Graduates from the Class of 2014 will be heading from the stage to offices and locations within the Capital Region, across the nation, and also overseas.
As members of the Rensselaer Class of 2014 cross the stage, what are some of their future plans following Commencement?
Many graduates will continue their studies after graduation. Among the schools that graduates will be attending are: Boston University, Carnegie Mellon University, Cornell University, Duke University, Emory University, Georgetown University, Jefferson Medical College, North Carolina State University, Northwestern University, Otis College of Art and Design, Rutgers University, Texas A&M, University of Alaska at Fairbanks, University of Pennsylvania, Vanderbilt University, William & Mary School of Law, and, of course, Rensselaer.
Today, preliminary results indicate that Rensselaer students—in all areas of study, including management, humanities, social sciences, science, architecture, information technology, and engineering—are landing good jobs.
“Employers today are seeking students with strong problem-solving and decision-making skills,” said Jennifer Walters, director of the Center for Career and Professional Development (CCPD) at Rensselaer. “These soft skills are often acquired and strengthened through internships, co-ops, and other experiential learning experiences students are able to take part in while at Rensselaer. Graduates of Rensselaer continue to be sought out by top employers who value the initiative demonstrated and skills gained by participation in work-based learning.”
Heading from the stage to offices and locations within the Capital Region, across the nation, and also overseas, Rensselaer graduates will work at companies including: Athena Health, Boeing, Bose, Cisco Systems, Dow Jones, Epic, ExxonMobil, Graphene Technologies, Honda, IBM, Integra Life Sciences, iRobot, MasterCard, Microsoft, Nestle USA, National Institutes of Health (NIH) Center for Cancer Research, Ralph Lauren, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, SpaceX, and Tesla Motors.
Job market news continues to look positive for Class of 2014 graduates. According to a recent survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), “employers appear to be holding true to their original hiring projections made for the Class of 2014 and plan to hire 8.6 percent more graduates from the Class of 2014 for their U.S. operations than they did from the Class of 2013.”
Walters also noted that Rensselaer graduates continue to enjoy overall higher starting salaries compared to national averages. To date, the average starting salary reported for members of the Rensselaer Class of 2014 is $69,646. According to the NACE April 2014 Salary Survey—the first look at starting salaries for the Class of 2014—the average starting salary for college graduates stands at $45,473, up from the 2013 average of $44,928.
Last year, the average starting salary for all reported Rensselaer undergraduate bachelor’s degree candidates from the Class of 2013 was $63,214, while NACE reported that the overall average salary for all bachelor degree candidates for the Class of 2013 was $45,633.