• Executive summary
  

• Introduction
  

• Employment outcomes
  

• Effectiveness of co-op, internships, research experiences, or part-time job in the major in helping alumni to secure employment
  

• The role of GPA in the transition from NC State to the world of work
  

• Employment outcomes by gender
  

• Employment outcomes by ethnicity
  

• Summary and conclusions
  

Executive summary

The NC State Alumni Survey of baccalaureate alumni who graduated from December 1990 through August 1993 sought among other things to identify employment outcomes of bachelor's graduates. This report, the second in a series of reports on data gleaned from the survey, focuses on how these alumni responded to questions concerned with employment outcomes.

Employment outcomes

Overall, data provided by respondents to the NC State Alumni Survey yield a highly positive picture of employment outcomes of NC State bachelor's graduates two to four years following graduation:

• 86 percent reported being employed and approximately 11 percent reported being currently engaged in further academic study - this translates to a 97 percent success rate for survey respondents in gainful employment or further education outcomes;
• 85 percent of those employed are in positions related to their degree from NC State;
• 79 percent of those employed found their first full-time position within 6 months of graduation;
• 83 percent of those employed are in positions where the minimum educational requirement is a bachelor's degree;
• NC State exceeds national levels as established through NCES' 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study, First Follow-up, in all these outcome areas; and
• by college/discipline area, the modal salary ranges indicated by respondents to this survey are at or above the median salary figures given by this same NCES survey for all comparable NC State colleges and schools.

Residency

The great majority (82 percent, n = 2,185) of NC State Alumni Survey respondents who were originally classified as in-state (84 percent, n = 2,665) have remained in North Carolina. Furthermore, a high proportion (38 percent, n = 192) of those alumni originally classified as out-of state or foreign students (16 percent, n = 506) have remained in North Carolina and contribute to the state's economic growth.

Co-op, internship, research, and summer job experiences

The most favorable employment outcomes are enjoyed by those responding alumni who participated in the NC State Cooperative Education program as well as those who had a summer or part-time position related to their major during their undergraduate studies at NC State.

Grade point average

The role of academic success (as measured by grade point average or GPA) in the transition to work was found to be generally weak. For the School of Design, the College of Textiles, and the College of Engineering, a weak or moderate positive association between GPA and salary range was found, indicating that survey respondents from those three academic units with higher grade point averages were slightly more likely to have a higher salary range than other respondents from those colleges or schools.

Employment outcomes by gender

Female respondents were slightly more likely to be employed part-time than were male respondents (p = .001). Furthermore, a higher percentage of female respondents (5.7 percent) than male respondents (1.7 percent) were unemployed. The salary levels reported by female survey respondents were also significantly lower than those reported by male respondents (p = .001).

Employment outcomes by ethnicity

By ethnicity, the picture appeared somewhat brighter. No significant differences were found by employment status, relationship of degree to current position, minimum educational requirements for position, or salary ranges. However, for a much higher percentage of African-American (22 percent) than White (9.3 percent) or Other Minority (12.7 percent) respondents, it took over a year to find their first permanent full-time job following graduation (p = .001).

Conclusions

The main conclusion to be drawn from these findings is that NC State graduates appear to be enjoying a robust demand for their knowledge and skills in the world of work over and above national levels from the most recent benchmarking data available. Furthermore, no specific areas of weakness were uncovered in the findings that are not a direct reflection of the market. These findings provide further evidence that NC State is indeed acting as an effective engine in pushing forward the economy of North Carolina.

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Introduction

The NC State Alumni Survey of baccalaureate alumni who graduated from December 1990 through August 1993 sought among other things to identify employment outcomes of bachelor's graduates. This report, the second in a series of reports on data gleaned from the survey, focuses on how alumni responded to questions concerned with employment outcomes.

