Spotlight for Career Services Professionals
Spotlight for Recruiting Professionals
For the college Class of 2019, 2019 was a very good year. At the bachelor’s degree level, 59% were employed in full-time positions with a traditional employer—up just a hair from 58.7% in 2018—and nearly 19% were going on for an advanced degree by the end of the year. (See Figure 1.)
Overall, the outcome rate for 2019 bachelor’s degree graduates was 86%—meaning nearly nine out of 10 who were seeking a position/advanced education had one within six months of graduation.
While 2019 graduates saw just a small increase in their employment rate compared to their 2018 counterparts, their gains in salary were substantial: The median salary for 2019 bachelor’s degree graduates employed full time was $52,714 compared with a median of $49,725 in 2018—a 6% increase.
Figure 1: Class of 2019 bachelor’s degree results
| Total Graduates |
549,972 |
| Knowledge Rate |
65.6% |
| Career Outcomes Percentage |
86.0% |
| Percent Employed Overall |
64.6% |
| Percent Employed Full-time |
59.7% |
| Percent Employed Part-time |
4.9% |
| Percent Standard Employment |
59.0% |
| Percent Standard Employment Full-time |
55.3% |
| Percent Standard Employment Part-time |
3.7% |
| Percent Entrepreneur |
0.9% |
| Percent Entrepreneur Full-time |
0.8% |
| Percent Entrepreneur Part-time |
0.1% |
| Percent Temp/Contract Employee |
2.0% |
| Percent Temp/Contract Employee Full-time |
1.5% |
| Percent Temp/Contract Employee Part-time |
0.5% |
| Percent Freelance |
0.8% |
| Percent Freelance Full-time |
0.5% |
| Percent Freelance Part-time |
0.3% |
| Percent Post-Grad Fellowship/Internship |
1.9% |
| Percent Post-Grad Fellowship/Internship Full-time |
1.6% |
| Percent Post-Grad Fellowship/Internship Part-time |
0.3% |
| Percent Service |
0.8% |
| Percent Military |
0.9% |
| Percent Continuing Education |
18.6% |
| Percent Seeking Outcome |
13.8% |
| Percent Seeking Employment |
11.1% |
| Percent Seeking Continuing Education |
2.7% |
| Not Seeking |
1.3% |
| Mean Starting Salary |
$54,488 |
| Median Starting Salary |
$52,714 |
| Mean Bonus |
$8,240 |
| Median Bonus |
$5,584 |
Detailed results of first destinations for 2019 bachelor’s and master’s degree graduates are available through the Class of 2019 Dashboard.