The Illini Success initiative, a campus-wide effort to gather career-related information about recently graduated bachelor’s degree recipients, studies alumni within six months of graduation.
For School of Chemical Sciences (SCS) alumni, three-year trend data shows a strong, steady picture of success. The number of graduates who report securing a first destination has increased steadily over the three-year period—from 82 to 90 percent. The Illini Success team believes that a portion of this increase can be attributed to improved resources used in the academic year 2017-18 to gather information on continuing education, as a great deal of progress is evident in this area.
The report also indicates that more SCS graduates pursue jobs in comparison to continuing education. Over this three-year period, the average salary of fully employed graduates increased from $60,864 to $68,195—an increase of 12 percent.
These numbers reflect alumni who graduated during the August 2017, December 2017, and May 2018 graduations. The results come from surveys, employer and college reports, and the LinkedIn social media network, a particularly popular tool for sharing career-related information. This year, the Illini Success initiative was able to gather career information on 254 of the 334 SCS graduates from 2017-18, for a 74 percent knowledge rate.
“We are very pleased by the trends we see in the Illini Success initiative,” said Feng Sheng Hu, the Harry E. Preble Dean of the College of LAS. “This year’s report indicates that our graduates continue to successfully move to the next stages of their careers, whether they choose employment, more education, or service. Our LAS graduates leave campus with a strong foundation that will help them pursue the careers of their dreams.”
School of Chemical Sciences three-year trends
