Career Survey Report - Class of 2009

Survey and Responses

The Career Services Office conducts an annual survey of the previous year's graduating class to determine the career and employment status of the new graduates.  The 2009 survey was mailed out in late November to 1507 alumni representing bachelor degree graduates from January, May, and August 2009.  An email and second mailing were sent out in January and follow-up phone calls were conducted from February through May.  We also utilized an on-line survey located on our web site that allowed graduates to send their results to us electronically.

Through these combined efforts we yielded a total of 580 replies, a response rate of approximately 39 percent. For more than ten years Career Services had achieved a response rate of 48-50%.  Since the economic downturn we have experienced a significant drop in responses.  Appendix A provides a comprehensive listing of the majors included in each field of study and the number of respondents from each major.  The chart below offers a short summary of the respondents. 

Fields of Study

# of Respondents

School of Humanities and Social Studies

310

School of Education and Allied Studies

111

School of Business

124

School of Science and Mathematics

  35

Total

580

In this report, information is provided about graduates' employment status, the fields and location of employment, the techniques used to secure employment, and respondents' opinions about how well Bridgewater prepared them for their current position.  Results are reported for the entire group, and, when appropriate, for individual fields of study.

Employment Status

Six months to a year after graduating, 83 percent of the 580 respondents were employed. Of those, 71 percent were employed on a full-time basis and 29 percent were employed part-time. 

Ninety-seven respondents indicated that they were not currently employed. These respondents fell into one of the following categories: they were in graduate school (33), they could not find employment in their field or location (53), or they were not looking for employment at this time (11).

 Graduates Reason for Not Being Employed

Numbers are represented as frequency, not percentages

Despite the economic downturn in late 2009 and early 2010, the job market for new college graduates remains fairly steady for entry level positions. While unemployment rates nationally have increased to a four year high of 10.2 percent (March 2010) the average Massachusetts unemployment rate of 9.3 percent (March 2010) consistently stayed below the national average each month over the past year. The unemployment rate of BSU graduates for the Class of 2009 respondents was 9 percent which is slightly below the national and state average.  (Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics)

The graph below illustrates the BSC unemployment rate over the past five years and includes only
 those graduates who indicated they could not find a job in their field or location.

Location of Employment 


Bridgewater graduates continue to work in the Commonwealth and contribute to the vitality of the Massachusetts economy.  Approximately 90 percent of this yearÂ’s respondents are employed in the state.  Only four percent of the Class of 2009 graduates indicated that they were employed in other New England states, another five percent were employed outside the region and one percent was employed internationally.
 

  

Fields of Employment

The Class of 2009 graduates are employed in a variety of fields.  Forty-seven percent indicated that they were employed in Business, either manufacturing or non-manufacturing. Twenty-eight percent reported employment in Education (including Elementary, Early Childhood, Physical Education and Special Education), six percent in Human Services and Non-Profits and eight percent in Health-related fields.  The percentages have stayed consistent over the past few years. The survey data closely reflects the academic programs students have chosen to pursue while at Bridgewater State. Traditionally graduates seek employment in the fields of business, education, health and human services. The number of graduates in government positions was reported as five percent.

Three percent of the Class of 2009 indicated that they were self-employed.  Two percent of graduates indicated that they were in the Military and/or had entered full-time volunteer service i.e., Peace Corp and VISTA.

Relation of Position to Academic Major

Graduates were asked to identify the degree to which their position was related to their academic major.   Sixty-four percent felt that their current position was either directly or somewhat related to their academic program. The majority of the graduates in the Class of 2009 were able to secure positions closely related to their major.


 

 

Bridgewater State Preparation

Graduates were also asked how well they thought Bridgewater had prepared them for their position by responding to the statement, "The academic program at Bridgewater State prepared me for my current position". Graduates used a scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Overall 83 percent agreed or strongly agreed with the statement. The response to this question has stayed consistent over time with responses ranging from 81 to 88 percent over the past ten years.

