Career Services ready again to help new UD grads begin their life flight

Pictured is the Career Services building. Photo courtesy of the University of Dayton website.

James Martin | Contributing Writer

Upon graduation from an undergraduate program, there are various routes one can take to begin their next step in life. For those entering the workforce, they aim to tackle the ups and downs of the national job market in their respective fields.

Fortunately, for University of Dayton students, their career path is a little easier thanks to UD Career Services and the resources they offer for both current students and alumni. Career services at UD offer services such as running job searches, managing job searches and learning new skills that are crucial to job searching, networking, career and internship fairs, hosting Career Champions; a faculty and staff training program, and expressing the ‘Flyer for Life’ motto. 

These services are offered for both current students and alumni. 

Liz Seager, director of career services at UD, said, “The University of Dayton is different from other colleges in the aspect that we offer career help from the time of admission to the time of your retirement, completely free of charge.”

On average, UD Career Services helps approximately 350 students and alums per year, guiding them with their respective career changes and searches. A helpful tool that benefits those who participate in the services and helps lift them up in their challenges.

How do University of Dayton graduates stack up against the nation?

       Employment rate   Avg. Salary    Further education   unemployment 

UD:      64 %                  $61,871                 19.4 %                   11 %

Nation: 72 %                  $45,600 **            22 %                        2 %

** The University of Dayton does not have one average report on average salary and this information was provided from Payscale.

University of Dayton starting average salary by major:

College of Arts and Sciences: $38,000- $75,000

School of Business Administration: $50,000- $71,000

School of Education and Health Sciences: $36,000- $46,000

School of Engineering: $63,000- $72,000

Graduate School: $46,000- $110,000

What has the national job market looked like in recent years?

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), graduates in 2023 were projected to see an increase of employers hiring more graduates by 3.9 % compared to 2022. On top of this, because of the labor shortage in various fields, employers are going the extra mile to wow job prospects and fill vacancies, giving graduates better negotiating opportunities on wages and job benefits than in previous years. NACE also reports that employer benefits have seen improvements, such as:

● 401 K matching

● Employee Discount Programs

● Medical, Dental and other insurance opportunities

● Parenthood assistance and wellness benefits

● Employee Stock Purchase Programs

● Student Loan assistance

● Paid Time Off Flexibility

● Signing Bonuses up to $10,000

That’s not all. According to iCIMS, a recruiting software platform, employers are prepared to dish out $58,000 on average to entry-level candidates.

Despite the increase in hiring rates and offered benefits, the nation’s unemployment rate has hovered around 3.4% in 2023. However, this is on a general basis for the nation, and certain career fields saw a strong growth between 2022-2023 including health care, leisure and hospitality, construction, and social assistance.

The 2023 NACE Job Outlook 2023 Survey predicts the percentage change in new college hires by industry.

Industry: % change Industry Projected % Change In New College Hires

Construction +3.6%

Food and Beverage Manufacturing +9.6%

Pharmaceutical Manufacturing +46.1%

Computer and Electronics Manufacturing +24%

Miscellaneous Manufacturing +12.5%

Wholesale Trade +57.7%

Retail Trade +14.5%

Information -7.8%

Finance, Insurance and Real Estate +16.9%

Accounting Services +12.8%

Engineering Services +21.4%

Management Consulting +22.3%

Miscellaneous Professional Services +8.7%

Source: NACE 2023 Outlook Survey Graph

As shown, NACE predicts an increase in hires in almost all industries listed, further cementing the fact that employers are eager to hire new college graduates.

What are the predictions for the 2024 job market for college graduates?

The report released on March 8, 2024, by The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that in February 2024 employment rose by 275,000 and the unemployment rate increased to 3.9 %. This brings the total number of unemployed people to 6.5 million in the early months of 2024.

Among the various fields, the hottest markets include health care, transportation and warehousing, and construction. Health care added 67,000 jobs, transportation and warehousing jobs rose by 20,000, construction added 23,000 more. 

UD Job Market Trends and Outlook

Career Services estimates that STEM fields, including IT and engineering, as well as business analytics and accounting majors see the hottest job market, while graduate school science majors and computer science and highly specialized engineering majors or IT majors will fare the least in the job market. This is partially because of the IT job market falling out just last spring.

As mentioned previously, Career service resources at UD are free and you don’t have to know what you want to do to meet with a representative.

“We will meet you where you are and we will help you start to figure out if you don’t know your plan,” Seager said.

UD Career Services drop-in hours are noon-3 p.m. Monday-Friday (208 L St.) To schedule an appointment with a career adviser, visit Handshake or call the career office at 937-229-2045.

For more news about UD check out our Campus page here!