May 2012 Future Plans Survey
All Respondents: Overview

This overview report presents findings from all graduating seniors participating in the May 2012 Future Plans Survey. For more information about the survey methods and analysis, see "May 2012 Future Plans Survey: Introduction, Research Methods, and Response Rates." For a report with responses broken down by college, as well as a copy of the question wording, see the "Table of Contents."

Plans Following Graduation
Post-Graduation Employment
Further Education
NC State Experiences and Resources
Closing Comments

Plans Following Graduation

As of the time they completed the survey, a plurality of students graduating in May 2012 indicated that they had secured some type of employment. One-fourth of all respondents reported that they had accepted a position that would begin after graduation (25.7%), 8 percent said they would continue working in a job they had prior to graduation, and 7 percent said they would either be working as an intern (4.1%), serving in the military (1.4%), starting their own business (0.9%), or doing paid volunteer work (0.7%).

An additional one-fourth of the graduates said they were actively seeking employment but had not yet found a position (25.4%). Fewer than 3 percent said they were planning on looking for work but had not yet begun to do so. Finally, 26 percent of respondents anticipated going to graduate/professional school as their primary activity in the year after their graduation (20.3%) or going to graduate/professional school and working (5.5%).

Table 1: Plans Following Graduation

	N	%
Have accepted position that will begin after graduation	464	25.7
Will continue working in job I had prior to graduation	144	8.0
Have started/will be starting my own business	17	0.9
Will be working as an intern	74	4.1
Currently seeking employment	459	25.4
Have not begun to seek employment, will begin within year	49	2.7
Going to grad/prof school within the year	367	20.3
Going to grad/prof school and working	100	5.5
Taking additional undergraduate coursework	16	0.9
Military service	25	1.4
Volunteer activity	12	0.7
Starting/raising a family	2	0.1
Don't know yet	24	1.3
Other	54	3.0

Post-Graduate Employment

This section of the report first provides detailed information specifically on those students who indicated they had obtained a full-time position. That is followed by information provided by those who said they were actively seeking employment but had not yet found a position, and lastly, a brief look at those who said they had not yet begun their job search.

Full-Time Employment

88 percent of respondents who said they had secured employment for after graduation indicated they would be working full-time.

Table 2: Full- or Part-Time Employment (among those securing any type of employment)

	N	%
Full-time	677	88.0
Part-time	92	12.0

Number of Job Offers
About 47% of the students having secured a full-time position said that had been their only job offer (46.6%). Another 44 percent of respondents said that they had one (28.3%) or two additional job offers (15.3%). About 10 percent of respondents indicated that they had three or more job offers from which to choose (9.8%).

Table 3: Number of Job Offers

	N	%
Yes: This was my only job offer	280	46.6
No: I had one other job offer	170	28.3
No: I had two other job offers	92	15.3
No: I had three or more other offers	59	9.8

Industry and Occupation
Students having obtained full-time employment were asked to select the type of industry and the occupational classification of the job in which they would be working from a list of industries and occupations identified by the U.S. Census. Although the graduates are heading into a wide range of industries, the most common industries in which they will be working are professional, scientific, and technical services (16.2%), and manufacturing (14.2%).

Those finding full-time employment were most likely to say they would be working in an occupation related to architecture and engineering (19.9%), followed by business and financial operations (10.9%), computer and mathematics (9.0%), management (7.1%), and sales (6.4%).

For a complete list of the companies/organizations where graduates obtained full-time employment, click here.

