First Destination Report: 2022-2023 Undergraduate Degree Recipients

College of Engineering

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

The number of respondents (N) and percentage of respondents (%) are shown for each topic and question.

Response Rate
%
2506 Total Graduates
1671 67% Reported first destination / respondents
835 33% Unreported / non-respondents

Outcome

What are you primarily doing after graduation?
%
1061 63% Working
42 3% Military
3 0% Volunteering
322 19% Continuing Education
0 0% Fellowship
217 13% Still Seeking Employment
21 1% Still Seeking Continuing Education
5 0% Not Seeking (traveling, gap year, taking time off, other)

Continuing Education Details

Respondents who indicate continuing education are asked to report their institution, location, 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.

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.

%
816 74% Number and percent of working and military who reported salary.
Salary median for full-time working and military: $77000
397 36% Number and percent of working who reported receiving a bonus above $0.
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?
%
129 12% Worked / volunteered with this employer in the past.
167 16% Knew / met the employer through someone I know (networking).
40 4% Career fair.
56 5% Handshake.
10 1% On-Campus Interviewing Program (employer interviewed in Smith Career Center).
118 11% Went directly to employer website.
83 8% Used job-seeker website, other than Handshake.
20 2% Information posted or messaged from my academic department.
10 1% Employer spoke at a presentation I attended.
158 15% Did not answer

Job related to Career Goals

Question for working respondents

Do you consider your job to be related to your career goals?
%
698 66% Very
215 20% Somewhat
8 1% Not
140 13% Did not answer

Job related to Major

Question for working respondents

Do you consider your job to be related to your major?
%
729 69% Very
171 16% Somewhat
22 2% Not
139 13% Did not answer

Number of Job Offers

Question for working respondents

As best as you recall, how many job offers have you received?
%
327 31% One
235 22% Two
158 15% Three
66 6% Four
83 8% Five or more
143 13% 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?
%
373 29% Learned most that I needed.
607 47% Learned some, but not all, that I needed.
124 10% Learned nothing, or very little
174 14% Did not answer
If you learned job search skills, where did you learn them? Check all that apply.
%
402 31% Career & Professional Development; advising, presentations, website, resource center.
59 5% Career Planning Guide; booklet free to VT students from CPD.
66 5% Other books, magazines, print materials.
521 41% Websites external to Virginia Tech.
315 25% Academic-credit course in my major or college.
43 3% Not-for-credit program in my major or college.
408 32% Advisors, staff, professors in my major or college.
116 9% Other VT advisors, staff, professors, NOT in my major or college.
584 46% Employers, mentors at jobs, internships.
671 53% Parents, adult relatives, family friends.
574 45% Peers.
280 22% Did not answer

Advising on Continuing Education

Questions for continuing education respondents only.

Where did you get advice about graduate or professional school? Check all that apply.
%
215 67% Professors at Virginia Tech.
154 48% Academic advisors at Virginia Tech.
6 2% Pre-professional school advisors at Virginia Tech.
2 1% Career center advisors at Virginia Tech.
98 30% Professionals working in the field I want to pursue.
73 23% Faculty or staff at the graduate or professional schools I considered.
96 30% Websites of the graduate or professional schools I considered.
0 0% Websites about professions and graduate schools.
148 46% Parents, adult relatives
145 45% Peers.
8 2% Print information: books, magazines, etc.
26 8% Did not answer

Experience During College

Questions for all respondents

Did you have any type of career-related experience during college?
%
1191 71% Yes
212 13% No
268 16% 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.
%
164 10% Volunteer work
394 24% Part-time job
823 49% Summer job
145 9% Co-op (cooperative education)
441 26% Undergraduate research
21 1% Field study
0 0% Study abroad
544 33% Did not answer

Internship Experience

Questions for all respondents.

Did you have any type of internship during college (including paid, unpaid, or both)?
%
1063 64% Yes
119 7% No
458 28% 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)
%
892 53% None
116 7% One
33 2% Two
17 1% Three or more
613 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)
%
22 1% None
454 27% One
372 22% Two
211 13% Three or more
612 37% Did not answer OR question not applicable

No Internship; Reasons

Questions 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.
%
72 4 I did not need an internship. I had other forms of experience relevant to my career goals and/or major
77 5 I did not know all the possible sources to find an internship
119 7 I did not have all the job search skills I needed to secure an internship
124 7 I did not have all the qualifications employers required
5 0 Unpaid internships are the norm in my field, and I could not afford to work without pay
59 4 I could not find an internship in the geographic location I wanted
82 5 I could not find an internship with timing that worked for my schedule
14 1 I was offered an internship, but it was cancelled by the employer (due to economic issues, such as the pandemic, or other causes)
5 0 I was offered an in-person internship at a location to which I could not relocate due to costs
1370 82 Did not answer OR question not applicable

Used Career Center

Questions for all respondents.

As you recall: During college did you use any resources provided by Virginia Tech Career and Professional Development)? (could include advising, workshops, publications, website, Handshake, employment interviews, etc.)

%
302 18% Never
235 14% Don't recall or unsure
812 49% Yes, but not often
102 6% Yes, often
220 13% Did not answer

Regrets

Questions for all respondents.

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

%
723 43% No. Mostly I did what I needed to achieve my goals.
759 45% Yes. I would do something differently.
189 11% Did not answer

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

%
529 32% Learned more, or earlier, about career options.
280 17% Learned more, or earlier, about graduate or professional school.
458 27% Asked advisors, staff, professors for advice, earlier, or more often.
507 30% Gotten more experience related to my major or career goals.
478 29% Started my job search earlier.
312 19% Used more or different job search resources.
786 47% Did not answer