"The academic program at BSC prepared me for my current position"

Salary Data

BRIDGEWATER STATE COLLEGE
Class of 2009 Salary Data - Employed Full-time

Annual Salary  $

Humanities & Social Sciences

Science & Mathematics

Education

Business

< 12,000

7%

11%

3%

1%

12,000-14,999

5%

0%

7%

2%

15,000-17,999

3%

0%

6%

2%

18,000-20,999

3%

0%

4%

2%

21,000-23,999

9%

11%

10%

6%

24,000-26,999

16%

11%

11%

9%

27,000-29,999

10%

0%

9%

5%

30,000-32,999

11%

5%

7%

18%

33,000-35,999

10%

17%

13%

15%

36,000-38,999

7%

0%

11%

8%

39,000-41,999

3%

11%

4%

8%

42,000-44,999

2%

5%

3%

5%

45,000-47,999

2%

6%

3%

6%

48,000-50,999

1%

0%

0%

2%

51,000 -53,999

0%

6%

0%

0%

54,000-56,999

2%

0%

0%

3%

57,000-59,999

0%

0%

3%

0%

60,000-62,999

0%

0%

0%

1%

63,000-65,999

0%

0%

0%

0%

66,000 and above

2%

6%

0%

1%

No Answer

7%

11%

6%

6%


Less than 12,000 to 20,999
On the lowest end of the scale from less than $12,000 - 20,999 Humanities and Social Science majors represent 18 percent, Education majors 20 percent, Science major 11 percent and Business majors 7 percent.

$ 21,000-32,999
In this range the Humanities and Social Science majors led with approximately 46 percent followed by Business at 38 percent, Education at 37 percent, and Science majors at 27 percent.

$33,000-44,999
In this range Business represented 36 percent of the graduates.  In this same range Science represented 33 percent and Education represented 31 percent followed by Humanities and Social Science majors at 22 percent.

$45,000-56,999
On the upper end of the salary range Science majors represented the majority at 12 percent in this range. Closely behind were Business majors at 11 percent. Then it trails off with Humanities and Social Science students representing 5 percent and Education majors representing 3 percent in this salary range.

$57,000 and above
Science majors were once again on the higher end of the salary range with 6 percent, followed by Education majors with 3 percent.  Business majors along with Humanities and Social Sciences majors reported 2 percent for this salary range.

Methods of Obtaining Current Position

Graduates were asked to reveal what they considered to be the primary source used to obtain their current position.  The results are highlighted below:

Top 3 Methods Used for Landing First Position

1.    Networking with others - 35%
2.    Prior employment - 30%
3.    Internet job postings - 20%

The National Association of Colleges and Employers Job Outlook Report highlighted the top three ways employers seek new hires is through on campus recruiting, internship programs and employee referral programs.  It is clear from the national employer data and the survey results that networking plays a central role in graduates' ability to obtain a position after graduation. Networking programs and events continue to play a central role in Career Services.

Graduate School

One hundred and two students were enrolled in graduate school at the time of the survey, which represents about 18 percent of respondents. Of the 102 students 67 were enrolled full-time and 35 were enrolled part-time.  Historically 15 to 18 percent of our graduates go directly on to graduate school either full or part-time.

 Of those enrolled in graduate school 88 are in masters programs, 2 in post baccalaureate programs, 2 in law degree programs, 2 in medical degree programs and 7 in a doctoral program.  Of the 102 graduates who were enrolled in graduate study 52 are enrolled at Bridgewater State. A list of all the colleges and universities where the Class of 2009 graduates are enrolled can be found in Appendix B.



 

Internships & Undergraduate Research

From the surveyed respondents, just under 30 percent of the graduates participated in some type of internship experience. Increasingly more students are interested in internship opportunities but the overall numbers have stayed the same for the past few years.  Although the reasons for not pursuing an internship are varied, one of the major obstacles for students is financial. We know that many of our students work part-time jobs to pay their tuition and fees.  As a result many choose not to give up their paid position to take on an unpaid internship. Bridgewater continues to explore ways to provide more scholarships or stipends to students for experiential learning opportunities and to work with academic departments to promote internship as part of their academic program.

Graduates were also asked five additional questions related to their internship. The vast majority of respondents (83%) received academic credit for the experience, and most agreed the internship (95%) was related to their field of study. Although there has been a growing trend by some industries and organizations to pay interns, most students (76%) did not get paid.  It is important to note that (76%) felt that their internship helped prepare them for their current position.

For comparisons purposes we have included the responses for the last three years.
This data does not include graduates who were enrolled in student teaching.

We include a few questions on undergraduate research. The questions asked if the student was involved in undergraduate research and if the experience helped them with the current responsibilities or assisted them in getting their job. The responses are illustrated in the charts below.



Notes/Acknowledgements:

  • Appendix C is a Summary Sheet of the responses to survey items for all employed respondents. For any major with more than 10 responses we can provide a break out report. Please contact Career Services at (508) 531-1328 for details.
     
  • A complete copy of this report and a listing of employers will be available on the Career Services web site in September 2010. http://www.bridgew.edu/careerservices/surv09.cfm

Last Modified: September 17, 2010