Future Plans Survey: Research design & May 2017 results Office of Institutional Research and Planning August, 2017

Survey Administration Methods What is the Future Plans Survey and how do we do it?

What is the Future Plans Survey (FPS)? 5 minute survey to collect detailed information from graduating seniors on Future employment Company, location, job title, salary, helpful resources, when began job search Graduate/Professional school Institution, program, degree, awards/scholarships Work-experiences at NC State Participation in and helpfulness of, use of career services and fairs Link to instrument

Who is eligible to participate? All undergraduates who have completed the “Application for Degree” process to graduate in May are invited to participate Students graduating in the Fall are invited to participate in the December Future Plans Survey

When and how is the survey administered? The survey goes live on about the first day of final exams (May 2, 2017) The survey stays in the field for about 4 weeks (May 26, 2017) How Online (Qualtrics) Accessible via handheld mobile device Confidential (but not anonymous)

How are senior encouraged to participate? Email invitations and follow-up reminders Incentives Amazon.com gift cards 8 * $25 for early responders 1 * $100 for all responders Departments are encouraged to contact their graduating seniors Electronic Bulletin Boards Flyers Sent to academic departments & posted around campus Announcements at (some) commencement ceremonies

How many graduating seniors actually do the survey? Over the years . . .

How many graduating seniors did the survey in May 2017?  College/School May 2017 Graduating Class Percent of Population Survey Respondents Percent of Survey Respondents Response Rate College of Agriculture & Life Sciences 373 10.9% 183 9.1% 49.1% College of Design 94 2.8% 77 3.8% 81.9% College of Education 104 3.0% 72 3.6% 69.2% College of Engineering 854 25.0% 542 26.9% 63.5% College of Natural Resources 200 5.9% 108 5.4% 54.0% College of Humanities & Social Sciences 673 19.7% 378 18.7% 56.2% College of Sciences 388 11.4% 232 11.5% 59.8% College of Textiles 202 129 6.4% 63.9% Poole College of Management 524 15.4% 296 14.7% 56.5% Total 3,412 100.0% 2,017 59.1%

How are the results used? Students/parents thinking about majors Employers when making salary offers Students engaged in salary negotiations Employers assessing the new graduate employment pool Career Centers matching job seekers with employers Identifying employers for career fairs Institutional rankings reported by organizations/magazines Assessment activities Career Centers programs and services Academic programs’ evaluation of career-readiness of graduates Outcomes (job placement, post-graduate enrollment, etc.) NC State Strategic Planning metrics 

Future Plans of Seniors…

How do graduating seniors feel about their future? The majority of students feel both confident… … and prepared for the future

What are seniors’ plans for after graduation? Employment 49% Have accepted position that will begin after graduation 36% Will continue working in job I had prior to graduation 7% Have started/will be starting my own business 1% Will be working as an intern 3% Military service Volunteer activity Seeking Employment 24% Currently seeking employment 22% Have not begun to seek employment, will begin within year Graduate/Professional School Going to grad/prof school within the year 19% Going to grad/prof school and working 5% Other Taking additional undergraduate coursework Starting/raising a family <1% Don't know yet

Details About Those Obtaining Full-Time Employment (92% of all those with a job for after graduation) When did they start looking, what was helpful in getting a job, where will they be working, and what will they be earning?

How much does when you start seeking employment make a difference How much does when you start seeking employment make a difference? (By those who found and those who had not found a full-time position) Students who got a full-time job were much more likely than those who did not to start looking for one well in advance of graduation  Employment Status at Graduation How many months prior to graduation started looking for work 12 or more months 9-11 months 6-8 months 3-5 months 1-2 months Less than 1 month Found Employment (n=886) 21% 24% 29% 19% 5% 1% Seeking Employment (n=435) 3% 7% 18% 33% 26% 14%

How much does when you start seeking employment make a difference How much does when you start seeking employment make a difference? (By when the senior started seeking employment) 94% of those who started looking for a job at least 12 months before graduation got one, compared to only 16% of those who started looking less than a month before graduation When started looking for work… Have Job Still Seeking Job All 12 or more months before graduation (n=199) 94% 6% 15% 9-11 months before graduation (n=239) 88% 12% 18% 6-8 months before graduation (n=336) 77% 23% 25% 3-5 months before graduation (n=315) 55% 45% 24% 1-2 months before graduation (n=159) 30% 70% Less than one month before graduation (n=73) 16% 84%

What resources did seniors say were helpful in securing their job? Students obtaining full-time employment found a variety of resources helpful in securing their position. (Remember, these are for all seniors, so, e.g., while not many people overall said a ‘student teaching experience’ was helpful, this includes lots of students who did not have such an experience, so they would not have said it was helpful….) Internship/externship 41% Career fair at NC State 32% Applied for job via ePACK 24% Campus or college career center 23% Personal connection(s) within the company 21% Family/friends/classmates/co-workers 20% On-campus interviewing 18% Internet: LinkedIn 15% Faculty member or found job listing in an NC State dept 9% Internet (excluding LinkedIn) Employer information session on campus Co-op experience 8% Professional society 6% Consultation with Career Counselor/Coach at NC State Employer found resume via ePACK 5% Student teaching experience 4% Career fair off-campus 2% Staffing agency Other

How many positions did they interview for How many positions did they interview for? (Differences between those who found and those who had not found a full-time position) More than half of those securing a full-time job had interviewed for three or more different positions While 71% of those without a job had gone on at least one interview, less than one-third had interviewed for three or more positions  Employment Status at Graduation How many positions interviewed for None One Two Three Four Five or more Found Employment (n=886) 7% 21% 18% 19% 11% 24% Seeking Employment (n=435) 29% 23% 16% 13%

How many job offers did those accepting a full-time job get? Half of those finding full-time employment had more than one offer from which to choose, with about one-fourth having three or more offers to choose from

Did those not yet securing employment receive any job offers? One-fourth of those who had gone on an interview for at least one position had received one or more job offers Two-thirds of those who had gone on interviews for three or more positions said they had not received any offers Interviewed for:

Is job satisfaction related to how closely the job matches what seniors were majoring in? Most graduates are getting jobs “directly related” to their academic major. Those in such jobs are most likely to be “very satisfied.”

