This week is graduation. It is great to have it in person again, and I know our graduation speaker Laurette Koellner is going to have some great advice for our students who have succeeded under the most unusual of circumstances.
But as we say goodbye to our graduates, it’s worth noting the professional hopes and aspirations of our students as they start their journey with us. Every semester we ask students in our first professional development class about what they expect after graduation. This semester’s survey yielded 451 respondents. Some highlights….
Most important work-related attributes to you? 1.Salary; 2. Job Satisfaction; 3. Work/Life Balance; 4. Advancement Opportunity; 5. Job Security
The Top 10 companies the students would like to work for (in order of preference): Disney, Apple, Amazon, Google, JP Morgan, Netflix, Bank of America, Universal, Microsoft, Lockheed Martin. I’m guessing our students have significant customer experiences with at least seven of these 10 companies.
Given that list, it is not surprising that 59 percent would like to work for a medium- or large-sized company after graduation
The 8 top jobs of interest (in order of preference): Analyst (Financial, Credit, Budget, Pricing, Etc.), Financial Accounting, Corporate Finance, Sports Management, Project Management, Social Media / Email Marketing, Business Consulting, Marketing Analysis.
They expect to work hard: 83 percent of the respondents say they are hard workers. 57 percent expect to work 40 hours a week, and 32 percent expect to work +40. 56 percent expect to work weekends and evenings.
And they expect to get paid: 46 percent expect to earn between $45,000–$60,000 after graduation; 27 percent expect to earn more than $60k!
More than half of our students don’t think they will be working for someone else in 20 years: 40 percent expect to be running a business in 20 years (I blame Cameron for this); 12 percent expect to be retired (I blame social media influencers for this).
And 50 percent want to remain in Florida after graduation.
Hopes and aspirations are important. You can’t achieve if you don’t have motivation, but you also need a plan that you can and will execute while you are with us. Trust me, Disney or Netflix isn’t magically knocking on your door a week before graduation with a $65,000 job offer. They can hire anybody they want. Why should it be you? That is where our professional development courses, corporate partners and culture of engagement come in. They are designed to help you create and execute a well thought out plan to achieve your early career goals. That way, you can celebrate more than just graduation, you can celebrate finding that tangible future you will start creating the very next week.
Paul Jarley, Dean 