Career Services @ Virginia Tech
Smith Career Center (0128)
Corner of Washington Street & West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA  24061
phone 540-231-6241      fax 540-231-3293      www.career.vt.edu
Post-Graduation Report: Frequently Asked Questions
 
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How many of the graduates responded?

By grad year:
2007-2008: 69%
2006-2007: 73.7%
2005-2006: 59%
2004-2005 & 2003-2004: 56%

Numbers and percentages vary by college.
Response by college for the 2007-2008 grads:
  N
Response/Total
% response College:
  332/496 67% Agriculture & Life Sciences
  219/319 69% Architecture & Urban Studies
  687/944 73% Pamplin Business
  855/1148 74% Engineering
  721/1137 63% Liberal Arts & Human Sciences
  96/125 77% Natural Resouces
  503/780 64% Science
       
  Quick view of response by college for prior years:
See salary report, select year following "view for another year."
Majors are hidden to show colleges only. You may select "show majors within colleges" to see major data.
Total grads, response N and % are first three columns.
   
When do most of the academic year's grads finish?
A little over 18% complete in December.
The majority, about 72%, complete in May.
The smallest percentage, about 9%, wrap up degree requirements in summer.
 
Who employs the most graduates?
The simple and most accurate answer is "not one or even several."
Responding employed graduates have reported over 700 to over 1000 employers per graduation cohort.
The top-reported employers — those who are reported by six or more grads — have ranged in number from 21 to 48, and have accounted for 19% to 27% of all responding employed grads.
(So the remaining 600-900+ employers were reported by the majority — 73% to 81% — of the employed grads.)
> View list of TOP employers — those employing five or more responding graduates.
> View sortable list of ALL employing organizations, showing undergrad major, job titles, locations.
   
Can I get contact names for the employers of graduates?
We do not ask graduates for this information when they complete the survey. For many reasons we believe it would be unproductive to do so.
Three info sources you may find helpful, depending on your purposes:
> In the sortable list of ALL employing organizations (showing undergrad major, job titles, locations) each organization name is linked to a google search. This is simply to provide you a way to learn more about these organizations.
> Employers who actively recruit at Virginia Tech and who choose to list contact information for students do so through their recruiting activities. For that information, see Career Services' recruiting employers and contacts. However, it is very important to note that graduates of Virginia Tech do not limit themselves to employment with only those employers who actively recruit on the campus.
> Many Virginia Tech graduates have volunteered to be networking contacts for students seeking career information and job search advice. You can find those individuals in Career Services' alumni networking service: VT CareerLink. VT CareerLink has several search features (undergrad major, occupation, work setting), including employing organization.
   
Where do most graduates go to continue education?
Responding grads who reported continuing education (N = 555-874) have reported 119 to 158 institutions.
Each year, some of these graduates (6% to 13%) do not report their institution.
The top-reported institution for five years has been Virginia Tech. Of all responding graduates reporting continuing education, 32% to 43% indicated they are pursuing another degree at Virginia Tech after completion of the bachelor's (or associate's) degree.
A small percentage of responding graduates reporting continuing education reported institutions abroad (0.8% to 2.34%). The rest are in up to 35 states and the District of Columbia.
> View list of TOP grad schools — the most recent list of institutions attended by two or more grads, accounting for the majority of all responding grads who reported continuing education.
   
How many and what percent pursue certain types of degrees, like master's, law, medicine, etc.?
  See numbers / percents attending graduate or professional school.
  The default view is for the whole university, but you can opt to view a particular college or major.
   
Where do grads of each undergrad MAJOR go, and what GRADUATE DEGREES are they pursuing?
> View sortable list of ALL graduate institutions, showing undergraduate major, and grad degrees being pursued.
   
When will the next report be done?
The survey for the 2008-2009 graduates will be completed by December 2009, and that report will be published during early 2010.
   
Can I look at the survey raw data?
Career Services, in conducting the survey, gives graduates our word that individual responses are kept confidential and are not published or disclosed to anyone. Therefore, we will not share the raw data.
   
I have additional questions that are not answered in the report. Whom can I contact?
Call Career Services at (540) 231-6241 or e-mail Catherine Copeland at copeland@vt.edu.
Please state your full name and affiliation in your e-mail, and please include a subject line that indicates that you have a question about the Post-Graduation Report.
   
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