First Destination Report: 2023-2024 Undergraduate Degree Recipients

Biological Sciences

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
%
277 Total Graduates
156 56% Reported first destination / respondents
121 44% Unreported / non-respondents

Outcome

What are you primarily doing after graduation?
%
50 32% Working
1 1% Military
5 3% Volunteering
49 31% Continuing Education
0 0% Fellowship
31 20% Still Seeking Employment
20 13% Still Seeking Continuing Education
0 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.

%
16 31% Number and percent of working and military who reported salary.
Salary median for full-time working and military: $37440
1 2% Number and percent of working who reported receiving a bonus above $0.
Bonus Median:

Job Source

Question for working respondents

Regarding the job you accepted: Which best describes the way you first made contact with this employer?
%
8 16% Worked / volunteered with this employer in the past.
8 16% Knew / met the employer through someone I know (networking).
0 0% Career fair.
3 6% Handshake.
0 0% On-Campus Interviewing Program (employer interviewed in Smith Career Center).
1 2% Went directly to employer website.
5 10% Used job-seeker website, other than Handshake.
2 4% Information posted or messaged from my academic department.
0 0% Employer spoke at a presentation I attended.
23 46% Did not answer

Job related to Career Goals

Question for working respondents

Do you consider your job to be related to your career goals?
%
14 28% Very
13 26% Somewhat
1 2% Not
22 44% Did not answer

Job related to Major

Question for working respondents

Do you consider your job to be related to your major?
%
13 26% Very
14 28% Somewhat
1 2% Not
22 44% Did not answer

Number of Job Offers

Question for working respondents

As best as you recall, how many job offers have you received?
%
14 28% One
5 10% Two
4 8% Three
0 0% Four
0 0% Five or more
22 44% 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?
%
10 12% Learned most that I needed.
36 44% Learned some, but not all, that I needed.
12 15% Learned nothing, or very little
23 28% Did not answer
If you learned job search skills, where did you learn them? Check all that apply.
%
14 17% Career & Professional Development; advising, presentations, website, resource center.
1 1% Career Planning Guide; booklet free to VT students from CPD.
1 1% Other books, magazines, print materials.
14 17% Websites external to Virginia Tech.
14 17% Academic-credit course in my major or college.
3 4% Not-for-credit program in my major or college.
13 16% Advisors, staff, professors in my major or college.
5 6% Other VT advisors, staff, professors, NOT in my major or college.
19 23% Employers, mentors at jobs, internships.
33 41% Parents, adult relatives, family friends.
19 23% Peers.
29 36% 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.
%
19 39% Professors at Virginia Tech.
6 12% Academic advisors at Virginia Tech.
6 12% Pre-professional school advisors at Virginia Tech.
0 0% Career center advisors at Virginia Tech.
18 37% Professionals working in the field I want to pursue.
13 27% Faculty or staff at the graduate or professional schools I considered.
23 47% Websites of the graduate or professional schools I considered.
0 0% Websites about professions and graduate schools.
16 33% Parents, adult relatives
22 45% Peers.
4 8% Print information: books, magazines, etc.
11 22% Did not answer

Experience During College

Questions for all respondents

Did you have any type of career-related experience during college?
%
86 55% Yes
29 19% No
41 26% 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.
%
45 29% Volunteer work
50 32% Part-time job
41 26% Summer job
0 0% Co-op (cooperative education)
41 26% Undergraduate research
7 4% Field study
4 3% Study abroad
69 44% Did not answer

Internship Experience

Questions for all respondents.

Did you have any type of internship during college (including paid, unpaid, or both)?
%
40 26% Yes
43 28% No
43 46% 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)
%
25 16% None
11 7% One
3 2% Two
1 1% Three or more
116 74% 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)
%
7 4% None
27 17% One
5 3% Two
0 0% Three or more
117 75% 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.
%
22 14 I did not need an internship. I had other forms of experience relevant to my career goals and/or major
18 12 I did not know all the possible sources to find an internship
12 8 I did not have all the job search skills I needed to secure an internship
15 10 I did not have all the qualifications employers required
7 4 Unpaid internships are the norm in my field, and I could not afford to work without pay
16 10 I could not find an internship in the geographic location I wanted
16 10 I could not find an internship with timing that worked for my schedule
0 0 I was offered an internship, but it was cancelled by the employer (due to economic issues, such as the pandemic, or other causes)
1 1 I was offered an in-person internship at a location to which I could not relocate due to costs
87 56 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.)

%
25 16% Never
15 10% Don't recall or unsure
72 46% Yes, but not often
5 3% Yes, often
39 25% 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

%
42 27% No. Mostly I did what I needed to achieve my goals.
78 50% Yes. I would do something differently.
36 23% Did not answer

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

%
53 34% Learned more, or earlier, about career options.
46 29% Learned more, or earlier, about graduate or professional school.
43 28% Asked advisors, staff, professors for advice, earlier, or more often.
65 42% Gotten more experience related to my major or career goals.
31 20% Started my job search earlier.
20 13% Used more or different job search resources.
67 43% Did not answer