First Destination Report: 2021-2022 Undergraduate Degree Recipients for College of Engineering

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

Response Rate

Number of Respondents %
Category
1979 Not Applicable Total Graduates
1165 59% Reported first destination / respondents
814 41% Unreported / non-respondents

Outcome

What are you primarily doing after graduation?
775 67% Working
30 3% Military
1 0% Volunteering
179 15% Continuing Education
0 0% Fellowship
165 14% Still Seeking Employment
13 1% Still Seeking Continuing Education
2 0% Not Seeking (traveling, gap year, taking time off, other)

Continuing Education Details

Respondents who indicate continuing education are asked to report their institution and location, and their degree level and program of study.

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

Working Details

Respondents who indicate working are asked to report their employer, position title, and location.

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

Salary and Bonus

Question for working and military respondents Note
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.
640 80% Number and percent of working and military who reported salary.
Not Applicable Not Applicable Salary median for full-time working and military: $74000
293 36% 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?

103 13% Worked / volunteered with this employer in the past.
114 15% Knew / met the employer through someone I know (networking).
204 26% Career fair.
38 5% Handshake.
10 1% On-Campus Interviewing Program (employer interviewed in Smith Career Center).
106 14% Went directly to employer website.
64 8% Used job-seeker website, other than Handshake.
27 3% Information posted or messaged from my academic department.
14 2% Employer spoke at a presentation I attended.
95 12% Did not answer

Job related to Career Goals

Question for working respondents.

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

540 70% Very
149 19% Somewhat
5 1% Not
81 10% Did not answer

Job Related to Major

Question for working respondents.

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

534 69% Very
140 18% Somewhat
20 3% Not
81 10% Did not answer

Number of Job Offers

Question for working respondents.

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

258 33% One
165 21% Two
115 15% Three
61 8% Four
60 8% Five or more
84 11% 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?

310 33% Learned most that I needed.
427 45% Learned some, but not all, that I needed.
96 10% Learned nothing, or very little
107 11% Did not answer

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

345 37% Career & Professional Development; advising, presentations, website, resource center.
82 9% Career Planning Guide; booklet free to VT students from CPD.
50 5% Other books, magazines, print materials.
378 40% Websites external to Virginia Tech.
295 31% Academic-credit course in my major or college.
46 5% Not-for-credit program in my major or college.
314 33% Advisors, staff, professors in my major or college.
79 8% Other VT advisors, staff, professors, NOT in my major or college.
465 49% Employers, mentors at jobs, internships.
502 53% Parents, adult relatives, family friends.
430 46% Peers.
171 18% 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.

101 56% Professors at Virginia Tech.
76 42% Academic advisors at Virginia Tech.
3 2% Pre-professional school advisors at Virginia Tech.
5 3% Career center advisors at Virginia Tech.
52 29% Professionals working in the field I want to pursue.
48 27% Faculty or staff at the graduate or professional schools I considered.
55 31% Websites of the graduate or professional schools I considered.
0 0% Websites about professions and graduate schools.
73 41% Parents, adult relatives
72 40% Peers.
4 2% Print information: books, magazines, etc.
15 8% Did not answer
Experience during College
Questions for all respondents.

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

825 71% Yes
170 15% No
170 15% Stated prefer not to answer OR did not answer
TYPES OF EXPERIENCE OTHER THAN INTERNSHIPS
Questions for all respondents.

If you had any of the following types of experience, check all that apply.

130 11% Volunteer work
283 24% Part-time job
629 54% Summer job
138 12% Co-op
287 25% Undergraduate research
13 1% Field study
372 32% Did not answer
INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE
Questions for all respondents.

Did you have any type of internship during college (including paid, unpaid, or both)?

742 64% Yes
75 6% No
290 29% Stated prefer not to answer OR did not answer

Question asked to those who responded “yes” to had internship:
How many unpaid internships did you have?
("unpaid" meaning no monetary compensation, such as wage, salary, or stipend)

641 55% None
63 5% One
22 2% Two
12 1% Three or more
427 37% Did not answer OR question not applicable

Question asked to those who responded “yes” to had internship:
How many paid internships did you have?
("paid" meaning monetary compensation, including wage, salary, or stipend)

24 2% None
276 24% One
250 21% Two
190 16% Three or more
425 36% Did not answer OR question not applicable
NO INTERNSHIPS; REASONS
Question asked to those who responded “no” to had internship:

You said you did not have any internships during college. Please check any of the following that are applicable to you.

43 4% I did not need an internship. I had other forms of experience relevant to my career goals and/or major
54 5% I did not know all the possible sources to find an internship
74 6% I did not have all the job search skills I needed to secure an internship
89 8% I did not have all the qualifications employers required
9 1% Unpaid internships are the norm in my field, and I could not afford to work without pay
50 4% I could not find an internship in the geographic location I wanted
52 4% I could not find an internship with timing that worked for my schedule
32 3% I was offered an internship, but it was cancelled by the employer (due to economic issues, such as the pandemic, or other causes)
4 0% I was offered an in-person internship at a location to which I could not relocate due to costs
943 81% Did not answer OR question not applicable

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.)

184 16% Never
140 12% Don't recall or unsure
580 50% Yes, but not often
111 10% Yes, often
150 13% 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

523 45% No. Mostly I did what I needed to achieve my goals.
519 45% Yes. I would do something differently.
123 11% Did not answer

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

366 31% Learned more, or earlier, about career options.
163 14% Learned more, or earlier, about graduate or professional school.
290 25% Asked advisors, staff, professors for advice, earlier, or more often.
366 31% Gotten more experience related to my major or career goals.
319 27% Started my job search earlier.
232 20% Used more or different job search resources.
556 48% Did not answer