First Destination Report: 2023-2024 Undergraduate Degree Recipients

College of Science

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
%
1161 Total Graduates
681 59% Reported first destination / respondents
480 41% Unreported / non-respondents

Outcome

What are you primarily doing after graduation?
%
233 34% Working
11 2% Military
9 1% Volunteering
196 29% Continuing Education
0 0% Fellowship
162 24% Still Seeking Employment
68 10% 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, 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.

%
122 50% Number and percent of working and military who reported salary.
Salary median for full-time working and military: $50000
28 11% 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?
%
28 12% Worked / volunteered with this employer in the past.
36 15% Knew / met the employer through someone I know (networking).
7 3% Career fair.
13 6% Handshake.
1 0% On-Campus Interviewing Program (employer interviewed in Smith Career Center).
22 9% Went directly to employer website.
25 11% Used job-seeker website, other than Handshake.
4 2% Information posted or messaged from my academic department.
2 1% Employer spoke at a presentation I attended.
86 37% Did not answer

Job related to Career Goals

Question for working respondents

Do you consider your job to be related to your career goals?
%
97 42% Very
48 21% Somewhat
8 3% Not
80 34% Did not answer

Job related to Major

Question for working respondents

Do you consider your job to be related to your major?
%
75 32% Very
60 26% Somewhat
18 8% Not
80 34% Did not answer

Number of Job Offers

Question for working respondents

As best as you recall, how many job offers have you received?
%
79 34% One
29 12% Two
15 6% Three
2 1% Four
1 0% Five or more
81 35% 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?
%
71 18% Learned most that I needed.
176 45% Learned some, but not all, that I needed.
53 13% Learned nothing, or very little
95 24% Did not answer
If you learned job search skills, where did you learn them? Check all that apply.
%
82 21% Career & Professional Development; advising, presentations, website, resource center.
6 2% Career Planning Guide; booklet free to VT students from CPD.
15 4% Other books, magazines, print materials.
94 24% Websites external to Virginia Tech.
104 26% Academic-credit course in my major or college.
11 3% Not-for-credit program in my major or college.
119 30% Advisors, staff, professors in my major or college.
25 6% Other VT advisors, staff, professors, NOT in my major or college.
120 30% Employers, mentors at jobs, internships.
166 42% Parents, adult relatives, family friends.
121 31% Peers.
121 31% 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.
%
112 57% Professors at Virginia Tech.
56 29% Academic advisors at Virginia Tech.
14 7% Pre-professional school advisors at Virginia Tech.
0 0% Career center advisors at Virginia Tech.
59 30% Professionals working in the field I want to pursue.
55 28% Faculty or staff at the graduate or professional schools I considered.
82 42% Websites of the graduate or professional schools I considered.
0 0% Websites about professions and graduate schools.
68 35% Parents, adult relatives
84 43% Peers.
8 4% Print information: books, magazines, etc.
22 11% Did not answer

Experience During College

Questions for all respondents

Did you have any type of career-related experience during college?
%
402 59% Yes
131 19% No
148 22% 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.
%
160 23% Volunteer work
201 30% Part-time job
216 32% Summer job
5 1% Co-op (cooperative education)
212 31% Undergraduate research
38 6% Field study
37 5% Study abroad
280 41% Did not answer

Internship Experience

Questions for all respondents.

Did you have any type of internship during college (including paid, unpaid, or both)?
%
221 32% Yes
160 23% No
213 42% 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)
%
137 20% None
62 9% One
13 2% Two
7 1% Three or more
462 68% 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)
%
43 6% None
122 18% One
43 6% Two
11 2% Three or more
462 68% 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.
%
99 15 I did not need an internship. I had other forms of experience relevant to my career goals and/or major
85 12 I did not know all the possible sources to find an internship
72 11 I did not have all the job search skills I needed to secure an internship
66 10 I did not have all the qualifications employers required
42 6 Unpaid internships are the norm in my field, and I could not afford to work without pay
47 7 I could not find an internship in the geographic location I wanted
70 10 I could not find an internship with timing that worked for my schedule
5 1 I was offered an internship, but it was cancelled by the employer (due to economic issues, such as the pandemic, or other causes)
3 0 I was offered an in-person internship at a location to which I could not relocate due to costs
404 59 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.)

%
111 16% Never
77 11% Don't recall or unsure
332 49% Yes, but not often
34 5% Yes, often
127 19% 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

%
195 29% No. Mostly I did what I needed to achieve my goals.
364 53% Yes. I would do something differently.
122 18% Did not answer

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

%
262 38% Learned more, or earlier, about career options.
201 30% Learned more, or earlier, about graduate or professional school.
213 31% Asked advisors, staff, professors for advice, earlier, or more often.
265 39% Gotten more experience related to my major or career goals.
188 28% Started my job search earlier.
104 15% Used more or different job search resources.
283 42% Did not answer