Table 4: Industry

	N	%
Accommodation and Food Services	16	2.4
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting	22	3.3
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation	25	3.8
Construction	20	3.0
Educational Services	34	5.2
Finance and Insurance	46	7.0
Health Care and Social Assistance	32	4.8
Information	19	2.9
Management of Companies and Enterprises	25	3.8
Manufacturing	94	14.2
Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction	4	0.6
Other Services (except Public Administration)	6	0.9
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	107	16.2
Public Administration	9	1.4
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing	3	0.5
Retail Trade	22	3.3
Transportation and Warehousing	13	2.0
Utilities	13	2.0
Wholesale Trade	5	0.8
Other	131	19.8
Not sure	14	2.1

Table 5: Occupational Classification

	N	%
Architecture and Engineering Occupations	131	19.9
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations	33	5.0
Business and Financial Operations Occupations	72	10.9
Community and Social Service Occupations	5	0.8
Computer and Mathematical Occupations	59	9.0
Construction and Extraction Occupations	4	0.6
Education, Training, and Library Occupations	32	4.9
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations	15	2.3
Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations	9	1.4
Health Care Practitioners and Technical Occupations	12	1.8
Health Care Support Occupations	11	1.7
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations	2	0.3
Legal Occupations	6	0.9
Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	7	1.1
Management Occupations	47	7.1
Military Specific Occupations	27	4.1
Office and Administrative Support Occupations	19	2.9
Personal Care and Service Occupations	6	0.9
Production Occupations	23	3.5
Protective Service Occupations	1	0.2
Sales and Related Occupations	42	6.4
Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	7	1.1
Other	82	12.4
Not sure	7	1.1

Relationship of Job to Academic Major and Satisfaction with Job
While 66 percent of those with full-time employment said their job was directly related to their academic major, 9 percent said that it was not at all related.

The vast majority of those obtaining full-time employment said they were either very satisfied (60.9%) or satisfied (31.1%) with the job in which they would be working. Students obtaining positions more directly related to their major were only slightly more likely to be very satisfied than were those getting jobs less directly related to their major (64.7% versus 58.3%, respectively).

Table 6: Relationship of Job to Major and Satisfaction with Job

Relationship of job to major	Satisfaction w/ job				All
	Very Satisfied	Satisfied	Neutral	Dissatisfied
Directly related (n=439)	64.7%	31.0%	3.2%	1.2%	66.3%
Somewhat related (n=163)	51.5%	33.1%	15.3%	.	24.6%
Not at all related (n=60)	58.3%	26.7%	11.7%	3.3%	9.1%
All (n=662)	60.9%	31.1%	6.9%	1.1%	100.0%

* "Very Dissatisfied" and "Dissatisfied" responses were combined.

Job Location
While NC State graduates will be employed across the nation, 69 percent of those students having accepted a full-time job say they will be staying in North Carolina, with 50 percent working in the Research Triangle area (e.g., Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill).

For a complete list of the countries and states in which graduates will be working, click here.

Table 7: Job Location (Top Ten States of Employment)

	N	%
North Carolina	449	69.2
Virginia	20	3.1
South Carolina	17	2.6
Georgia	14	2.2
Florida	14	2.2
Texas	12	1.8
California	10	1.5
Maryland	9	1.4
Illinois	7	1.1
Tennessee	7	1.1

Table 8: Job Location (In or Out of the Triangle)*

	N	%
Triangle	306	50.7
Other NC	124	20.6
Outside NC	173	28.7

*Some respondents did not provide the name of the city in which they would be working and therefore region could not be determined.

Compensation
Students with full-time positions were asked to indicate the different ways in which they would be compensated. While about 75 percent said they would be getting a salary, and 21 percent said their income would include hourly wages, results indicate that graduates are being compensated through a variety of methods. For example, a plurality of 50 percent will be getting only a salary, 16 percent only hourly, 15 percent a salary plus performance bonuses, 2 percent salary plus commission, and 2 percent salary plus commission and performance bonuses.

Respondents were asked to indicate their annual starting salary, and then, if applicable, their estimated first-year income from performance bonuses and commission. NC State's graduates with full-time employment report an average annual starting salary of $48,935, and an estimated average annual income of over $22,925 from performance bonuses and/or commission. Combining all forms of reported compensation (excluding hourly wages) brings their average income to $54,098, with about 40% percent expecting to earn $60,000 or more in total income their first year. Just over 10 percent expect to earn less than $30,000. Those getting paid an hourly rate report earning, on average, $14.02 per hour.

