First Destination Report: 2023-2024 Undergraduate Degree Recipients

Whole University

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
%
7395 Total Graduates
4682 63% Reported first destination / respondents
2713 37% Unreported / non-respondents

Outcome

What are you primarily doing after graduation?
%
2469 53% Working
124 3% Military
15 0% Volunteering
914 20% Continuing Education
0 0% Fellowship
971 21% Still Seeking Employment
168 4% Still Seeking Continuing Education
21 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.

%
1359 52% Number and percent of working and military who reported salary.
Salary median for full-time working and military: $70000
518 20% 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?
%
314 13% Worked / volunteered with this employer in the past.
376 15% Knew / met the employer through someone I know (networking).
71 3% Career fair.
111 4% Handshake.
29 1% On-Campus Interviewing Program (employer interviewed in Smith Career Center).
223 9% Went directly to employer website.
200 8% Used job-seeker website, other than Handshake.
32 1% Information posted or messaged from my academic department.
21 1% Employer spoke at a presentation I attended.
716 29% Did not answer

Job related to Career Goals

Question for working respondents

Do you consider your job to be related to your career goals?
%
1317 53% Very
434 18% Somewhat
56 2% Not
662 27% Did not answer

Job related to Major

Question for working respondents

Do you consider your job to be related to your major?
%
1259 51% Very
438 18% Somewhat
106 4% Not
666 27% Did not answer

Number of Job Offers

Question for working respondents

As best as you recall, how many job offers have you received?
%
752 30% One
436 18% Two
245 10% Three
79 3% Four
106 4% Five or more
677 27% 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?
%
934 27% Learned most that I needed.
1488 43% Learned some, but not all, that I needed.
289 8% Learned nothing, or very little
729 21% Did not answer
If you learned job search skills, where did you learn them? Check all that apply.
%
958 28% Career & Professional Development; advising, presentations, website, resource center.
143 4% Career Planning Guide; booklet free to VT students from CPD.
150 4% Other books, magazines, print materials.
907 26% Websites external to Virginia Tech.
990 29% Academic-credit course in my major or college.
138 4% Not-for-credit program in my major or college.
1237 36% Advisors, staff, professors in my major or college.
289 8% Other VT advisors, staff, professors, NOT in my major or college.
1425 41% Employers, mentors at jobs, internships.
1632 47% Parents, adult relatives, family friends.
1258 37% Peers.
920 27% 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.
%
505 55% Professors at Virginia Tech.
325 36% Academic advisors at Virginia Tech.
38 4% Pre-professional school advisors at Virginia Tech.
0 0% Career center advisors at Virginia Tech.
293 32% Professionals working in the field I want to pursue.
238 26% Faculty or staff at the graduate or professional schools I considered.
326 36% Websites of the graduate or professional schools I considered.
0 0% Websites about professions and graduate schools.
379 41% Parents, adult relatives
398 44% Peers.
24 3% Print information: books, magazines, etc.
72 8% Did not answer

Experience During College

Questions for all respondents

Did you have any type of career-related experience during college?
%
3051 65% Yes
644 14% No
987 21% 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.
%
771 16% Volunteer work
1416 30% Part-time job
1918 41% Summer job
212 5% Co-op (cooperative education)
897 19% Undergraduate research
411 9% Field study
366 8% Study abroad
1739 37% Did not answer

Internship Experience

Questions for all respondents.

Did you have any type of internship during college (including paid, unpaid, or both)?
%
2403 51% Yes
595 13% No
1316 35% 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)
%
1797 38% None
410 9% One
130 3% Two
53 1% Three or more
2292 49% 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)
%
228 5% None
1054 23% One
760 16% Two
357 8% Three or more
2283 49% 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.
%
363 8 I did not need an internship. I had other forms of experience relevant to my career goals and/or major
297 6 I did not know all the possible sources to find an internship
309 7 I did not have all the job search skills I needed to secure an internship
285 6 I did not have all the qualifications employers required
174 4 Unpaid internships are the norm in my field, and I could not afford to work without pay
256 5 I could not find an internship in the geographic location I wanted
307 7 I could not find an internship with timing that worked for my schedule
27 1 I was offered an internship, but it was cancelled by the employer (due to economic issues, such as the pandemic, or other causes)
30 1 I was offered an in-person internship at a location to which I could not relocate due to costs
3509 75 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.)

%
745 16% Never
643 14% Don't recall or unsure
2130 45% Yes, but not often
336 7% Yes, often
828 18% 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

%
1682 36% No. Mostly I did what I needed to achieve my goals.
2172 46% Yes. I would do something differently.
828 18% Did not answer

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

%
1701 36% Learned more, or earlier, about career options.
879 19% Learned more, or earlier, about graduate or professional school.
1316 28% Asked advisors, staff, professors for advice, earlier, or more often.
1511 32% Gotten more experience related to my major or career goals.
1290 28% Started my job search earlier.
734 16% Used more or different job search resources.
2129 45% Did not answer