Job Picture Looking Rosy for Cal Poly Grads

Hiring was up for Class of 2004 Cal Poly graduates - a good indicator for the crop of students set to graduate from the university June 11.

Cal Poly's annual survey of recent graduates found 2003-04 graduates enjoying success in the job market, both on hiring and salary fronts.

The latest survey by Cal Poly's Career Services Office showed that 92 percent of 2003-04 graduates were either employed full-time or enrolled in graduate school within six months of graduation. A full 73 percent reported being employed full-time, while 19 percent reported being enrolled in graduate school. That brings full-time employment back to levels seen among graduates in 2000.

Cal Poly's 2003-04 grads were in such demand that a full 51 percent of them had accepted job offers before graduation. A full 82 percent of grads seeking employment (instead of graduate school) had accepted job offers by three months after their graduation date.

Cal Poly also saw increased participation by employers in on-campus job fairs, interviews, and recruiting, said Martin Shibata, interim director of Career Services. Industries that stepped up recruiting and hiring of Cal Poly graduates in 2003-04 were construction, technology, accounting, financial services, consulting, biomedical and defense-related industries.

Recent grads from Cal Poly's College of Engineering and College of Architecture and Environmental Design led the way in terms of salary.

Construction management and mechanical engineering graduates reported a median starting salary of $52,000; industrial engineering grads and computer science grads reported median starting salaries of $55,000; computer engineering grads reported a median starting salary of $54,000 and aerospace engineering grads led the way, reporting a median starting salary of $56,000.

The College of Science and Mathematics (47 percent) and the College of Liberal Arts (31 percent) sent the most graduates on to graduate school.

For more specific details, the full 2003-04 Graduate Status Report is available online here  ».

Contact: Martin Shibata (805) 756-5726