(Note: Despite instructions asking respondents to exclude their salary from performance bonuses and/or commission, it is possible that a few respondents combined all sources of income in their reported bonuses/commission income. As such, reports below on performance bonus/commission and total income may be slightly higher than is actually the case.)

Table 9: Type of Compensation*

	N	%
Salary	504	74.4
Performance Bonuses	150	22.2
Hourly	143	21.1
Commission	45	6.6
Other	43	6.4
Tips/Gratuity	12	1.8

*Respondents could indicate more than one type of compensation.

Table 10: Type of Compensation, Combined

	N	%
Salary only	333	49.9
Hourly only	109	16.3
Salary plus perf. bonuses	101	15.1
Salary plus comm plus perf bonus	16	2.4
Salary plus commission	16	2.4
Salary plus hourly	11	1.6
Commission only	8	1.2
Hourly plus perf. bonuses	7	1.0
Hourly plus tips	6	0.9
Hourly plus commission	2	0.3
Performance bonuses only	2	0.3
Tips only	1	0.1
Other comp. only	22	3.3
Other	33	4.9

Table 11: Annual Starting Salary

(Average salary = $48,935)	N	%
Less than $30,000	51	10.4
$30,000 - $39,999	98	20.0
$40,000 - $49,999	73	14.9
$50,000 - $59,999	100	20.4
$60,000 or more	143	29.2
Would prefer not answer	13	2.7
Not sure	12	2.4

Table 12: Estimated 1st-Year Income from Performance Bonuses and/or Commission

(Average income = $22,925)	N	%
Less than $2,500	25	14.5
$2,500 - $4,999	30	17.3
$5,000 - $9,999	24	13.9
$10,000 - $19,999	17	9.8
$20,000 - $49,999	34	19.7
$50,000 or more	29	16.8
Would prefer not answer	3	1.7
Not sure	11	6.4

Table 13: Total Combined 1st-Year Compensation (salary plus performance bonuses and commission)

(Average income = $54,098)	N	%
Less than $30,000	51	10.5
$30,000 - $39,999	91	18.6
$40,000 - $49,999	66	13.5
$50,000 - $59,999	87	17.8
$60,000 or more	193	39.5

Table 14: Hourly Wages

Average	Minimum	Maximum	N
$14.02	$2.13	$52.60	129

One-Time Compensation
About 16 percent of those with full-time employment said they had received a signing bonus. Almost half responded that they would be receiving a signing bonus of $5,000 or more (47.4%). 13 percent of those getting a signing bonus said it was for $10,000 or more.

When asked if they were offered a relocation package, 49 percent of the students with full-time jobs said that such a package was 'not applicable,' presumably because they were not relocating any substantial distance for their job. However, a fourth of all those with full-time employment said they were offered a relocation package (25.7%).

Table 15: Signing Bonus

	N	%
Yes	100	16.4
No	511	83.6

Table 16: Amount of Signing Bonus

	N	%
Less than $500	1	1.0
$1,000 to $1,999	7	7.2
$2,000 to $2,999	11	11.3
$3,000 to $3,999	21	21.6
$4,000 to $4,999	7	7.2
$5,000 to $5,999	27	27.8
$7,000 to $7,999	3	3.1
$8,000 to $8,999	2	2.1
$9,000 to $9,999	1	1.0
$10,000 or more	13	13.4
Would prefer not answer	1	1.0
Not sure	3	3.1

Table 17: Relocation Package

	N	%
Yes	172	25.7
No	171	25.6
Not applicable	325	48.7

The Job Search
Forty percent of respondents who had obtained a full-time position said they began actively looking for a job 9 or more months before graduating in May (40.2%). Only about 6 percent of those attaining full-time work started looking 1-2 months or less before graduation.

Students were asked to indicate what resources had proven to be helpful in their job search. Those with full-time employment were most likely to say that an internship/externship had been helpful (33.8%), followed by applying for a job via ePACK (26.6%), attending a career fair at NC State (25.3%), networking with family/friends/classmates/co-workers (24.8%), Campus or college career center (23.3%), and/or personal connections within the company (23.0%). Finally, some resources in Table 19 were not necessarily unhelpful, but rather that fewer students used it and therefore fewer selected that response (e.g., Student teaching experience ).