Where will those with a full-time job be working? About 70% of May 2017 grads with full-time employment will be working in NC, with 47% in the Triangle

How are the full-time employees getting paid? Three-fourths will be paid by salary… … But just over half will be getting only a salary Salary only 58% Hourly only 17% Salary plus perf. bonuses 11% Salary plus commission 3% Salary plus hourly 2% Salary plus comm plus perf bonus Hourly plus perf. bonuses 1% Commission only Performance bonuses only <1% Hourly plus tips Hourly plus comm plus perf bonus Hourly plus commission Other comp. only Other combinations

And what will they be earning? Over one-third of full-time employed graduates estimate their starting salary to be $60,000 or more, with an average salary of $51,781

What about a signing bonus? 23% of all those obtaining full-time employment received a signing bonus; over 30% of students from the College of Engineering and Poole College of Management got a signing bonus

And what about a relocation package? One-fifth of all those obtaining full-time employment were offered a relocation package; over half of those finding work outside NC were offered a relocation package

Details about Those Continuing their Education Where are they going and what are they going to study?

Who is going to graduate/professional School? About one-fourth of respondents said they are planning on going to graduate or professional school in the coming year

Why do they want to continue their formal education? Those going to grad/prof school are most likely to say that their “chosen career requires an advanced degree” and to “enhance my knowledge in a particular subject area”

How many seniors have already been accepted to a graduate/professional school? Three-fourths of the May grads planning on going to grad/prof school have been accepted and know where they will be attending

What institutions will they be attending What institutions will they be attending? (among those accepted and enrolling) Just over 100 different institutions around the nation and the world About two-thirds will be staying in North Carolina Over 40% will be enrolled at NC State

What degrees are they currently seeking? A majority of those going on to grad/prof school will be enrolled in a Master’s program. Those seeking a professional degree are most likely to be pursuing a JD.

Work-Related Experiences at NC State What did seniors do to prepare for the future?

What did they participate in, and how helpful was the experience? Participated in: How helpful the experience was in getting a job:

Who uses the various career offices? While 44% of the seniors said they went to the NC State Career Development Center, usage varies by college Students in colleges with their own career centers are likely to use them, with a high degree of variation by college

Do those who use the career offices think they are any good? Ratings were largely positive, with career services offices most often rated as “excellent” or ”good”

What about other activities to help in the job search? Two-thirds of students utilized ePACK and attended at least one career fair Participation was high for both by those going to work or grad/professional school   NCSU (n=1,988) ePACK 70.8% Attended career fair 67.3% Presentations on resume writing, interviewing skills, etc 37.2% Joined professional society at NCSU related to career field 33.0% Visited NC State Career Development Center website 32.1% Attended employer info sessions 31.0% On-campus interviewing 30.3% Spoke w/ Career Counselor/Coach 22.2% Mock interviews w/ Career Counselor/Coach 10.6%

Which career fairs did seniors attend? NC State seniors attended a variety of career fairs … With large majorities of students attending the career fair for their college Engineering Career Fair 44% Poole COM Career & Internship Fair 23% CALS Career Expo 9% Textiles Job Forum CHASS Career Fair 7% Sciences, Sustainability, & Environmental Career Fair 6% Health Career Expo 5% College of Design Networking Fair 4% Law School Fair 2% Grad School Career Fair at NC State Other fair at NC State 11% Other career fair COE -> Engineering Career Fair 99% PCOM -> PCOM Career & Internship Fair 98% COT -> Textiles Job Forum Design -> College of Design Networking Fair CALS> CALS Career Expo 74% CHASS -> CHASS Career Fair 54% CNR -> Sciences, Sustainability, & Environmental Career Fair 51% COS -> Health Career Expo 37% CED -> Other career fair 59% CHASS -> Law School Fair 10%

Are seniors satisfied with the career guidance they got from their academic department? While majorities of graduating seniors are satisfied with the career guidance they received in their academic department, they are more likely to be “satisfied” than “very satisfied”

For More Information…

There is LOTS more information online! https://oirp.ncsu.edu/surveys/survey-reports/studentalumni- surveys/future-plans-survey-and-survey-of-recent-graduates/ Methods & response rate information Detailed tables of results for all respondents overall, with text summaries Detailed tables of results for most questions by college College summaries Table w/ results by department Response rate N w/ full-time job N going to grad/prof school Salary (25th percentile, median, 75th percentile, average) Tables with employment information Company, location, job title, helpful resources Tables with grad/prof school information Institution, location, degree, program Average salaries & graduate/professional school attendance by college, department, academic program (Point and click interface [http://apps.oirp.ncsu.edu/pgem])

Want still more information, or have a suggestion? Contact Nancy Whelchel, Director for Survey Research Office of Institutional Research and Planning Nancy_whelchel@ncsu.edu Suzanne Crockett, Assistant Director for Survey Research sacrocke@ncsu.edu