FUTURE PLANS SURVEY: RESEARCH DESIGN & MAY 2015 RESULTS Office of Institutional Research and Planning August, 2015

What is the Future Plans Survey and How do We do It? Survey Administration Methods

What is the Future Plans Survey?  5 minute survey to collect detailed information from graduating seniors on  Future employment Company, location, job title, salary, helpful resources  Graduate/Professional school Institution, program, degree  Work-experiences at NC State Experience, helpfulness, use of career services

Who is eligible to participate?  All undergraduates who have completed the “Application for Degree” process to graduate in May are invited to participate

When and how is the survey administered?  When  The survey goes live on about the first day of final exams (April 30, 2015)  The survey stays in the field for about 4 weeks (May 29, 2015)  How  Online (Qualtrics)  Accessible via handheld mobile device  Confidential (but not anonymous)

How are senior encouraged to participate?  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  Messages on Facebook  Announcements at (some) commencement ceremonies

How many graduating seniors actually do the survey? College/School May 2015 Graduating Class Percent of Population Survey Respondents Percent of Survey Respondents Response Rate College of Agriculture & Life Sciences %1849.3%44.0% College of Design1223.5%1125.7%91.8% College of Education1223.5%824.1%67.2% College of Engineering % %58.6% College of Natural Resources1895.5%884.5%46.6% College of Humanities & Social Sciences % %56.8% College of Sciences % %51.9% College of Textiles1594.6%1095.5%68.6% Poole College of Management % %60.1% Division of Academic & Student Affairs351.0%180.9%51.4% Total3, %1, %57.1%

How are the results used?  Assessment of career services  Helps academic departments evaluate career-readiness of their students  Students thinking about majors  Employers when making salary offers  Students engaged in salary negotiation  Submitted to organizations, magazines, etc. for rankings  Identifying employers for career fairs  Lots, lots more!

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? Employment48% Have accepted position that will begin after graduation34% Will continue working in job I had prior to graduation7% Have started/will be starting my own business1% Will be working as an intern3% Military service2% Volunteer activity<1% Seeking Employment26% Currently seeking employment24% Have not begun to seek employment, will begin within year2% Graduate/Professional School23% Going to grad/prof school within the year19% Going to grad/prof school and working4% Other4% Taking additional undergraduate coursework<1% Starting/raising a family<1% Don't know yet1% Other2%

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

When did they start looking for a job? (Differences between those who found and those who did not find 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 months6-8 months3-5 months1-2 months Less than 1 month Found Employment (n=833) 22%19%28%24%5%1% Seeking Employment (n=473) 2%6%18%35%25%14%

When did they start looking for a job? (Differences by when the senior started looking for a job)  95% of those who started looking for a job at least 12 months before graduation got one, compared to only about 10% of those who started looking less than a month before graduation When started looking for work…Have JobStill Seeking JobAll 12 or more months before graduation (n=194)95%5%15% 9-11 months before graduation (n=185)85%15%14% 6-8 months before graduation (n=322)73%27%25% 3-5 months before graduation (n=368)55%45%28% 1-2 months before graduation (n=160)28%73%12% Less than one month before graduation (n=77)12%88%6%

What resources did seniors say were helpful in securing their job?  Students obtaining full-time employment found a variety of resources as helpful to 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/externship36% Career fair at NC State32% Applied for job via ePACK23% Family/friends/classmates/co-workers23% Campus or college career center22% Personal connection(s) within the company20% On-campus interviewing17% Internet11% Faculty member or found job listing in an NC State dept 9% Employer information session on campus8% Co-op experience8% Employer found resume via ePACK8% Consultation with Career Counselor/Coach at NC State 7% Professional society6% Student teaching experience3% Staffing agency3% Career fair off-campus2% Other8%

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

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?  70% of May 2015 grads with full-time employment will be working in NC, with 48% 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 only57% Hourly only17% Salary plus perf. bonuses12% Salary plus commission3% Salary plus comm. plus perf. bonus1% Salary plus hourly1% Hourly plus perf. bonuses1% Hourly plus commission1% Commission only1% Hourly plus comm. plus perf. bonus1% Performance bonuses only<1% Tips only<1% Hourly plus tips<1% Other3% Other comp. only2%

And what will they be earning?  Close to one-third of full-time employed graduates estimate their starting salary to be $60,000 or more, with an average income of $49,535

What about a signing bonus?  19% of those obtaining full-time employment were given a signing bonus, with students from the Poole College of Management most likely to get a bonus of $10,000 or more

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

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

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 it is to “enhance knowledge in a particular subject area” and that their “chosen career requires an advanced degree”  The least common reason is a lack of job opportunities

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? (among those accepted and enrolling)  Almost 100 different institutions around the nation and the world  Over 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 pursuing a JD.

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

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 39% 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 some 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=1,960) ePACK 68% Attended career fair 68% Presentations on resume writing, interviewing skills 41% Visited NC State Career Development Center website 33% Joined professional society at NCSU related to career field 32% Attended employer info sessions 31% On-campus interviewing 27% Spoke w/ Career Counselor/Coach 22% Mock interviews w/ Career Counselor/Coach 12%

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 Fair42% PCOM Career & Internship Fair23% CALS Career Expo14% CHASS Career Fair10% Textiles Job Forum7% COS Career Fair6% Health Career Expo5% College of Design Networking Fair3% Grad School Career Fair2% Law School Fair2% Other fair at NC State11% Other career fair5% COE -> Engineering Career Fair99% PCOM -> PCOM Career & Internship Fair97% COT -> Textiles Job Forum91% Design -> College of Design Networking Fair88% CALS> CALS Career Expo72% CHASS -> CHASS Career Fair69% COS -> COS Career Fair51% CED -> Career fair unaffiliated w/ university50% CHASS -> Law School Fair14%

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!  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 (NCSU authentication required) Table w/ results by department Response rate N w/ full-time job N going to grad/prof school Salary (25 th percentile, median, 75 th 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 [

Want still more information, or have a suggestion?  Contact Nancy Whelchel, Associate Director for Survey Research Office of Institutional Research and Planning Suzanne Crockett, Coordinator for Survey Research Office of Institutional Research and Planning