Table 18: When Started Looking for a Job

	N	%
12 or more months before graduation	119	19.9
9-11 months before graduation	121	20.3
6-8 months before graduation	172	28.8
3-5 months before graduation	148	24.8
1-2 months before graduation	31	5.2
Less than one month before graduation	6	1.0

Table 19: Helpful Resources*

	N	%
Internship/externship	229	33.8
Applied for job via ePACK	180	26.6
Career fair at NC State	171	25.3
Family/friends/classmates/co-workers	168	24.8
Campus or college career center	158	23.3
Personal connection(s) within the company	156	23.0
On-campus interviewing	126	18.6
Internet	66	9.7
Co-op experience	59	8.7
Employer found resume via ePACK	58	8.6
Faculty member or found job listing in an NC State dept	51	7.5
Consultation with Career Counselor/Coach at NC State	44	6.5
Professional society	44	6.5
Employer information session on campus	35	5.2
Student teaching experience	17	2.5
Career fair off-campus	15	2.2
Staffing agency	11	1.6
Other	65	9.6

*Respondents could select more than one option.

Seeking Employment
One fourth of the May graduates responding to the Future Plans Survey indicated that as of the time they completed the survey they were currently seeking employment, and a small number (2.7%) said they had not yet begun to seek employment but that they planned to do so within a year after graduation. This section of the report first looks at those who were actively seeking a job, and then briefly at those who had not yet begun their job search.

The Job Search
The majority of students who said they were looking but had not yet found a job as of the time they completed the survey - - typically within two weeks before or after graduation - - said they first started looking for a job less than 6 months before their graduation (73.9%). Of these respondents, 36 percent said they started looking for a job three to five months before graduation, 25 percent said they started looking one to two months prior to graduation, and 12 percent of those without a job said they began their search less than one month prior to graduation.

A sizeable number of May 2012 graduates who had been seeking but not yet found employment indicated that it was not due to lack of offers. About 18 percent said that they had actually received a job offer and 6 percent had received two or more offers. These students were asked to briefly describe why the job offer(s) they had received had not worked out. Several respondents indicated they were actually still in the process of considering a job offer, or that the details had just not yet been worked out. Reasons given for not accepting a job offer included that the job was not a good fit with one's career goals and/or their educational background, the job location (e.g, did not want to relocate to the area or the commute would be too long), compensation (e.g., salary too low or being solely based on commission), and that the job was only part-time or non-permanent.

Table 20: When Started Looking for a Job (among those seeking but not yet securing a job)

	N	%
12 or more months before graduation	11	2.5
9-11 months before graduation	27	6.0
6-8 months before graduation	79	17.6
3-5 months before graduation	163	36.4
1-2 months before graduation	113	25.2
Less than one month before graduation	55	12.3

Table 21: Received any job offers (among those seeking but not yet securing a job)

	N	%
No	371	81.5
Yes: one	55	12.1
Yes: two	27	5.9
Yes: three or more	2	0.4

Type of Work Seeking
The large majority of job-seekers are looking for full-time work (88.2%), with the most of the remainder indicating they were looking for either full- or part-time work (10.9%). Over 90 percent of those seeking employment said they were looking for a job either directly (46.5%) or somewhat (46.3%) related to their major. The most common occupations in which students were hoping to be employed were architecture and engineering (18.8%), business and financial operations (13.8%) and education, training, and library occupations (11.9%).

