by Khelsi Clarke, CALS junior majoring in Information Science
If you are a senior, you are probably familiar with the Postgraduate Survey. If not, you should be! This short survey is available for all seniors to share what they plan to do after graduation. But how does the Postgraduate survey affect everybody else? Responding to the survey is extremely beneficial because, the CALS Career Development Office creates a variety of reports that all students can use from those responses. But, be assured, all your personal information is kept confidential and your information is only used for reporting purposes. Postgraduate Reports from the past 5 years (2008 – 2012) are available online so that you can compare information from year to year.
These detailed reports are separated by major to give a clear idea of what a student can expect upon their own graduation depending on their academic interests. Some of the information made available in these reports includes salary information, geographic location of jobs, companies seniors are going to work for, and graduate school attendance. Everybody, from freshman to seniors, can use the reports that result from the postgraduate survey as an insightful resource on career options that come from a given major. These reports have valuable information that can assist you in deciding on a major or figuring out some ideas for what you can do with a specific degree after you graduate. These reports are also used by employers and alumni to gain information on graduating seniors and what they are doing and where they are going.
If you are a senior you should complete the survey if you haven’t already. The more people that respond, the better the information available is for all students. If you are interested in viewing the reports you can access them here. As always if you need help choosing a major or deciding on a career path you can reach CALS Student Services office via phone at (607) 255-2257 , email at cals-studentservices@cornell.edu, or visit our office at 140 Roberts Hall.