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 95-99 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 2010
Class of 2009
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 2011 (December 2010, May 2011, August 2011) survey takes place from April 2011 to March 2012.  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 2010 now?

Responses for entire class

The Class of 2010 comprises 275 graduates from December 2009, May 2010 and August 2010. Career Services obtained responses from 274 (99.6 percent of the class). 

62 %    Employed
30 %    Graduate / professional school or advanced coursework
8 %      Other (seeking, volunteering, etc.)

Responses by school / division

The 31 graduates who earned two or more majors were tallied in each major for a look at responses by major and corresponding school/division.  Percentages may not total 100 due to rounding:

Brown College of Arts and Sciences        

Division of Humanities        
66.3 %    Employed
28.2 %    Graduate/Professional School or Advanced Coursework
5.4 %      Other
    
Division of Natural Sciences    
56.7 %     Employed
43.2 %     Graduate/Professional School or Advanced Coursework
0 %          Other
    
Division of Social Sciences    
67.0 %     Employed
21.5 %     Graduate/Professional School or Advanced Coursework        
11.3 %     Other 

Sarofim School of Fine Arts               
73.0 %     Employed
14.7 %     Graduate/Professional School or Advanced Coursework        
11.7 %     Other

Independent / Interdisciplinary majors            

41.6 %     Employed
45.8 %     Graduate/Professional School or Advanced Coursework        
12.5 %     Other

Employment

How did they locate positions?

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

34 %   Other Networking
21 %   Internet
19 %   Directly contacted organizations
8 %     Career-related experience/internship
6 %     Career Services
4 %     SU Professor
4 %     Alumnus/a
2 %     Employment Agency  
2 %     Other (e.g. self-employed, family business)

Where are they working?

82 %    Texas
13 %    13 other states, including:
            3 %    California
            3 %    New York
  5%    Internationally (China, Germany, India, Japan, Namibia, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan)

When did they begin their search?

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

32 %    Before senior year
26 %    Falls semester of senior year
17 %    Beginning of spring of senior year
13 %    End of spring of senior year
12 %    After graduation

What do they earn?

Respondents working full-time who reported annual salaries earn:

50 %    less than $30,000
40 %    $30,000 to $50,000
10%     more than $50,000

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 evaluated their satisfaction with their outcomes, and how well their outcomes match their expectations and meet their interests, reporting:

Is the work in their field of interest?

44 %    Completely
27 %    Somewhat
10 %    Not at all
19 %    No answer

How satisfied are they with their outcome?

32 %    Very happy
37 %    Satisfied
16 %    Slightly unsatisfied
4 %      Completely unsatisfied
11 %      No answer

How well does their outcome match their expectations?

34 %    Meets expectations
23 %    Close to meeting expectations
26 %    Does not match but is happy
6 %      Does not match and is unhappy
11 %    No answer

Selected organizations and positions

Alliance for Global Education (India), Senior Alumni Advisor
Aon Corporation, Early Career Development Program
Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau, Convention Service Coordinator
Austin ISD, High School English Teacher
Bazaarvoice, Associate HR Generalist
Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Texas, Match Support Specialist
Bluebonnet Trails MHMR, Interpreter
Chamber Theatre Productions, Lighting Technician
Clear Creek ISD, Math Teacher/Coach
Conestoga-Rovers & Associates, Environmental Scientist
Cordovan School of the Arts, Teacher
Dallas National Insurance, Underwriter
Destinations by Kennedy, Event Coordinator/Program Manager
Employee Benefits Solutions, Health and Welfare Associate
Fulbright Program, U.S. Department of State (Germany), EnglishTeaching Assistant
Habitat for Humanity, Development Associate
IBM, Software Engineer
Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program, Assistant Language Teacher
KCBD News Channel 11, Promotions Writer/Editor
Killeen ISD, 2nd Grade Teacher
MD Anderson Cancer Center, Pathology Lab Research Assistant
Mexican American Cultural Center, Gallery Assistant
National Instruments, Technical Sales Representative
Night Owl Games, Independent Contractor/Programmer
North Star Consulting, Financial Advisor
Peace Corps, English Teacher
PGC Creative, PR Coordinator
PricewaterhouseCoopers, Audit Associate
Ringdale Inc., ActiveLED Lighting Specialist
Rio Home Health Services, PR Assistant
SafePlace, Community Education Project Planner
Sapient Financial Group, Financial Services Professional
Senior Center, Inc., Development Coordinator
Sierra Club, Youth Campus Organizer
Teach for America, 5-8th Grade Spanish Teacher
Texas State Representative Burt Solomon, Legislative Aide
Theatre Action Project, Teaching Artist
University of North Texas Health Science Center, Clinical Research Coordinator
Valero Energy, Associate Accountant
Wagner College, Admissions Counselor
Walnut Street Theater, Actor
World Series of Team Roping, Social Media Assistant

