Survey: Job, salary prospects improving for UI graduates

URBANA, Ill. (AP) - A recent survey indicates that University of Illinois graduates are finding better career prospects and are getting higher salaries.

The university's annual "Illini Success" survey shows that 89 percent of 2016-17 graduates who responded had secured a "first destination" within six months of graduation, Champaign's News-Gazette reported.

According to the study, about 62 percent had found jobs and 27 percent enrolled in graduate school or continuing education. Seven percent were still looking for work. The overall placement rate is up from 88 percent for 2015-16 and 84 percent 2014-15. The study also shows the average salary rose from $55,390 in 2014-15 to $59,494 in 2016-17.

Julia Makela, the associate director for assessment and research for the UI Career Center, said the campus has been ahead of national averages in graduate placement. Makela said inflation, and a stronger economy, was likely a factor in rising salaries.

The university hopes to gather data from other universities to do comparisons and further analysis.

Makela said these types of surveys are common, though there's variation in how campuses conduct them or present their data. She said the university follows standards issued by the National Association of Colleges and Employers in 2014, with common questions for institutions to use.

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Information from: The News-Gazette, http://www.news-gazette.com