Miami grads in demand: Most are employed soon after graduating

Graphic depicts new survey findings for graduate employmentby Margo Kissell, university news and communications

Nearly 96 percent (95.5) of Miami University students who graduated in 2014-2015 were employed or continuing their education by fall 2015, Miami’s office of institutional research reports.

Miami obtained educational and employment data for 2,696 of the 3,602 students (74.8 percent) who graduated with bachelor’s degrees from the Oxford campus from August 2014-May 2015 to provide a collective snapshot of new alumni success.

Significant findings include:

  • 17.7 percent had enrolled in school, mostly graduate or professional schools.
  • Among alumni who were not enrolled in graduate or professional school, 93.9 percent were employed or had received a job offer, while 6.1 percent were not employed.
  • 39.5 percent of employed new alumni had previously worked for their current employer, most often as an intern or co-op student (24.5 percent).

The majority of working alumni reported salaries between $40,000 and $69,999 in their first year:

  • 17.7 percent earn from $40,000-$49,999 annually.
  • 29 percent earn from $50,000-$59,999 annually.
  • 13.5 percent earn from $60,000-$69,999 annually.

Other points of interest:

  • 53.7 percent of last year’s graduates live in Ohio.
  • 8 percent are studying at the master’s level and 4.4 percent are in doctoral level programs.
  • For bachelor’s degree recipients from the College of Professional Studies and Applied Sciences at the Regionals, 97.5 percent were employed or enrolled in school, with 78.2 percent of employed alumni working in a position that required a college degree.
  • For graduate degree recipients, 96.1 percent were employed or enrolled in school, and 23.6 percent of those employed were working at a college or university.

Outstanding career preparation is one of the reasons the Princeton Review included Miami in its Colleges That Pay You Back book. Payscale.com places Miami first among Ohio publics for best salary potential after graduation.

Employers are interviewing Miami students at record pace. Michael Goldman, director of career services, said 306 employers were at last fall’s career fair, and the 2016 Spring Internship and Career Expo (ICE) drew 230 employers. In total, more than 1,800 organizations have recruited Miami students this 2015-2016 academic year.

Educational and career placement data were collected from numerous sources, including surveys, searches of public LinkedIn profiles, the National Student Clearinghouse, Miami’s data system.

This is the third year for the report. More survey results are available at New Alumni Success Project.