Career Development
Jean Mitsunaga, Director of Career Development at Art Center, reviews on-campus recruiting, employment rates and Art Center’s Annual Graduate Employment Survey.The Career Development Office is dedicated to empowering Art Center students and alumni to pursue careers as professional artists and designers by providing resources and services that encourage leadership and social responsibility while influencing a global economy.Programs and services include:
- Career planning and counseling
- Career and specialty workshops
- Internship Program
- The Dot Exchange (Mentor Program)
- Business Dialogue Series
- On-Campus Recruitment Program
- dotJOBS
- Annual Graduate Employment Survey
Recruiting and InternshipsThere have been recent comments that industry is not hiring as many Art Center graduates as in the past. This is simply not true. Employer recruiting on campus remains high. National and international companies visit the College each term to meet with students, review portfolios and identify candidates for existing or potential job openings. During the Spring 2008 term, more than 70 companies and studios from around the country participated in the On-Campus Recruitment Program. Also this year, more than 75 national and international companies have sponsored internships for students. These internships provide students the opportunity to obtain professional work experience, and in some instances, lead to employment after graduation.Annual Graduate Employment Survey Every year, Career Development conducts a Graduate Employment Survey targeting two groups of graduates—those who graduated from Art Center one year ago and those who graduated five years ago. The survey is conducted to determine graduates’ employment status, salary ranges and career satisfaction. Graduates are also asked how well they feel Art Center prepared them for their job, and how they rate the overall quality of their Art Center education.It’s important to understand the concept of “employment” versus “placement.” Historically, the term “placement” was used in reference to “placing” students in a job. Today, college and university career offices focus on career development and providing resources rather than on “placement.” Therefore, the term “placement rate” is no longer appropriate—“employment rate” is the acceptable term.In conducting the Annual Graduate Employment Survey, Career Development is committed to achieving the highest possible response rate to ensure that the College receives a valid look at the careers of its graduates. To achieve a 40-50% response rate, the survey is first conducted by mail, then followed-up with personal telephone calls to those who did not reply.As of this writing, the current survey is still being conducted, so the most recent numbers come from the 2006 Annual Graduate Employment Survey, conducted in 2007. Career Development mailed surveys to the 765 alumni who had graduated one year ago and five years ago (402 one-year-out and 363 five-years-out). When the survey was completed, a response rate of 43% of total graduates, 50% one-year-out (201 respondents) and 36 % five-years-out (130 respondents) was achieved.Please bear in mind that these statistics must be interpreted within the context of the response rates. For instance, if one person responds to the survey and he or she is employed, then it could correctly be stated that there is a 100% employment rate. This is why Career Development strives for at least a 40-50% response rate, to more accurately report on the status of Art Center graduates.Below are statistics from the 2006 Graduate Employment Survey:
EMPLOYMENTOf the one-year-out graduates who responded (50% response rate), 91% reported employment in their field of study. Of the five-years-out graduates who responded (36% response rate), 94% reported employment in their field of study. Many reported that they had obtained employment through the job listing service provided by the Career Development office exclusively for the benefit of alumni, or through their participation in various on-campus recruitment programs. Over the 11 years that the survey has been conducted, the average employment rate of Art Center graduates one-year-out is 88.5%, and 95.1% for those five-years-out.CAREER SATISFACTIONOf the one-year-out graduates who responded (48% response rate), 80% reported being “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with their career. Of the five-years-out graduates who responded (35% response rate), 85% reported being “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with their career.JOB PREPARATIONOf the one-year-out graduates who responded (47% response rate), 88% reported they were “very well” or “adequately” prepared after graduation. Of those graduates five-years-out (34% response rate), 90% reported that they were “very well” or “adequately” prepared. Over the 11 years that the survey has been conducted, the number of respondents one-year-out who felt “very well” or “adequately” prepared for their job remained high—averaging 89.3%.QUALITY OF EDUCATIONAs for the overall quality of their Art Center education, 91% graduates one-year-out (50% response rate) reported it as “excellent” to “good”. For those five-years-out (35% response rate), 95% rated it as “excellent” to “good”. Again, over the 11 years of surveys, graduates one-year-out rated the quality of their Art Center education as “excellent” to “good”—with a 90.6% average.
The mission of the Career Development Office is to help Art Center students and graduates make the most of their Art Center education. For more information about programs and services, please visit www.artcenter.edu/accd/career/careerdevelopment.jsp, email jobs@artcenter.edu or call 626.396.2320. We look forward to hearing from you.
Monday, June 30th, 2008 at 12:32 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.