Understanding English graduates’ experiences entering the workforce

Abstract

ABSTRACT As college degrees become more common and the cost of these degrees increases, so does the debate about the worthwhileness and value of a college education generally and of specific degrees in particular. Degrees in the humanities and liberal arts are particularly questioned, as data on starting salaries and unemployment rates are sometimes used to claim that such degrees do not provide a good return on investment. Responses to these critiques often claim that college preparation in such fields fosters the development of broad so-called “soft skills” that employers value. However, both sides of this debate have historically focused on job data and employer perceptions while neglecting the perspectives and self-reports of graduates themselves, particularly as graduating students transition from the university to the workforce. In this exploratory mixed-methods study we sought to understand the experiences of English graduates from a large U.S. university over the course of a decade, using semi-structured interviews (n = 8) and a follow-up quantitative survey to discover their experiences finding employment and transitioning to the workforce (n = 338). Results coalesced around four themes and showed that most graduates reported their degrees to have provided great benefit for employability and ongoing professional growth.