martin Williams Advertising, Wells Fargo, Boston Scientific and Royalton Elementary School. Big, small, private, nonprofit, the list goes on and on!
• 7.6 percent chose to spend their first year out of college providing service for a one or two year commitment. After their volunteer commitment is completed, many of these alums choose to continue their education or find full-time positions in the education, corporate, non-profit, or governmental sectors.
• 23.1 percent of the class chose to continue their education right after obtaining their undergraduate degree. These graduates are entering graduate programs in professional areas such as medicine, law, and dentistry, as well as obtaining Ph.D.’s in psychology, biology, chemistry, and more. They’re attending schools such as the University of Minnesota, Creighton, Yale, University of Oregon, University of Maryland, University of Wisconsin, and Notre Dame.
• 3.2 percent were employed part-time (half of these choosing to work part-time) and 0.7 percent were not seeking employment for various reasons. Some of these grads may be working in a position that will provide additional experience and a "foot in the door" for their particular career.
• Overall, 98.6 percent were situated within one year of graduation.  "Levering Career Services’ help" and "Networking" were the two major methods graduates utilized to obtain their position.
• CSB/SJU graduates are represented in many sectors of the economy with 46.9 percent entering the "Private Sector Business," 19 percent in Education, 12.4 percent in the Non-Profit/Social Services, 11.5 percent in Health Care, 5.7 percent in Government, 3.7 percent in Technology, and 0.8 percent self employed.
• The Twin Cities’ metro area tends to be the "hot spot" for migration after CSB/SJU. 48.5 percent of our grads head to the Twin Cities, 13 percent stay in Central Minnesota, 9.8 percent go to other parts of Minnesota, 19.7 percent head to states outside of Minnesota, and 9 percent live and work abroad.
• Many of our alums continue to be connected to CSB/SJU by being a "career volunteer" - sharing career related information as part of a career panel or being available to students/alums for informational interviews and job shadowing experiences.

Whether you have a son or daughter graduating in May or in a few years, encourage them to make an appointment to come and talk with one of the Career Counselors and attend/participate in the many events offered by Career Services each semester.

We’re here to help!  Visit the parent section of our Career Web site.