Table 22: Looking for full-time or part-time work

	N	%
Full-time	405	88.2
Part-time	4	0.9
Either	50	10.9

Table 23: Relationship of Job Seeking to Major

	N	%
Looking for position directly related to my major	213	46.5
Looking for position somewhat related to my major	212	46.3
Looking for position unrelated to my major	8	1.7
How closely position is related to major is irrelevant	25	5.5

Table 24: Occupational Classification of Job Seeking

	N	%
Architecture and Engineering Occupations	82	18.8
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations	35	8.0
Business and Financial Operations Occupations	60	13.8
Community and Social Service Occupations	10	2.3
Computer and Mathematical Occupations	15	3.4
Construction and Extraction Occupations	3	0.7
Education, Training, and Library Occupations	52	11.9
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations	11	2.5
Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations	3	0.7
Health Care Practitioners and Technical Occupations	21	4.8
Health Care Support Occupations	11	2.5
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations	1	0.2
Legal Occupations	5	1.1
Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	25	5.7
Management Occupations	14	3.2
Military Specific Occupations	2	0.5
Office and Administrative Support Occupations	10	2.3
Personal Care and Service Occupations	2	0.5
Production Occupations	6	1.4
Protective Service Occupations	4	0.9
Sales and Related Occupations	7	1.6
Other	44	10.1
Not sure	13	3.0

Location of Job Seeking
The majority of those still looking for a job at the time of the survey said they were looking only in the United States (83.4%), with the remaining saying they were looking both inside and outside the U.S. (16.6%). Over 40 percent said they were only looking in North Carolina (44.3%) with another 48% saying that they were looking both in North Carolina and in other states as well.

Table 25: Looking for Employment Inside or Outside the U.S.

	N	%
United States	381	83.4
Both	76	16.6

Table 26: Looking for Employment Inside or Outside the N.C.

	N	%
N.C. only	168	44.3
Only outside N.C.	29	7.7
Both	182	48.0

Future Job Seekers
A very small number of May 2012 graduates -- less than 3 percent - - said that while they had not yet begun their search for employment their primary activity after graduation would be to find a job (2.7%). In response to a question asking those respondents when they planned to start looking the majority said within the next couple of weeks (52.1%) or within a month after graduation (20.8%).

Table 27: When Will Begin Job Search

	N	%
Within the next couple of weeks	25	52.1
Within a month after graduation	10	20.8
Within 2-3 months after graduation	9	18.8
Within 4-6 months after graduation	2	4.2
Within 6-12 months after graduation	1	2.1
Not for at least a year	1	2.1

Further Education

This section of the report provides detailed information on further education being pursued by NC State May 2012 graduates. Twenty-five percent of the 1,807 graduating seniors who submitted the Future Plans Survey said that they planned on going to graduate or professional school in the coming year (see table 1).

Students planning on attending graduate/professional school were asked to indicate from a list of options the reasons why they had decided to pursue post-graduate education. The most common reason cited was that the student wants to enhance my knowledge in a particular subject area (66.8%). Other reasons cited by majorities of those planning on attending graduate/professional school include that my chosen career field requires graduate/professional school (62.9%), they will be able to earn a higher salary with an advanced degree (55.7%), and that they want to improve their marketability (50.1%). Just 5 percent indicated that being unable to find a job was a reason for attending graduate/professional school.

Table 28: Reasons for Attending Graduate/Professional School*

	N	%
I want to enhance my knowledge in a particular subject area	308	66.8
My chosen career field requires graduate/professional school	290	62.9
I will be able to earn a higher salary with an advanced degree	257	55.7
I want to improve my marketability	231	50.1
I have been unable to find a job	23	5.0
My employer is encouraging me to attend	11	2.4
Other	14	3.0

*Respondents could select more than one option.

Current Status for Graduate/Professional School Attendance
Of the May 2012 survey respondents planning on attending graduate/professional school, three-fourths say they have have been accepted and know where they are going (74.6%). The remaining 25 percent say that they have either not applied but plan to do so within the next year (11.7%), applied but not yet been accepted (9.1%), or been accepted but are undecided (4.6%).

The remainder of this section reports on only those who indicated they have been accepted and definitely know where they will be attending graduate/professional school.

Table 29: Current Status for Graduation/Professional School Attendance

	N	%
Have been accepted and know where I'm going	344	74.6
Have not applied but plan to do so within the next year	54	11.7
Have applied, but not yet been accepted	42	9.1
Have been accepted but undecided	21	4.6

School Attending
Over two-thirds of the respondents who at the time of the survey knew where they would be attending graduate/professional school say they will be staying in North Carolina (68.6%), with many of them enrolling at NC State (43.9%). The majority of those going on to graduate/professional school say will be attending their first-choice school (87.4%).