Data obtained from this survey represent the largest and most comprehensive effort in the history of NC State to gain feedback from alumni. The survey sample included 7,491 alumni. Three full mailings and a telephone follow-up resulted in a 51.2% response rate, yielding 3,179 usable questionnaires. Significant differences were found between the population and obtained sample in proportion of gender, race, and college, but no differences were found by year of graduation. Though differences were significant (p = .001), given the large sample size they were not sufficient to suggest that the obtained sample was appreciably different from the population of bachelor's graduates from 1990-1993. This report is therefore based on the assumption that results obtained are broadly representative of the population of NC State bachelor's graduates for those years. Further methodological information on this survey is available from Office of Institutional Planning and Research.

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Employment outcomes

The foremost questions in most alumni surveys deal with the degree to which graduates are able to secure gainful employment following graduation and the relationship of that employment to their undergraduate majors. In this section of the report, various aspects of employment outcomes are therefore presented.

Current employment status

Of the 3,179 responding alumni, 86.0% indicated that they were presently employed on either a full-time or part-time basis. Another 10.6% of respondents indicated that they were currently engaged in further study and were therefore not seeking employment. Only 3.5% of respondents indicated that they were currently unemployed. This translates to a 96.6% success rate for NC State in gainful employment or further education outcomes of respondents to this survey. These results are displayed in Table 1.

By way of comparison, the 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study, First Follow-up, conducted by the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), found that 75.8% of 1993 bachelor's degree recipients were employed either full-time or part-time one year after graduation, and that another 17.9% were enrolled in further postsecondary education. While the comparison is not exact, it does indicate that NC State's 96.6% success rate for gainful employment or further education outcomes of respondents to this survey compares favorably to the national rate of 93.7% as indicated in the NCES study.

Relationship of degree to current position

Among responding alumni who indicated current full-time or part-time employment, 55.5% reported that their current professional position was directly related to their degree. Another 29.5% noted that their current position was somewhat related to their degree. Only 15.0% of respondents reported their position to be unrelated to their degree. Thus, fully 85.0% of respondents appear to be in positions of employment either directly or somewhat related to their degree from NC State. These results are displayed in Table 2.

Of those 887 respondents who reported that their current position was somewhat related or not related to their degree, 74.9% indicated that this situation was by choice. Only 25.1% of such respondents noted that working in a position outside of their major was not by choice. This result is outlined in Table 3.

Thus, not only are the vast majority of responding NC State baccalaureate alumni employed in positions directly or somewhat related to their degrees, but of those who are not employed in a field close to their major, this is by choice in 74.8% of cases and may reflect shifts in life goals, career direction, etc.

To compare these results to a national benchmark, the findings for NC State alumni were compared to the 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study, First Follow-up, conducted by NCES. Among those working full-time, 77.6% were working in a position related to their field of study. For NC State, the percentage of alumni employed full-time in a position related to their field of study is 85.7% (n = 2,197) -- even higher than when alumni employed on a part-time basis are also included. Thus, NC State's results on the job-relatedness of alumni employment are considerably superior to the national picture.

Length of time to first full-time permanent position following graduation

Item 47 on the NC State Alumni Survey requested information on length of time to first full-time permanent position following graduation. Of those who responded to this item and who are currently employed either full-time or part-time, 79% indicated that it had taken them 6 months or less to secure such a position. When viewed within a horizon of up to 12 months following graduation, the proportion of working respondents securing full-time permanent employment expands to 88.3%. These results are displayed in Table 4.

The most recent national benchmark for length of time to job placement following graduation is presented in the Recent College Graduates Survey, 1991, as reported in 1993 by NCES. That survey reports the percentage of 1991 bachelor's graduates who had secured employment within 1 year of graduation at 84%. For NC State, the percentage of all alumni survey respondents who had found employment within 1 year of graduation was 87%. Again, NC State appears to be outperforming the national averages in this regard.

Minimum educational requirements for position

Item 50 on the survey requested information on the minimum education requirements for current positions of employment held by alumni. Among respondents to this item who indicated either full-time or part-time employment, 83% noted that their current positions require either a bachelor's or master's degree at a minimum. A further 6.5% indicated that their position required an associate degree or two years of college, and 10.7% affirmed that one year of college or less was required for their positions of employment. These findings are detailed in Table 5.

