NDSU graduates are highly sought by employers. That’s the bottom line of the newly-released 2022 Career Outcomes Report which captures information regarding how new college graduates fare in their careers within six months of graduation.

A video highlighting the data was shared on the NDSU Facebook page on April 4.

The report and video show that recent graduates have seen a 93 percent success rate with 72 percent of respondents entering employment, while another 21 percent are continuing their educations.

This year’s report surveyed students who graduated in August 2021, December 2021 and May 2022. A total of 1,752 responded out of 2,273 graduates – a 77 percent response rate.

“This information is used to make sure NDSU is meeting workforce needs of employers in our state and our region by providing career-ready individuals upon graduation,” said NDSU President David Cook. “The quality of education a student receives is a good indicator of the quality of employee they will become when entering the workforce. NDSU educates future leaders to provide the state, region, nation and world with a strong workforce that will create solutions to shape a better world.”

Other highlights from the report include:

• The median reported salary is $54,000, while the median bonus is $5,000.
• 59 percent of graduates coming from across the country and internationally are now employed in North Dakota.
• 82 percent of North Dakota high school graduates stayed in the state, while 42 percent of high school graduates from Minnesota stayed in North Dakota. These percentages continue to rise annually. 
• Graduates reported accepting employment in 39 states and five were planning to work outside of the United States.
• Top employers include: Sanford Health, NDSU, Essentia Health, Doosan Bobcat, Fargo Public Schools, Scheels, West Fargo Public Schools, Aldevron, John Deere, Marvin, Bell Bank, Emerson, CNH Industrial, Mayo Clinic, Eide Bailly LLP, Ulteig, Allina Health, Thrifty White Pharmacy, EAPC Architects Engineers and Bolton and Menk, Inc.

Employers featured in the 2022 Career Outcomes video were asked to comment on the quality of NDSU graduates working at their place of employment.

“The quality of NDSU graduates is in the upper echelon,” said Langston Johnson, Quality Assurance Department Lead at Bushel. “Some of our best, brightest shining people have come out of NDSU. Fantastic talent.”

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