Table 30: State of School Attending (Top 5 most commonly mentioned)

	N	%
North Carolina	236	68.6
Virginia	10	2.9
California	8	2.3
Georgia	8	2.3
Illinois	6	1.7
Indiana	6	1.7

Table 31: Name of School Attending (Top 5 most commonly mentioned)

	N	%
NC State University	150	43.9
UNC - Chapel Hill	19	5.6
Campbell University	18	5.3
East Carolina University	11	3.2
Duke University	9	2.6

For a complete list of the graduate/professional schools graduates will be attending click here.

Table 32: Attending First Choice School?

	N	%
Yes	298	87.4
No	43	12.6

Degree Seeking
Students committed to attending a specific graduate/professional school in the coming year were asked in what degree program they will be enrolled. Over half of students said they would be in a Master's program (58.1%), while 45 percent will be in a professional program (25.9%) or doctoral program (19.2%). Finally, some students selected multiple choices in Table 33, indicating that they would be enrolled in dual degree programs (e.g., Master's and Professional degree programs).

For a complete list of the specific types of degrees programs in which students will be enrolled click here.

Table 33: Degree Program Enrolled In

	N	%
Master's	200	58.1
Professional	89	25.9
Doctoral	66	19.2

*Respondents could select more than one option.

Graduate/Professional School Funding/Awards Received*
NC State undergraduates going on to graduate/professional school received a variety of funding and/or awards as part of their acceptance into their program. Scholarship (21.5%) and Research Assistantships (19.5%) were most commonly reported, followed by Teaching Assistantships (13.1%) and Fellowship (11.6%).

Table 34: Graduate/Professional School Funding/Awards

	N	%
Scholarship	74	21.5
Research Assistantship	67	19.5
Teaching Assistantship	45	13.1
Fellowship	40	11.6
Honors/Award	9	2.6
Other assistantship	11	3.2

*Respondents could select more than one type of funding/award.

NC State Experiences and Resources

All graduating seniors participating in the Future Plans Survey were asked about their participation in various work-related experiences, as well as about various career-related resources they might have used while at NC State. This section of the report summarizes the information they shared about these experiences.

Work-Related Experiences
Respondents were asked whether or not they had participated in various work-related experiences while a student at NC State, and if so, for how many semesters/summers they did it, and whether or not it was helpful in securing a job offer. Over half of the students reported having an internship or job related to their major (54.4%). A significant number of students also reported participating on a research project with a faculty member (23.4%), and/or on a class project specifically designed to work with a company/organization outside of NC State (22.2%) .

The relatively small number of students having participated in a co-op (7.0%) typically reported having multiple such experiences, with almost half saying they had a co-op for either three (37.6%) or four or more (19.2%) semesters/summers. The most common experience, internships/jobs in academic field, also tended to be relatively long term, with almost one-third of those with such an experience having it for three (14.2%) or four or more (16.8%) semesters/summers. The majority of those having done a practicum, student teaching, or class project did so for two semesters/summers or less.

For the most part, regardless of the type of work-related experience, students who were interested in finding employment were very positive about the helpfulness of the experience in securing a job offer. Co-ops were most likely to be viewed as very helpful (67.2%) followed by internships/job in academic field (58.5%) and student teaching (47.8%). Least likely to be helpful in getting a job, according to those with such an experience, was a class project working with an outside company/organization. Almost 12 percent of those working on such a project said it was not at all helpful in securing a job, and another 23 percent said it was not very helpful. Those who were not seeking employment (e.g., because they are going to grad school or have some other plans following graduation) were given the option to select "Not applicable" when asked about the helpfulness of the work-related experience. In Table 36, "Not applicable" responses have been excluded.