By way of comparison, the 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study, First Follow-up, published by NCES, specifies that the percentage of 1992-93 college graduates who were working full-time and whose jobs required a bachelor's degree at minimum was 59.9%. Among all NC State Alumni Survey respondents who were employed full-time, this same statistic was 84.2% -- a finding which indicates that responding NC State alumni show a marked tendency to be employed closer to their level of qualification than appears to be true across the nation in general.

Salary ranges

Item 51 on the survey requested information on salary ranges for current positions of employment held by alumni. Salary information constitutes some of the most sensitive information on this type of survey. Fortunately, only 549 (17.3%) of the 3,179 survey respondents refused to provide such information - a lower than average refusal rate.

Among respondents to this item who indicated either full-time or part-time employment, 28.8% reported salaries at or above $40,000 per year. An additional 30.4% of respondents reported a salary range from $30,000 to $39,999, and 31.5% of respondents described their salary in the range from $20,000 to $29,000 per year. Only 9.2% of employed respondents reported making an annual salary of under $20,000. Among respondents to this item who indicated either full-time or part-time employment, the following generalizations may be made by college or school:

• The modal salary range reported by respondents from Agriculture and Life Sciences, Design, Education and Psychology, Forest Resources, and Humanities and Social Sciences was $20,000 to $29,999 per year.
• The modal salary range reported by respondents from Engineering, Textiles, and Management was $30,000 to $39,999 per year.
• The modal salary range reported by respondents from Physical and Mathematical Sciences was $40,000 to $49,999 per year.

These results are outlined in Table 6.

Since NCES' 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study, First Follow-up, asked for information on actual salary dollar amounts and reported a median salary by discipline, the only option for comparing NC State survey results expressed as salary ranges with national results is to use another indicator of central tendency, the modal salary range, to report the NC State results. Another problem is that the NCES data yields only average starting salaries, whereas respondents to the NC State Alumni Survey gave their current salary ranges two to four years following graduation. Nevertheless, the median starting salaries found in the NCES study fall either below or within the lower end of the modal salary ranges reported by responding NC State alumni in all comparable cases. As a rough indicator, this finding may be taken to indicate that NC Alumni Survey respondents are earning salaries comparable to other bachelor's graduates around the nation. These comparisons are detailed in Table 7.

Residency

To determine the proportions of alumni survey respondents who are currently working or living in North Carolina, original tuition residency code data from historical student files were compared with current home addresses of respondents. Note: original residency codes were unavailable for 8 respondents.

• Of the 3179 respondents, 84% were originally classified for tuition purposes as in-state students, and 16% were classified as out-of-state or foreign students.
• Of the same survey respondents, 75% are currently residing in North Carolina and 25% reside out of state.

Thus, in the aggregate, it appears that a net out-migration of approximately 9% exists among responding alumni. However, a deeper analysis reveals the complexity of these migration patterns.

• Among alumni originally classified as in-state, 82% are currently residing in North Carolina and 18% reside elsewhere.
• Among those respondents who were originally classified as out-of-state or foreign, 38% are currently residing in North Carolina and 62% have moved elsewhere.

From these findings, two conclusions may be drawn. First, it is evident that the great majority of NC State graduates who responded to the alumni survey have remained in North Carolina and are contributing to the economic growth of the state through their learned skills and current employment. Second, percentage-wise, a far greater percentage of out-of-state students remain in North Carolina than the percentage of in-state students who leave North Carolina. Viewed in this light, NC State is not only enabling the great majority of in-state students to acquire the knowledge and skills they need to gain meaningful professional employment in North Carolina, but is also attracting talented students from beyond the state borders and facilitating their ability to contribute their talents to the state economy.

