Since 2019, the University has released an annual Illini Success Report that details what graduates are doing once they receive their four year degree. The report includes employers, average salaries and employment rates, graduate school admissions and more. 

“Prospective students are asking and they want to know about the realm of possibilities after graduation,” said Jennifer Neef, director of the Career Center, on why the report is made.

“Because it can inform their career decisions,” Neef said. “It can also inform their decision to come to Illinois.”

Statistics such as the University’s 95% rate of job or graduate school placement shine a positive light on the school.

“We have consistently had a higher success rate and higher salaries than what the national data is,” Neef said.

 The report proves useful for interested prospective students, but current students can also benefit from the information provided as “it also shows the breadth of opportunities that our graduates take after graduation,” according to Neef. 

Each college of the University is considered in the report, producing a wide range of employers and pursuits of various graduate degrees. 

“I’m (an) accounting (major) so I’ll be working for (one of) big four (accounting firms) there,” said Kody Morikuni, senior in Business.

Morikuni said he started introducing himself to recruiters freshman year, and that his proactive approach to looking for employers got him the job he had lined up today.

“I think it just depends, it’s really driven by the credentials needed to enter the field,” Neef said on students’ decisions to enter the workforce or go on to graduate school. “Like the School of Social Work, most of our students that are pursuing a bachelor’s of social work, they intend to become a licensed social worker, which requires the master’s degree.”

“We don’t necessarily see that someone who wants to be an accountant requires a master’s degree,” Neef added. “So it’s really driven by the student’s career interests and the credential that’s required to enter the field.” 

In Business, 74% of four-year graduates enter the workforce and 24% continue their education. In the School of Social Work, 86% of graduates opt to continue their education. 

“So first social work, like, in order to get a job, like a higher up job, instead of just doing the basic entry level of social work, you have to go to graduate school to get a specific, specialized degree in an area,” said Mariclaire Lynch, senior in Social Work.

“So I know coming into my freshman year … four years ago, I knew that I was (doing) grad school, it was just a matter of where I was gonna go,” Lynch said, who is staying at the University for her master’s degree. 

Though she is continuing school, Lynch said she has still gotten work experience thanks in part to a senior year internship that is built into student’s educations. 

“Oftentimes people equate post-graduation success with getting a job and a high salary,” Neef said while mentioning that 35-40% of students go on to graduate school. “And (getting into graduate school) is an equally successful outcome as someone who’s gone to the world of work. And so, I think we should embrace that as a successful path for students.”

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