First Destination Report: 2020-2021 Undergraduate Degree Recipients for Mechanical Engineering

View results by whole university, by college, or by major

Response Rate

Number of Respondents %
Category
381 Not Applicable Total Graduates
284 75% Reported first destination / respondents
97 25% Unreported / non-respondents

Outcome

141 50% Working
4 1% Military
1 0% Volunteering
57 20% Continuing Education
0 0% Fellowship
77 27% Still Seeking Employment
2 1% Still Seeking Continuing Education
2 1% Not Seeking (traveling, gap year, taking time off, other)

Continuing Education Details

View list by undergrad major of continuing education degrees, institution, and locations

Working Details

View list by undergrad major of employers, job titles, and locations

Salary and Bonus

Question for working and military respondents.
Medians are shown when four or more individuals reported salary or bonus.
See Salary Detail Report which includes 25th and 75th percentiles where sufficient Ns were reported.
See Bonus Detail Report which provides more detail on numbers and percentages reporting.
119 82% Number and percent of working and military who reported salary.
Not Applicable Not Applicable Salary median for working and military: $68000
40 28% Number and percent of working who reported receiving a bonus above $0.
Not Applicable Not Applicable Bonus Median: $5000

Job Source

Question for working respondents.

Regarding the job you accepted: Which best describes the way you first made contact with this employer?

19 13% Worked / volunteered with this employer in the past.
22 16% Knew / met the employer through someone I know (networking).
33 23% Career fair.
7 5% Handshake.
1 1% On-Campus Interviewing Program (employer interviewed in Smith Career Center).
21 15% Went directly to employer website.
19 13% Used job-seeker website, other than Handshake.
3 2% Information posted or messaged from my academic department.
2 1% Employer spoke at a presentation I attended.
14 10% Did not answer

Job related to Career Goals

Question for working respondents.

Do you consider your job to be related to your career goals?

85 60% Very
44 31% Somewhat
0 0% Not
12 9% Did not answer

Job Related to Major

Question for working respondents.

Do you consider your job to be related to your major?

78 55% Very
45 32% Somewhat
6 4% Not
12 9% Did not answer

Number of Job Offers

Question for working respondents.

As best as you recall, how many job offers have you received?

73 52% One
35 25% Two
13 9% Three
7 5% Four
1 1% Five or more
12 9% Did not answer

Career Planning and Preparation

Learned Job Search Skills | Source of Learning

Questions for working and still seeking employment respondents.

Which best describes the extent to which you learned job search skills during college?

44 20% Learned most that I needed.
130 60% Learned some, but not all, that I needed.
27 12% Learned nothing, or very little
17 8% Did not answer

If you learned job search skills, where did you learn them? Check all that apply.

82 38% Career & Professional Development; advising, presentations, website, resource center.
24 11% Career Planning Guide; booklet free to VT students from CPD.
17 8% Other books, magazines, print materials.
92 42% Websites external to Virginia Tech.
37 17% Academic-credit course in my major or college.
11 5% Not-for-credit program in my major or college.
75 34% Advisors, staff, professors in my major or college.
26 12% Other VT advisors, staff, professors, NOT in my major or college.
100 46% Employers, mentors at jobs, internships.
136 62% Parents, adult relatives, family friends.
114 52% Peers.
29 13% Did not answer

Advising on Continuing Education

Question for continuing education respondents only.

Where did you get advice about graduate or professional school? Check all that apply.

39 68% Professors at Virginia Tech.
26 46% Academic advisors at Virginia Tech.
0 0% Pre-professional school advisors at Virginia Tech.
2 4% Career center advisors at Virginia Tech.
21 37% Professionals working in the field I want to pursue.
18 32% Faculty or staff at the graduate or professional schools I considered.
17 30% Websites of the graduate or professional schools I considered.
14 25% Websites about professions and graduate schools.
32 56% Parents, adult relatives
23 40% Peers.
5 9% Print information: books, magazines, etc.
2 4% Did not answer
Experience during College
Questions for all respondents.

Did you have any type of career-related experience during college?

224 79% Yes
40 14% No
20 7% Did not answer

If yes, what types of experience did you have? Check all that apply.

34 12% Volunteer work
52 18% Part-time job
68 24% Summer job
16 6% Unpaid internship
172 61% Paid internship
68 24% Co-op
80 28% Undergraduate research
6 2% Field study
56 20% Did not answer

If you checked "UNPAID internship," how many did you have?

19 7% One
2 1% Two
2 1% Three
1 0% Four or More
260 92% Did not answer

If you checked "PAID internship," how many did you have?

80 28% One
58 20% Two
29 10% Three
16 6% Four or More
101 36% Did not answer

Used Career Center

Question for all respondents.

As you recall: During college, did you use any resources provided by the Virginia Tech career center? (could include advising, books, workshops, publications, website, Handshake, employment interviews, etc.)

51 18% Never
36 13% Don't recall or unsure
151 53% Yes, but not often
27 10% Yes, often
19 7% Did not answer

Regrets

Question for all respondents.

If you could start over in college, is there anything you would do differently related to career planning

120 42% No. Mostly I did what I needed to achieve my goals.
143 50% Yes. I would do something differently.
21 7% Did not answer

If yes, please check all that apply.
I wish I had...

95 33% Learned more, or earlier, about career options.
49 17% Learned more, or earlier, about graduate or professional school.
78 27% Asked advisors, staff, professors for advice, earlier, or more often.
110 39% Gotten more experience related to my major or career goals.
94 33% Started my job search earlier.
59 21% Used more or different job search resources.
123 43% Did not answer