Resources used in the job search

Item 46 on the NC State Alumni Survey was concerned with determining those resources alumni found most useful in their job search. Among those who responded to this item and who are currently employed on a full-time or part-time basis, the three most frequently cited resources were:

• direct contact with employer (24.8%);
• family, friends, or acquaintances (22.6%); and
• Career Planning and Placement Center (17.1%).

These findings are more thoroughly detailed in Table 8.

By college, significant differences (p = .001) were uncovered in the resources alumni found to be most useful in searching for a job. Family, friends, or acquaintances were the most frequently cited resource by respondents who graduated from Agriculture and Life Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences, or Management. Direct contact with the employer was most frequently rated useful by Design, Education and Psychology, and Forest Resources respondents. Alumni survey respondents who graduated from Engineering, Physical and Mathematical Sciences, or Textiles most frequently found the Career Planning and Placement Center to be their most useful resource in the search for employment.

Self-employment and small business creation

Item 53 on the alumni survey requested information from those alumni who are self-employed, including a description of their work or business and a brief description of their responsibilities. 138 replies were received to this item, even though many more alumni may in fact be self-employed on a full-time or part-time basis. Despite the small number, the variety of endeavors described was very broad, and encompassed the following:

• 19 respondents in agriculture, such as livestock or crops;
• 17 respondents in sales, ranging from retail broker to import-export;
• 13 respondents in consulting, from business development to ecological consulting;
• 12 respondents involved in professional service firms, such as financial planning;
• 11 respondents in design, including industrial, residential, and graphics;
• 10 respondents in creative arts, such as free lance photography, acting, and writing;
• 8 respondents in skilled trade firms, such as escalators, irrigation, and HVAC;
• 8 respondents in desktop publishing and technical writing;
• 7 respondents involved in landscape, landscape design, or running a nursery; and
• 33 other respondents in fields too diverse to be easily classified.

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Effectiveness of co-op, internships, research experiences, or part-time work in the major in helping alumni to secure employment

Note: To facilitate analysis of employment outcomes, the following discussion is limited to those NC State Alumni Survey respondents who reported being currently employed either full-time or part-time.

Cooperative education

360 currently employed survey respondents reported having participated in the co-op program at NC State.

• Of this number, 87.3% indicated that the experience had been helpful in securing their present position of employment.
• Co-op participants were significantly (p = .001) more likely than other respondents to have obtained their job through the Career Planning and Placement Center, but were significantly less likely (p = .001) than others to have obtained their position through family or friends.
• Co-op participants were significantly (p = .001) more likely than other respondents to have gained their first permanent full-time position before graduation, upon graduation, or within 1-6 months of graduation.
• Co-op participants were significantly (p = .001) more likely than other respondents to have a position directly related to their degree from NC State.
• Co-op participants were significantly (p = .001) more likely than other respondents to be employed in positions where the minimum educational requirement was a bachelor's degree.
• Co-op participants were significantly (p = .001) more likely than other respondents to have a salary in the $40,000-$49,999 or $50,000-$59,999 range, and less likely than other respondents to have a salary in the under $20,000 or $20,000-$29,999 range.
• By college, co-op participants in Forest Resources, Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Management, and Engineering who responded to the survey exhibited higher modal salary ranges than did other respondents. Cell size problems precluded tests of significance for this analysis, but it should be stressed that the finding of higher salary ranges for co-op participants vs. other respondents was not limited to graduates from the College of Engineering.

Internships

634 currently employed NC State Alumni Survey respondents indicated that they had participated in an internship experience during their course of undergraduate studies at NC State.

• 75.3 percent of respondents who participated in internships indicated that the experience had been helpful in securing their first permanent full-time position.
• Internship participants were significantly more likely (p = .001) to have obtained their position through NC State faculty, and were significantly less likely than other participants to have obtained their position through the Career Planning and Placement Center.
• Internship participants were significantly more likely (p = .001) than other respondents to have a salary in the $20,000-$29,999 range, and were significantly less likely (p = .001) than other respondents to have a salary in any of the following ranges: $30,000-$39,999; $40,000-$49,999; or $50,000-$59,999.

