Who Receives Employment Offers Among Exiting Engineering Students?

The Engineering Exit Assessment measures program effectiveness from the student’s perspective. The results illuminate which learning outcomes and key dimensions of the program are the strongest and which areas need to be improved. The knowledge gained from engineering benchmarking assessments drive and sustain continuous improvement programs and supports accreditation efforts. In 2010-11, the EBI Engineering Exit Assessment was completed by 11,316 respondents.

Among respondents who were planning to be employed following graduation, approximately 46% had been offered a position, 23% had interviewed, but not received an offer, and an additional 32% had not yet interviewed. A number of factors are associated with employment status at the time of the exit assessment. Students with high entering test scores and high undergraduate GPAs are significantly more likely to have an employment offer. Interestingly, the number of hours spent studying per week during college is not related to the likelihood of receiving an employment offer, but hours worked per week is related. Students who report being satisfied with the assistance they receive in preparation for a job search are more likely to receive an offer of employment. Finally, students who report that the engineering program exceeded their expectations are also more likely to have an employment offer.

1. Students with higher entering test scores or higher undergraduate GPAs are more likely to have a job offer.

   • Approximately 54% of respondents who had SAT/ACT scores of 1290/28 or higher had been offered a position of employment, compared to 36% of respondents with scores of 1070/22 or below.
   • Almost six out of ten respondents with a cumulative undergraduate GPA of at least a 3.50 had been offered a position of employment, compared to three out of ten respondents with a GPA of less than 3.00.
   • Approximately 43% of respondents with an undergraduate GPA of less than 3.00 had not yet interviewed.

2. Satisfaction with job search assistance is linked to employment offers, but satisfaction with academic advising by faculty is not.

   • One-half of respondents who were satisfied with the assistance for preparation for permanent job search had been offered a position, compared to 37% of students who were dissatisfied.
   • At least 45% of both respondents who were satisfied with academic advising by faculty and respondents who were dissatisfied indicated that they had job offers.

3. Work hours are related to employment offers, but study hours are not.

   • Approximately 56% of students who spent more than 40 hours per week working received employment offers compared to 44% of those working 40 hours or less.
   • Forty-four percent of respondents who studied five hours or less, 43% of those who studied 6 to 15 hours, and 48% of those who studied more than 15 hours received employment offers. The differences in these percentages were not statistically significant.

4. Positive perceptions of the engineering program are linked with employment offers.

   • About one-half of respondents who indicated the engineering program exceeded their expectations also reported they had an employment offer, compared to four out of ten respondents who indicated the program either met or was below their expectations.
   • Approximately 49% of respondents who would recommend their engineering school to a close friend indicated they had an employment offer, compared to 41% of those who were not inclined to recommend the program.

Conclusion

A number of factors are related to whether a student has an employment offer. Students with higher incoming SAT/ACT scores and higher cumulative undergraduate GPAs are more likely to have employment offers. Satisfaction with academic advising is not related to job offers; however, satisfaction with job search preparation is. Interestingly, hours spent studying is not related to job offers, but full-time work is. Perhaps not surprisingly, students who are satisfied with their engineering program are more likely to have job offers.

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