More Success Stories

About the Survey

Each year Career Services surveys new graduates about their post-graduation pursuits to learn whether they have secured employment, have been admitted to graduate school, are volunteering or are in process of pursuing one of these goals.

Data collection begins in April prior to May Commencement and continues through the following February, usually resulting in a 97-99 percent response rate.  Surveys are emailed to graduating seniors in April, hard copies of surveys are collected at Commencement in May, follow-up emails are sent in October, Phonathon calling takes place in November and January and continued phone calls and emails round out the data collection through the end of February.

The resultant aggregated data includes information about percentage working or going to school, locations, a sampling of employers and graduate programs, salaries, and internship information.  For questions or more detailed information please contact career.services@southwestern.edu.

Downloadable archived data is available from the links below, followed by highlights for the most recent class. For each class from 2000 through 2007 the class comprises graduates from August, December and May.  For 2008 the class comprises graduates from August 2007, December 2007, May 2008 and August 2008.  From 2009 forward the class includes December, May and August graduates.

Class of 2008
Class of 2007
Class of 2006
Class of 2005
Class of 2004
Class of 2003
Class of 2002
Class of 2001
Class of 2000

To take the Survey

The Class of 2009 (December 2008, May 2009, August 2009) survey takes place from April 2009 to May 2010.  To complete the survey, please click here to download and return responses via email to afca@southwestern.edu or fax to 512.863.1270.

Where is the Class of 2008 now?

Responses for entire class

The Class of 2008 comprises 334 graduates from August 2007, December 2007, May 2008 and August 2008. Career Services obtained responses from 325 (97 percent of the class). 

65 %    Employed
26 %    Graduate / professional school or advanced coursework
9 %      Other (seeking, volunteering, etc.)

Responses by school / division

The 58 graduates who earned two or more majors were tallied in each major for a look at responses by major and corresponding school/division:

Brown College of Arts and Sciences        

Division of Humanities        
66.7 %    Employed
21.1 %    Graduate/Professional School or Advanced Coursework
12.3 %    Other
    
Division of Natural Sciences    
50.0 %     Employed
43.1 %     Graduate/Professional School or Advanced Coursework
6.9 %       Other
    
Division of Social Sciences    
65.0 %     Employed
27.1 %     Graduate/Professional School or Advanced Coursework        
7.9 %       Other

Sarofim School of Fine Arts                

85.7 %     Employed
11.9 %     Graduate/Professional School or Advanced Coursework        
2.4 %       Other

Independent / Interdisciplinary majors            

71.4 %     Employed
21.4 %     Graduate/Professional School or Advanced Coursework        
7.1 %       Other

Employment

How did they locate positions?

For employed graduates who reported the method by which they secured positions:

40 %   Networking
21 %   Internet
12 %   Directly contacted organizations
8 %     Career Services
7%      Career-related experience / internship
3 %     SU professor
2 %     Employment agency
1 %     Classified ad
6%      Other (e.g. self-employed, family business)

Where are they working?

76 %    Texas
18 %    18 other states, including:
            4 %    New York
            3 %    Oregon
            1.6 %    Florida
            1.6%    Kansas
6 %    Internationally (China, Chile, England, France, Germany, Israel, Poland and Spain)

When did they begin their search?

Graduates employed or seeking employment who responded about their job search process reported beginning:

22 %    Before senior year
22 %    Falls semester of senior year
18 %    Beginning of spring of senior year
12 %    End of spring of senior year
15 %    After graduation

What do they earn?

Respondents working full-time who reported annual salaries earn:

49 %    less than $30,000
45 %    $30,000 to $50,000
6 %      more than $50,000

Is the work in their field of interest?

Since a liberal arts education prepares students broadly for many kinds of work, majors do not typically correlate directly with specific job titles.  Instead, employed graduates decided whether their work is related to their interests, reporting:

60 %    Yes, in my field of interest
23 %    No, not in my field of interest
17 %    No answer