Research experiences

383 currently employed NC State Alumni Survey respondents reported participating in a research experience during their undergraduate studies at NC State.

• 80.2 percent of respondents who participated in a research experience indicated that the experience had been helpful in securing their first permanent full-time position.
• Research participants were significantly more likely (p = .001) than non-participants to have obtained their first permanent full-time position of employment with the assistance of NC State faculty.
• Research participants were significantly more likely (p = .001) than non-participants to be in a position of employment where the minimal educational requirement was a graduate degree.

Summer employment or part-time job in the major

1,066 currently employed NC State Alumni Survey respondents reported having had a summer or part-time job that was related to their major during their undergraduate studies at NC State.

• 81.6 percent of those respondents who had a summer or part-time job related to their undergraduate major indicated that the experience had been helpful in securing their first full-time permanent position following graduation.
• Respondents who had a summer or part-time job related to their undergraduate major were significantly more likely (p = .001) than other respondents to have found their position through NC State faculty or through direct contact with the employer.
• Respondents who had a summer or part-time job related to their undergraduate major were significantly more likely (p = .001) than other respondents to have already obtained a full-time job by graduation or to have accepted such a position upon graduation.
• Respondents who had a summer or part-time job related to their undergraduate major were significantly more likely (p = .001) than other respondents to be in a position directly related to their undergraduate major.
• Respondents who had a summer or part-time job related to their undergraduate major were significantly more likely (p = .001) than other respondents to be in a position of employment where the minimum educational requirement was a bachelor's degree.
• Respondents who had a summer or part-time job related to their undergraduate major were significantly more likely (p = .001) than other respondents to have a salary in the following ranges: $30,000-$39,999; $40,000-$49,999; or $50,000-$59,999. Conversely, this group of respondents was significantly less likely (p = .001) than were other respondents to be in salary ranges either under $20,000 or from $20,000-$29,999.

Section summary

The most favorable employment outcomes appear to be enjoyed by those responding alumni who participated in the NC State Cooperative Education program as well as those who had a summer or part-time position related to their major during their undergraduate studies at NC State. In terms of educational requirements for positions of employment, Research participants appear to enjoy a clear advantage over other respondents and are more likely to be employed in positions where the minimum educational requirement is a graduate degree.

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The role of GPA in the transition from NC State to the world of work

Interest is often expressed in knowing how a baseline measure of academic success such as grade point average (GPA) translates into success in the world of work. To explore this connection, data from the 2,707 currently employed NC State Alumni Survey respondents were analyzed using non-parametric measures of association. Findings indicate that no significant relationship exists between GPA and how closely alumni positions of employment are related to the academic degree from NC State, between GPA and length of time to first full-time permanent position following graduation, or between GPA and part-time or full-time employment status. However, several other items did display a relationship with GPA.

GPA by salary range

Although no relationship was found at the university level, when disaggregated to the college level, a weak positive association was found for respondents from Design (gamma = .22) and from Textiles (gamma = .24). A moderate positive association between GPA and salary range was found for respondents from Engineering (gamma = .39). Results for other colleges provide no support for the notion that an association exists between GPA and salary range of alumni.

GPA by minimum education requirements for position of employment

A weak positive relationship (gamma = .26) was found between grade point average and minimum education requirements for position, thus indicating that those respondents with a higher grade point average displayed a slight tendency over other respondents to be employed in a position with a higher minimum educational requirement.

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Employment outcomes by gender

The responses of NC State Alumni Survey respondents to questions concerned with employment outcomes were analyzed by gender to ascertain the extent to which responding alumni have experienced differing degrees of success in the world of work based on their gender. Findings bear out the notion that differences do exist, but may be more a reflection of the society in which alumni work than a reflection of the labors of NC State to provide a quality education for all students. No significant differences were found by gender in the relationship of degree to current position of employment.

Employment status

Significant differences were found by gender (p = .001) on the employment status of all respondents. Female respondents were slightly more likely to be employed part-time than were male respondents and were correspondingly somewhat less likely to be employed full-time than male respondents. Furthermore, a higher percentage of female respondents (5.7%) than male respondents (1.7%) were unemployed. These results are displayed in Table 9.

