Survey samples Class of 2002's employment, education plans

9:45 a.m., July 15, 2003--Approximately 70 percent of UD’s 2002 graduates are employed full-time (up 1 percent from 2001), 18 percent are pursuing graduate education and 5 percent are employed in part-time positions, according to a survey conducted by UD’s Office of Institutional Research and Planning, in conjunction with the MBNA Career Services Center.

Only 7 percent reported that they were still seeking employment at the time of the survey, which was conducted by institutional research analyst Heather K. Isaacs.

For the report, surveys were sent to a random sampling 857 graduates (drawn from the pool of 3,473 graduates). Approximately 48 percent of the sample (410 graduates) responded.

The survey focused on four areas—the current activities of graduates; where they are employed and their salary; the degrees full-time graduate students plan to obtain; and the major fields of study of those attending graduate school full- or part-time.

In addition to the 18 percent now in graduate school, more than half (57 percent) of the respondents said they plan to attend graduate school in the near future. Some 23 percent said they are planning to attend within one year; and 34 percent said they are planning to attend after one year.

Of those planning to continue their studies, 60 percent were planning to work for a master’s degree, 18 percent were pursuing an academic doctorate and 20 percent were working for a professional degree. The most common graduate fields of study were education and physical education (33 percent combined). Graduate study in medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine decreased approximately 2 percent to 4.2 percent, and graduate study in law decreased 1 percent to 10 percent.

Approximately 29 percent of graduates work in Delaware, followed by New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland.

The average reported salary was $33,549, a 4 percent decrease from the average reported in the 2001 survey.

The survey asked graduates about their use of the MBNA Career Services Center. Seventy-one percent of the 2002 respondents used the center, and 52 percent used three or more of the different services provided.

Job opportunities for 2003 grads
Although national data indicates this is a tight year for employment with a weak job market, UD’s employment data has not shown much change, according to Edgar Townsend, director of the MBNA Career Services Center at UD.

There are difficulties in getting jobs in certain areas, but other fields continue to be strong, such as health services, including nursing and physical therapy, and teaching where UD’s approximately 400 certified teachers are in demand, he said. Engineering and business, especially accounting, also are doing fairly well in terms of employment, Townsend said.

“In general, students who encountered the most success are those who have combined internship experience and extracurricular involvement with sound academics,” he said.

Close to 80 percent of the Class of 2003 availed themselves of the services offered by the career services center, and the center continues to be there for recent graduates to help them find employment, according to Townsend.

“We maintain a web site [eRecruiting], which is linked to the career services web site at [www.udel.edu/CSC]. Throughout the summer we will be posting 15-20 full-time employment opportunities each week on this site. Students who registered during the year will continue to have access through Aug. 31 and can reactivate their accounts after that as alumni to continue viewing employment opportunities,” he said.

“The important thing is for job seekers not to be discouraged—there are many persons in the same situation,” Townsend said. “The successful graduates are those who don’t put the job search on the back burner, who use all the resources available to them and who continue to work at it.”

Article by Sue Moncure

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