Graduate / Professional School and Advanced Coursework

What kind of programs are they pursuing?

63 %    Graduate school (e.g. Master of Arts, PhD, etc.)
11 %    Advanced coursework (e.g. teacher or CPA certification, grad school pre-requisites, second Bachelor’s)
10 %    Law School
9 %      Medical School (MD, DO)
4 %      Theological school
4 %      Other professional school (e.g. DDS, OD, DVM, etc.)

Where are they studying?

57 %    Texas
43 %    15 other U.S. states and four countries

Selected institutions and programs of study

Baylor College of Medicine, MD
Baylor University School of Law, JD       
California Institute of the Arts, MFA—Sound Design
City University of New York Graduate Center, PhD—English
Duke University, PhD—Neuroscience
George Washington University, MA—Museum Studies
Georgetown University, MA—History
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, PhD—Microbiology
Oxford University, MBA—International Business
Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, DVM
Ruprecht-Karls Universitaet Heidelberg, PhD—Physics
Texas A&M University, MS—Mechanical Engineering
Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, DO
Texas Woman’s University, DPT (Physical Therapy)
The University of Texas at Austin, MSSW
University of Alabama, JD
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, MLIS
University of North Texas Health Science Center, MPAS (Physician Assistant Studies)
University of Texas at Arlington, MA—City and Regional Planning
University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, DDS
University of Texas Medical Branch, MD/MPH
University of Texas School of Law, JD
University of Utah, MS—Genetic Counseling
University of Wisconsin at Madison, MS—Atmospheric and Oceanic Science
Vanderbilt Divinity School, MTS

Internships

Total internships:

Sixty-four percent of the Class of 2010 reported having one or more internships.  More than one quarter (28 percent) reported having two or more internships:

0.4 %         9
0.4 %         6
0.4 %         5
2.6 %         4
6.6 %         3
16.4 %       2
27.7 %       1
40.9 %       0
4.7 %         No answer

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

23.8 %       2 or more internships
76.3 %       1 internship

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

33.0 %       2 or more internships
67.0 %       1 internship

Pay for internships:

37 %    Paid
43%     Unpaid
20 %    Both (for graduates with more than one experience: some paid, some unpaid)

Helpfulness of internships:

65 %    Very helpful
33 %    Somewhat helpful
2 %      Not helpful

Evaluation

In addition to the evaluation of satisfaction with their outcome and the closeness of the match between their outcome and their expectations, graduates reported on their satisfaction with their interaction with Career Services as well as their overall satisfaction with their Southwestern University education. 

Satisfaction with Career Services

Graduates reported their responses to the question, “How satisfied are you with Career Services regarding guidance provided for securing your job/grad school acceptance?”  Interactions with Career Services can include individual advising appointments, participation in group workshops/events, utilizing the resource library, etc.  More detailed evaluations of each of these components are available through Career Services. 

25 %    Very happy
41 %    Satisfied
9 %      Slightly unsatisfied
3 %      Completely unsatisfied
12 %    Not applicable (did not use)
10 %    No answer

Satisfaction with Southwestern

Graduates reported their responses to the question, “Based on your SU experience, how satisfied are you with your preparation for your [intended] job/graduate school program?” 

34 %     Very happy
47 %     Satisfied
7 %       Slightly unsatisfied
3 %       Completely unsatisfied
9 %       No answer