Length of time to first full-time permanent job following graduation

Significant differences were found on this item by gender (p = .001). Employed male respondents either already had a job or accepted a job upon graduation with greater frequency than did employed female respondents. Within one year of graduation, these differences had largely disappeared. By that time, 87.4% of female respondents vs. 89.0% of male respondents had secured a position. These findings are shown in Table 10.

Minimum educational requirements for position

Overall, the percentage of currently employed female and male respondents now in positions where at least a bachelor's degree is required appears quite similar (81.9% for females and 83.6% for males). Nevertheless, significant differences were found by gender (p = .001). Interestingly, currently employed female respondents were more likely than employed male respondents to be employed in positions where a graduate degree was the minimum educational requirement. These findings are displayed in Table 11.

Salary Ranges

While it is certainly a direct reflection of society and the labor market in general, perhaps one of the most disheartening findings in the NC State Alumni Survey is the difference in salary levels between currently employed responding female and male alumni. Over 80% of responding female alumni reported salary ranges under $40,000 per annum, while over 70% of responding male alumni reported salary ranges from $30,000 and up. The differences were significant (p = .001), and are set forth in Table 12.

Most helpful resource in job search

Significant differences were found by gender (p = .001) on the resources responding alumni found most useful in the search for a job. Female respondents used newspaper ads, career fairs and employment agencies more frequently than did male respondents. Conversely, male respondents indicated that NC State faculty or the Career Planning and Placement Center had been the most useful resource with greater frequency than did female respondents.

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Employment outcomes by ethnicity

The responses of NC State Alumni Survey respondents to questions concerned with employment outcomes were analyzed by ethnicity to ascertain the extent to which responding alumni have experienced differing degrees of success in the world of work according to their ethnic background. No significant differences were found by employment status, relationship of degree to current position, minimum educational requirements for position, or salary ranges.

Length of time to first full-time permanent job following graduation

Significant differences by ethnicity were found among employed survey respondents on this item (p = .001). Of particular note is that for a much higher percentage of African-American (22%) than White (9.3%) or Other Minority (12.7%) respondents, it took over a year to find their first permanent full-time job following graduation. This is more thoroughly detailed in table 13.

Most helpful resource in job search

Although cell size problems precluded the use of significance tests for this item, it is nevertheless interesting to note the wide variation in resources found most helpful by currently employed survey respondents in conducting job searches. Most notably, African-American respondents showed a much higher frequency of preference for career fairs (9.8%) than did either White (0.8%) or Other Minority respondents (0.0%). For African-American and White respondents, family and friends or direct contact with employer were the most frequently-cited helpful resources in the job search. For Other Minority respondents, contact with the Career Planning and Placement Center proved to be the most fruitful. These results are given in Table 14.

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Summary and conclusions

Overall, data provided by respondents to the NC State Alumni Survey yield a highly positive picture of employment outcomes of NC State bachelor's graduates two to four years following graduation. 86 percent reported being employed; 85 percent of those employed are in positions related to their degree from NC State, 79 percent of those employed found their first full-time position within 6 months of graduation, and 83 percent of those employed are in positions where the minimum educational requirement is a bachelor's degree. Furthermore, NC State appears to exceed national levels as established through NCES' 1993 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study, First Follow-up, in all these outcome areas. By college/discipline area, the modal salary ranges indicated by respondents to this survey are at or above the median salary figures given by this same NCES survey for almost all NC State Colleges and Schools.

The main conclusion to be drawn from these findings is that NC State graduates appear to be enjoying a robust demand for their knowledge and skills in the world of work over and above national levels from the most recent benchmarking data available. Furthermore, no specific areas of weakness were uncovered in the findings that are not a direct reflection of the market. These findings provide further evidence that NC State is indeed acting as an effective engine in pushing forward the economy of North Carolina.

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