University of Wisconsin Oshkosh students exceed the national average when it comes to securing a job after graduation, a new report shows.
The annual First Destination Outcomes survey targets recent UW Oshkosh graduates to determine their career outcomes. The report, released this month, follows the Oshkosh campuses classes of 2017-2018.
Of more than 2,000 respondents, 88.5 percent secured an outcome, up from 87 percent in 2016-17 and well above the national average of 84.4 percent. The rate includes students who are employed or in military service, volunteer service, continuing education or not seeking employment. Even more impressive is that 62.3 percent of those employed secured their positions before graduation.
“This data exemplifies what we at UW Oshkosh already know, our students are well-prepared to start their careers even before they leave our University,” UW Oshkosh Chancellor Andrew Leavitt said. “And the majority of these students are staying in Wisconsin to share their talents, grow their careers and spur growth in our state.”
In 2017-2018, 88 percent of UW Oshkosh graduates who are Wisconsin residents and 36.5 percent of non-resident graduates remained in Wisconsin. The nonresident statistic represents significant growth from the year before when 23 percent of non-residents remained in the state.
“Certainly we want to improve this number,” Leavitt said, “but it’s headed in the right direction, and that’s great news for our region and all of Wisconsin.”
The survey is administered by UW Oshkosh’s Career & Professional Development office. It surveys undergraduate students and gathers information related to the number of employed students, their employers, their positions and their salaries. It also looks at the number of students continuing their education, where they are attending and what they are studying.
With a 91 percent response rate, the report tells an accurate story of what UW Oshkosh students are doing after they graduate, said Jaime Page-Stadler, director of Career & Professional Development.
Top industries, she said, that employ UWO graduates include: healthcare and social assistance; education; manufacturing, transportation and logistics; retail, hospitality and trade; and professional, scientific and technical services.
Other highlights from the 2017-2018 report:
- Average starting salary for College of Nursing graduates was $57,454
- Average starting salary for students in Online and Continuing Education courses was $58,508
- Average starting salary for all graduates was $43,485
- 78 percent of UWO graduates are working; compared to the national average of 63.7 percent
- Internships lead to jobs for many UW Oshkosh students: 41 percent of College of Business graduates received a job offer as a result of an internship they had with the employer
- 73 percent of College of Nursing graduates had a job before they graduated
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