One in 10 Still Seek Work Six Months After Fordham Graduation: Report

By Laura Sanicola 

One in 10 Fordham graduates from the Class of 2015 were not employed, doing service or pursuing further education within six months of graduation, according to new information released by the Office of Institutional Research.

59 percent of the Class of 2015 was fully employed six months after graduation, a slight drop from the previous year. Ten percent were still seeking employment. In comparison, the Class of 2014 at Georgetown University boasted 71 percent of students employed full time during this period, and New York University saw 85 percent of its students employed full time, according to those universities’ websites.

According to Fordham’s website, the Office of Career Services reached out to every member of the Class of 2015 and was able to learn the “first destination” of 98.2 percent of the graduates, which it states is “an exceptionally high response rate.”
The Office of Enrollment could not be reached at the time this article reached print publication.

The data also showed 20 percent of graduates continuing education, one percent in military service, two percent in public service, two percent in auditions and two percent working part time.

A disclaimer to Fordham’s placement analysis read as follows: “Fordham adopted the standards with the Class of 2014 in order to facilitate comparisons of outcomes for current and prospective students. As Fordham’s earlier placement analyses did not use the same methodology, caution should be used when comparing the outcomes of classes prior to 2014 with those since then.”

Some students have taken to social media to voice their astonishment at the statistics.
“17.9 percent of #Fordham ‘14 grads are neither in work nor in school, and we’re bragging???” read a tweet directed to The Fordham Ram’s twitter account.

This number was also unsurprising to some recent graduates who struggled to find work after college. Max Prinz, FCRH ’15, searched hours on end for an employment didn’t turn up. “I feel frustrated,” Prinz said. “I spent a long time searching for a job and the whole while it felt like I was doing something wrong or I missed something important other people didn’t.”

Eight months later, Prinz took an educational publishing job near his home in Westchester.

“I do wish the career services office had a stronger infrastructure in the communications field,” Prinz said. “It may have been perception but it seemed like the opportunities were overwhelmingly focused on business major and in communications capital of the world I wish there had been opportunities for communications majors like myself.”

McSween said that she is surprised that only 84 percent of graduates are employed or are enrolled in graduate education or the like.

“Many Fordham seniors seem to get great jobs and graduate school offers,” she said. “And, we’re right in New York City, so while the labor market is tightening, there are jobs to be found if one is looking. Career Services has resources to help: job search tools, some of which I’ve used before; career fairs; mock interviews.”

McSween guessed that this number is caused graduating seniors are unaware of the resources available to them. However, she also feared that this number could place a greater financial burden on students who financed college with money they did not have.

“Fordham does place students in great careers, but at the same time the 84 percent statistic is worrying to a certain extent because so many graduates have taken on debt to attend Fordham,” she said. “How can they start paying it off without a job, or at least a deferral while in grad school?

The report also lists the class of 2015’s average starting salary as $55,000. However, only 34 percent of the class of 2015 reported their starting salaries.

McSween found that number misleading for several reasons. “The distribution of salaries could easily be multimodal because Fordham sends many students into fields with relatively high and relatively low salaries such as financial services and social services.

She recommended that Fordham behave more like NYU, which breaks down the average salaries based on industry. “That could be helpful in future reports,” she said.
The full report can be accessed on Fordhams website and includes information such as leading industries graduates enter into, top employers of graduates and law and medical school acceptance rates.