Barbara Hewitt
The Career Services staff has been spending lots of time lately collecting and reviewing data for our Postgraduate Career Plans and Summer Surveys. I recently completed the Career Plans Survey for the Wharton Undergraduate Class of 2011. Guess what? They did fabulous! In fact, we had the lowest percentage of graduates still seeking opportunities (as of the end of October) than I have witnessed in my 13 years at Penn. Although data from last year is not necessarily a predictor of what will happen with the Class of 2012, it is important to remember that Penn graduates traditionally do very well upon graduation. While we are not immune to the recent economic uncertainty and turmoil, it is important not to let the nightly news get you too discouraged… there are interesting and rewarding opportunities out there.
A few interesting facts about the Wharton Undergraduate Class of 2011:
• The average starting base salary was $66,412. The range was $20,000 – $120,000.
• 89.5% of respondents were employed and 5.6% planned to pursue additional education.
• The average student had 12.5 first-round interviews and received 2.2 job offers.
• Of the students who reported accepting jobs, 82.5% accepted them during the fall and 95.6% accepted before graduation. 4.4% of students reported they were still seeking opportunities (employment or graduate school) as of October 2011.
We prepare post-graduate reports for each of the undergraduate schools at Penn which can be found on our surveys page: http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/undergrad/reports.html. (The CAS and SEAS reports are in progress and should be available soon.) We also prepare reports on summer experiences, particularly focused on those between junior and senior years. We are currently putting out a last call for undergraduate students to tell us what you did last summer! We will be analyzing data from Summer 2011 in the next few weeks. If you haven’t completed the survey yet please take a few minutes to do so now at: https://secure.www.upenn.edu/vpul/careerservices/forms/2011summersurvey/survey.php. (Note you will need your PennKey and PennKey password to access the survey.) Your participation will greatly enhance the accuracy and usefulness of our survey and will be much appreciated by the Career Services staff (and your fellow students!)