JOB SEARCH AND EMPLOYMENT AMONG EDUCATION AND LIBERAL ARTS GRADUATES

Abstract

A survey is reported of 473 recent graduates in education and liberal arts from an urban south‐eastern US university. Three main questions are addressed: Did the graduates gain initial postgraduation employment within their own major?; Did the graduates have a job lined up at the time of graduation?; Did students tend to pick majors that focused on specific occupational areas? The survey was carried out by telephone and 307 completed responses were achieved. The replies were statistically analysed. The results refute the speculative contention that graduates in education and liberal arts are either unprepared for specific occupational employment or remain unemployed for a long period after graduation. The most important factors influencing the success of graduates in obtaining a first job in their respective majors are pregraduation work and the use of job‐search services. Furthermore, those graduates who had selected their major with a specific occupation in mind were the first to obtain jobs with salaries which met their expectations.