Table 35: Participation in Work-Related Experiences*

	Yes, participated		# of semesters/summers participated
Participation in work-related experiences	N	%	Less than 1	1	2	3	4+
Work-related experiences: Co-op	125	7.0%	0.0%	22.4%	20.8%	37.6%	19.2%
Work-related experiences: Internship/externship or job in field	967	54.4%	2.2%	40.0%	26.8%	14.2%	16.8%
Work-related experiences: Practicum	61	3.4%	0.0%	76.7%	10.0%	3.3%	10.0%
Work-related experiences: Student teaching	165	9.3%	3.0%	59.4%	20.0%	7.9%	9.7%
Work-related experiences: Research w/ faculty	415	23.4%	3.1%	27.4%	25.4%	19.9%	24.2%
Work-related experiences: Class project	395	22.2%	5.9%	55.4%	28.3%	5.4%	5.1%

*Respondents could select more than one experience.

Table 36: Helpfulness of Work Experiences in Securing Employment (among those having had the experience and having looked for employment)

	Mean	4: Very helpful	3: Somewhat helpful	2: Not very helpful	1: Not at all helpful
Co-op (n=116)	3.59	67.2%	25.9%	6.0%	0.9%
Internship/Job in field (n=848)	3.42	58.5%	28.4%	9.2%	3.9%
Practicum (n=49)	2.94	30.6%	42.9%	16.3%	10.2%
Student teaching (n=136)	3.29	47.8%	38.2%	9.6%	4.4%
Research w/ faculty (n=327)	3.19	40.7%	40.7%	15.3%	3.4%
Class project (n=332)	2.76	22.9%	42.2%	23.2%	11.7%

Career Service Offices
Graduating seniors were asked how frequently they had used the services of each of the different career service offices on campus, and, for those they had ever used, their evaluation of the services provided. While a majority of respondents (52.6%) said they had used the Career Development Center, only about 7 percent said they used it on a regular basis (1.6%) or many times (5.6%). Use of college-specific career service offices was, not surprising, lower among respondents overall. And, not surprisingly given their enrollment size relative to other colleges, respondents overall were more likely to have used the Poole College of Management (PCOM) Career Development Center and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) Career Services office than the other college career offices listed.

Ratings of all career services offices were generally positive - - in no case did more than small number of users rate the services of any given center as poor or very poor. The relatively few users of the College of Textiles Career Services office were most likely to give it a positive rating, with 45 percent saying their services were excellent. Over one-third of those using the CALS Career Services offices and PCOM Career Services, rated their respective services as excellent (37.0% and 35.1%, respectively) . Although still rated favorably as excellent or good by a majority of users, the Career Development Center and the College of Design Career Services office were less likely than others to be rated as excellent by their users (22.6% and 20.0%, respectively).

Table 37: Frequency of Use of Career Service Offices

	Mean	5: On a regular basis	4: Many times	3: Several times	2: Just once or twice	1: Never
Career Development Center (n=1,754)	1.82	1.6%	5.6%	13.0%	32.4%	47.4%
CALS Career Services (n=1,717)	1.29	1.7%	1.4%	4.5%	8.8%	83.6%
College of Textiles Career Services (n=1,716)	1.15	1.8%	1.0%	1.3%	1.8%	94.1%
College of Design Career Services (n=1,717)	1.06	0.2%	0.5%	0.9%	1.7%	96.7%
Poole College of Management Career Development Center (n=1,720)	1.28	1.5%	2.9%	3.4%	6.6%	85.6%

Table 38: Rating of Career Offices' Services (among those ever having used the office)

	Mean	5: Excellent	4: Good	3: Fair	2: Poor	1: Very Poor
Career Development Center (n=922)	3.95	22.6%	54.1%	20.3%	2.1%	1.0%
CALS Career Services (n=281)	4.12	37.0%	43.8%	15.3%	2.1%	1.8%
College of Textiles Career Services (n=100)	4.26	45.0%	42.0%	8.0%	4.0%	1.0%
College of Design Career Services (n=55)	3.84	20.0%	49.1%	27.3%	1.8%	1.8%
Poole College of Management Career Development Center (n=245)	4.10	35.1%	43.3%	19.2%	1.6%	0.8%

Career Services and Fairs
Students were also asked whether or not they had used various specific career-related services. A majority of respondents indicated that they had taken advantage of ePACK, the University Career Center's online tool for connecting students with potential employers (70.7%) or that they had attended a career fair (either on or off campus) (67.3%). A little over one-third of students said they had attended presentations about resume writing, interviewing, and other career skills (36.6%), joined a professional society or organization at NC State related to their career field of interest (35.4%), or that they had visited the NC State Career Development Center website (34.6%). Respondents were least likely to have participated in mock interviews with a Career Counselor/Coach (11.1%).