Selected employing organizations and positions

adidas Group, Intern - adidas Innovation Team
Austin Studios (Austin Film Society), Grip Production Assistant
Brown Books Publishing Group, Editorial Assistant
Chase, Banker
City Year New York, Service Leader
Clear Creek ISD, Elementary Music Teacher
CODA, Inc., Clinical Drug Trials Researcher
Continental Airlines, Pricing Analyst
Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas, Data Analyst
Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Accountant
Fidelity Investments, Customer Service Associate
Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P, Legal Assistant
Hapoel Be'eri Basketball Team, Basketball Player
Hawker Beechcraft Corporation, Process Engineer
Helping Hand Home for Children, Therapeutic Child Care Specialist
Institute of International Education Fulbright Program, English Teaching Assistant
Intellicap Recruiting, Junior Recruiter
Jewish Community Center of Houston, Marketing Coordinator
Jimmy Choo - USA, Public Relations Coordinator - East Coast
Ketchum, Public Relations Account Coordinator
KPMG LLP, Auditor
Louisiana State University Health Science Center, Department of Neurosurgery Research Associate I
McNay Art Museum, Membership Coordinator
Ministry of Education of France, English Teaching Assistant
Mother & Child Education Center, Client Care Coordinator
MTV, Casting Associate - Reality Shows
Mustang Engineering Inc., Environmental Inspector
National Institutes of Health, Intramural Research Training Award Research Fellow
National Instruments, Technical Writer
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Services, Observer
Nickelodeon, Production Assistant
North Texas Food Bank, Community Relations Coordinator
The Progressive Corporation, Customer Service Representative
Risked Revenue Energy Associates, Analyst
Rudd and Wisdom, Inc., Actuarial Analyst
Southwestern University, Assistant Director of Alumni Relations
St. Michael's Catholic Academy, Latin Teacher
Teach for America, Elementary School Teacher
Theatre L'Homme Dieu, Assistant Costume Shop Manager
U.S. PIRG, Political Organizer Fellowship
United States Army, Combat Medic
University Medical Center at Brackenridge, Research Assistant
The University of Texas at Austin, Financial Aid Counselor
USAA, Actuarial Analyst
Worldwide Strategic Partners, Inc., Consultant

Graduate / Professional School and Advanced Coursework

What kind of programs are they pursuing?

48 %    Graduate school (e.g. Master of Arts, PhD, etc.)
23 %    Law school
12 %    Advanced coursework (e.g. teacher or CPA certification, grad school pre-requisites, second Bachelor's)
10 %    Medical school (MD, DO)
7 %      Other professional school (e.g. DDS, OD, etc.)

Where are they studying?

69 %    Texas
30 %    16 other U.S. states and India

Selected institutions and programs of study

American University, JD/MS - Justice, Law, & Society
Baylor College of Medicine, MS - Physician Assistant
Claremont Graduate University, MA - History of Christianity
Colorado State University, MS - Computer Science
Corcoran College of Art + Design, MA - History of the Decorative Arts
Duke Divinity School, Master of Divinity
Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, JD
Stanford University, PhD - German Studies
Syracuse University College of Law, JD
Texas A&M University, Master's Program in International Affairs (MPIA)
The University of Texas at Austin School of Law, JD
University of California, Berkeley, PhD - Neurobiology
University of California, San Diego, PhD - Chemistry
University of Denverm, MSW
University of Florida, MA - English
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, PhD - Educational Psychology
University of Massachusetts - Amherst, PhD - Microbiology
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, MD
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, MD
University of Houston College of Optometry, OD
Vanderbilt University, MEd - Human Development Counseling

Internships

Total internships:

Nearly 60 percent of the Class of 2008 reported having one or more internships.  Nearly one quarter (24 percent) reported having two or more internships:

19.2 %       No answer
0.9 %         6
0.6 %         5
0.6 %         4
6.9 %         3
15.0 %       2
35.3 %       1
21.6 %       0

Number of internship for academic credit (for those reporting about academic internships):

0.43 %        6
0.86 %        4
3.00 %        3
7.73 %        2
43.78 %      1
44.21 %      0

Number of internships for experience only (for those reporting about experience-only internships):

0.43 %        5
0.43 %        4
1.72 %        3
10.73 %      2
33.91 %      1
52.79 %      0

Pay for internships:

39 %    Paid
47 %    Unpaid
14 %    Both (for graduates with more than one experience: some paid, some unpaid)

Helpfulness of internships:

53 %    Very helpful
38 %    Somewhat helpful
9 %      Not helpful

Satisfaction with Career Services

Whether pursuing employment or continuing education, respondents who reported using Career Services rated their satsifaction with Career Services resources, including individual advising, workshops and recruiting:

58 %    Very satisfied
36 %    Somewhat satisfied
6 %      Not satisfied