KINGSTON, R.I. – Feb. 21, 2023 – Each May, freshly-minted University of Rhode Island graduates march off the Quad into wildly varying job markets and economic landscapes.
The Class of 2023 is preparing to leave campus in a few short months, with more opportunities than ever, despite graduating in a year of economic uncertainty.
This year’s senior class is well-acquainted with change, as the pandemic arrived in their first year of college. Their college years have been a time of adjustment – to online learning, to changing residences, and to evolving job prospects. As these students have remained focused on degrees and marketability, their ability to pivot and shift direction should bode well for their employability in the marketplace.
Mining the data
Two years ago, URI’s Center for Career and Experiential Education (CCEE) utilized a program then known as Emsi to track alumni outcomes over time, looking at graduation years 2004-2021. The program provides a vivid picture of what URI graduates are doing and earning, where they’re living, and what skills they use on a regular basis. The project examined URI alumni over their career trajectory via self-reported skills through programs such as LinkedIn and other popular sites. Emsi matched 28,318 alumni in all majors, with 69,758 majors.
The research turned up some impressive data: URI nursing graduates, for instance, have a 92% employment rate in their field and a $75,000 estimated wage. Arts and Sciences majors are also doing well, salary-wise, disproving the myth that English majors can’t find jobs.
According to Kim Stack, director of the Center for Career and Experiential Education, about 75% of URI graduates get jobs right after commencement and about 15% go on to graduate school, so more than 90% of students are doing what they want to do after graduation.
In addition to analyzing this massive amount of data, URI has also given students more one-on-one support for career preparation, giving every student at URI an assigned career education specialist for internship and career issues.
Brandon Sousa, career education specialist, says that the number of students who enroll in career-based courses at URI indicates that students recognize how important it is to dedicate time to professional development.
Junior Cherilyn DeFreitas of Tiverton is a Human Development & Family Science major; she says that working with the CCEE changed her planned career path. In her sophomore year, DeFreitas was set on working in patient care. Her career advisor, Ashley Foley, helped her polish her resume and connected her to an internship that aligned with this goal. DeFreitas went to work as a rehabilitation intern with one of Rhode Island’s biggest healthcare corporations. All was going to plan, but DeFreitas made an unexpected discovery: DeFreitas came to realize that she preferred the administrative side of healthcare, and is glad to have realized that before taking a full-time job after graduation. She also says the experience taught her about networking and boosted her professional and critical thinking skills. She says, “I am thankful for the CCEE and how it has helped me on my journey of figuring out my post-college plans. I feel more prepared than ever to take on the ‘real world’!”
Students are not the only ones making their way to the CCEE
In a challenging job market, employers are finding that their URI connections are worth cultivating. Stephen Dolinich is a talent acquisition manager at RISE in Cranston and a member of the University’s CCEE Employer and Community Partner Advisory Board.
After hiring several URI engineers, Dolinich realized that many of his best hires shared some common denominators; several had been Energy Fellows at URI. Intrigued, he reached out to Cooperative Extension to learn more about the program. “It took some time,” he recalls, “but I eventually found a manager here who would commit to the program and be a great mentor to a URI student. We’ve now had six Energy Fellows and recently hired one after graduation!” RISE is now a sponsor of the Energy Fellows program and has welcomed other URI students, as well.
Dolinich says URI students are worth the extra work to recruit: “The students from URI are always prepared and do a great job. The curriculum being taught really helps for an easy transition into an internship or full-time job.”
Anne Marie Coleman, assistant vice president for human resources at URI, is seeing similar trends in hiring here at the University. Her team is using more social media to advertise openings and utilizing search committees as tools for outreach and networking to find candidates. “We are a microcosm of the larger economy,” she says. In the 2022 calendar year, the University hired 65 total full-time faculty and 266 staff members, having maintained its workforce through the pandemic.
Coleman advises this year’s graduating seniors to think about how and where they want to work. “Our seniors today can really think about what they want their work life to look like. There are more opportunities available – explore them!”
Career Fair is coming up
On March 29, URI’s CCCE will host its annual Spring Career Expo in the Ryan Center, the first to host employers on campus since before the pandemic.
Stack counsels students to connect with her team early in their URI careers, well before senior year. “Students shouldn’t wait to come to us. We’re here with them from the start.”
“We’re excited to help students realize their dreams,” Stack says.