Among the more than two-thirds of those responding to the Future Plans Survey who said they had attended a career fair, either on or off campus, students were most likely to report attending the Engineering Career Fair (43.1%) followed by the PCOM Career and Internship Fair (18.6%), CALS Career Expo (18.1%) and CHASS Career Fair (14.2%). Again, given their relative enrollment sizes and the high response rates of students in these colleges these findings are not unexpected.

Table 39: Resources Used at NC State*

	N	%
ePACK	1255	70.7
Attended a career fair (either on or off campus)	1196	67.3
Presentations about resume writing, interviewing, and other career skills	650	36.6
Joined professional society/organization at NC State in career area	628	35.4
NC State Career Development Center website	614	34.6
Employer information sessions	565	31.8
On-campus interviewing with potential employers	490	27.6
Spoke with Career Counselor/Coach	416	23.4
Mock interviews with Career Counselor/Coach	197	11.1

*Respondents could select more than one resource.

Table 40: Career Fair Attended (among those having attended any type of career fair)*

	N	%
Engineering Career Fair	516	43.1
Poole College of Management Career & Internship Fair	223	18.6
CALS Career Expo	216	18.1
CHASS Career Fair	170	14.2
Other fair at NC State	86	7.2
Health Career Expo	68	5.7
Textiles Job Forum	63	5.3
Law School Fair	46	3.8
Career fair not affiliated with a college/university	43	3.6
Career fair at another college/university	35	2.9
Don't know/don't remember which one	32	2.7
College of Design Networking Fair	19	1.6

*Respondents could select more than one career fair.

Closing Comments

The Future Plans Survey closed by asking respondents to rate their overall satisfaction with the career guidance they had received from their department and/or college while at NC State, and to reflect on how they are feeling about their future career. The majority of May 2012 graduates said they were either satisfied (41.5%) or very satisfied (22.9%) with the career guidance they had received from their academic department/college. While a sizable number were neutral about the guidance they received (26.4%), about ten percent said they were either dissatisfied (6.4%) or very dissatisfied (2.9%) with it.

Overall, the May 2012 graduates are excited about their futures. When asked which statement comes closest to how they were feeling about their future, 86 percent of respondents said that they were either "Very excited" (52.7%) or "Pretty excited" (33.3%). Students were less likely to choose "A bit confused/uncertain: I'm really not sure what I want to do and/or what I'm prepared to do" (12.8%). Finally, very few students appear to be feeling at a loss, with just 1 percent selecting the final option, "Very confused/uncertain: I just don't feel ready/prepared to move on."

Table 41: Satisfaction with Career Guidance from Academic Department/College

	Mean	5: Very Satisfied	4: Satisfied	3: Neutral	2: Dissatisfied	1: Very Dissatisfied	N
Overall Satisfaction	3.75	22.9%	41.5%	26.4%	6.4%	2.9%	1,763

Table 42: Feelings about Future Career Path

	N	%
Very excited: Confident this is what I want to do and I'm prepared	928	52.7
Pretty excited: Fairly sure this is what I want to do	587	33.3
A bit confused/uncertain: Not really sure what I want to do	225	12.8
Very confused/uncertain: Don't feel ready/prepared to move on	22	1.2

For more information on the May 2012 Future Plans Survey contact:
Dr. Nancy Whelchel, Associate Director for Survey Research
Office of Institutional Planning and Research
Box 7002
NCSU
Phone: (919) 515-4184
Email: Nancy_Whelchel@ncsu.edu

Posted: August, 2012

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