Sixty percent of students intended to work full- or part-time jobs after their spring graduation, according to survey data from the Career Resource Center, Office of Institutional Planning and Research and the registrar’s office. About 30 percent aimed to pursue graduate school.
The spring survey had a 50 percent response rate, said CRC Director Heather White, but completing it became mandatory this summer.
The spring results showed the CRC was an integral part of students’ post-graduate employment, White said. It helped 28 percent of surveyed students find jobs.
Kellie Nelson, 22, was one of them. She graduated with a degree in English but works as an account director for an insurance firm.
Her situation isn’t unusual — about 80 percent of students’ first jobs are not on their intended career path, according to a Rutgers University survey from May.
Even though Nelson’s work isn’t directly related to her degree, she was still intrigued when the job came up at a UF career fair.
“Once I heard about [the position], it piqued my interest,” Nelson said, “and I decided to seek the opportunity.”
UF’s survey does not ask students if the job they’ve secured is one they were seeking, White said.
