Despite graduating in the middle of a pandemic, more than 95% of the Class of 2020 at Stevens Institute of Technology has found a job or been admitted the graduate school — with those entering the workforce earning a record-breaking average starting salary of $77,000.
Stevens officials, citing their 2020 Student Outcomes Report, said the statistics demonstrate a stronger need than ever for talent with a technology-infused education. Leading companies such as Amazon, Goldman Sachs, Deloitte, Lockheed Martin and Johnson & Johnson each hired multiple members of the 2020 graduating class.
“The Stevens class of 2020 entered their careers in one of the most difficult environments in recent history due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” President Nariman Farvardin said. “These graduates have not only demonstrated the grit and determination to overcome all the problems that 2020 presented, but they are showing that they will be part of the solution.
“Class of 2020 graduates are working on vaccines, attending medical school and conducting important research as part of their graduate education.”
The report revealed that, while 63% of graduates entered the workforce, the military or returned to their home countries, 32% continued their education and pursued advanced degrees at institutions such as Brown University, the University of Oxford, Columbia University, Cornell University and New York University. Of the students pursuing advanced degrees, 94% are seeking a master’s or doctorate, with the balance pursuing medicine or law. Overall, 85% of the class reported first-destination plans.
Further, 52% of the graduates reporting salary information indicated they received a signing bonus, averaging $8,900. While graduates are pursuing their careers or continuing their education across 21 states, 86% are located in New Jersey or New York.
The most lucrative field for Class of 2020 graduates was cybersecurity/computer science, with an average starting salary of $88,000. Other fields earning above-average salaries included quantitative finance, electrical engineering, software engineering and computer engineering.
Lynn Insley, executive director of the Stevens Career Center, said she is most pleased by the fact Stevens graduates are getting to do what they want to do.
“Our students are not only securing employment but launching careers in the areas of their choice,” she said. “Each year, it is impressive to see how the list of the most influential and sought-after companies in the world recruiting Stevens graduates continues to grow.”
