As the undergraduate Class of 2018 makes final preparations for commencement, many are looking beyond May 20 to their next step, whether it’s the workforce, an advanced degree or another opportunity of interest to them.
If the Class of 2017 is any indication, this year’s graduates have plenty to which they can look forward. Recently, the Career Center released the , which gives a snapshot of where the Class of 2017 is now, less than one year after they walked across the stage.
Data was collected for 86 percent of the 1,200 members of the Class of 2017. Of those graduates, 53 percent are employed full time and 37 percent are seeking advanced degrees. This is just the second time in recent years that at least 50 percent of a class has gone straight to full-time employment, with the Class of 2015 reaching 50 percent.
“What’s remarkable to me is that this is the first stop,” said Robin Hedges, associate director of career education. “What they’ll go on to do in 10 years, 25 years, 50 years and accomplish over a lifetime remains yet to be seen.”
Additionally, 4 percent have pursued other opportunities, while 5 percent were available for employment.
Employment opportunities
Of the 53 percent of graduates who are employed full time, 81 percent said a degree is required for their job and that their position is related to their area of study. The top career fields represented by the Class of 2017 were engineering, nursing, information technology, research and financial services. Though 122 graduates opted to stay in the Cleveland area, the Class of 2017 dispersed widely across not only the country, but also around the world. San Francisco (33) and New York City (29) rounded out the top three cities. Fifteen graduates are employed outside the United States, having found employment in:- China (4)
- Japan (2)
- Czech Republic
- Germany
- India
- Peru
- South Africa
- United Arab Emirates
- Cleveland Clinic (21)
- University Hospitals (20)
- ϳԹ (14)
- MIM Software (10)
- Hyland Software (9)
- Accenture (8)
- Microsoft (8)
- Zimmer Biomet (7)
- Deloitte Consulting (6)
- Google (6)
- KeyBank (6)
- Progressive (6)
- Teach for America (6)
- Case School of Engineering: $65,000-69,999 ($5,000 increase from last year)
- College of Arts and Sciences: $35,000-39,999 ($5,000 increase from last year)
- Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing: $50,000-54,999 (no change from last year)
- Weatherhead School of Management: $55,000-59,999 (no change from last year)
Higher education
Forty-four percent of graduates who went on to graduate school chose to stay at ϳԹ, up from the 35 percent of advanced-degree seekers in the Class of 2016 who remained at ϳԹ. But the Class of 2017 has gone on to several other prestigious institutions, among them:- Columbia University
- Duke University
- Johns Hopkins University
- Princeton University
- Stanford University
- Yale University
