Office of Career Programs
Annual Report
Respondents
The Class of 2012 completed a survey at the time of graduation in order to determine post-graduate plans. For those that indicated that they did not have post-graduate plans, they were surveyed via email until they indicated that they had successful plans, or up to 12 months after graduation. The survey had a 95.1% response rate.
Post-graduate Plans
88.13% of graduates sought employment and were employed within 1 year after graduation. 5.08% of students went on to pursue further graduate or professional study. 3.38% of students were temporarily employed; 3.38% of students were unemployed after one year.
Looking at the trends through the past 3 graduating classes, the vast majority of students have pursued employment after graduation. While some students do pursue further graduate education (typically PhD programs or JD programs), those numbers are quite small compared to the larger population. Because the MPA program is a professional based graduate program, it is expected that most students pursue employment post-graduation. In addition, there was a higher number of students who were temporarily employed in this graduating class; this can be attributed to the fact that 2012 was an election year, and all of the students who were temporarily employed were working on campaigns.
88.13% 3.38% 3.38%
5.08%
Class of 2012 Post-Graduate Plans
Employed Unemployed
Temporarily Employed Further Graduate Education
Securing Employment
Within 12 months of graduation, 96.42% of graduates who were seeking employment had secured a full-time position in their field. At the time of graduation, the number of students who were
employed lagged behind the average of previous years, but there was a spike in the number of graduates who were employed within 3 months of graduation. By 6 months after graduation, the results had evened out to the average of previous years.
0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00% 70.00% 80.00% 90.00% 100.00%
Employed Unemployed Temporarily
Employed employmentNot seeking GraduateFurther Education
Military
Post Graduate Outcomes
Overall 2010 2011 2012
55.35%
83.92% 89.28%
94.64% 96.42%
0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00% 70.00% 80.00% 90.00% 100.00%
At Graduation 3 months 6 months 9 months 12 months
Employment Industries
The number of students entering different career paths varies each year dependent upon the specific areas of concentration and career interests of those graduating. In the past, careers with state government were prevalent, mostly due to the College being located in the capital city of Albany. For the Class of 2012, careers with state government prevailed, in large part due to a hiring spree by the New York State Division of Budget, which had previously been under a hiring freeze. In addition, private industry experienced an increase, which can be attributed to the on campus hiring initiated by the consulting firm, KPMG. Lastly, in the “Other” category, one graduate was employed as a professional volleyball player abroad; all other students were employed in a career related to public administration/affairs.
0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00% 70.00% 80.00% 90.00% 100.00%
At Graduation 3 months 6 months 9 months 12 months
Time to Employment
Overall 2010 2011 2012
Concentration Areas
Related to employment industry, the following table was created to represent the diversity of concentration areas of the graduates. Approximately 66% of students decide to pursue two concentration areas; the remainder pursued only one area of concentration. In the past few years, there has been substantial growth in the areas of health policy, nonprofit management, and
homeland security. These areas of growth can be attributed to the demands of employers, as well as the addition of new faculty members in these concentration areas.
44.44%
5.55% 11.11%
20.37% 0%
12.96%
3.70% 1.85%
Class of 2012 Employment
State Government Federal Government International Private Firm Law/Legal Nonprofit
Local Government Other
0.00% 5.00% 10.00% 15.00% 20.00% 25.00% 30.00% 35.00% 40.00% 45.00% 50.00%
Employment by Industry
Overall 2010 2011 2012
Select Employment Information
Graduates obtained a wide range of positions after graduation from the MPA program. Please find below some examples of employment. As a note, most positions in the field of homeland security were not included due to the confidential nature of the positions.
3.22% 6.45% 4.80% 1.60% 17.74%
4.83% 0%
16.12% 14.51% 16.12% 4.80%
27.41%
6.45% 9.67%
3.22% 4.80% 9.67% 0.00%
5.00% 10.00% 15.00% 20.00% 25.00% 30.00%
Class of 2012 Concentration Areas
0.00% 5.00% 10.00% 15.00% 20.00% 25.00% 30.00%
Concentration Areas
Overall 2011 2012
Employer Position Title Location United States Citizenship &
Immigration Services Immigration Officer Kansas City, MO Capital District Habitat for
Humanity Development Associate Albany, NY
Town of Greenwich, CT Assistant to the First Selectman Greenwich, CT New York State Assembly Legislative Budget Analyst
(multiple graduates) Albany, NY Deloitte Corporate Restructuring
Associate New York, NY
New York State Office of
Mental Health Behavioral Health Planning Analyst Albany, NY New York State Insurance
Fund Claims Service Analyst Rochester, NY
National Center for Security &
Preparedness Staff Assistant (multiple graduates) Albany, NY T-Mobile USA Senior Analyst, Government
Affairs Washington, DC
New York State Division of
Budget Budget Examiner (multiple graduates) Albany, NY New York State Assembly Legislative Assistant (multiple
graduates) Albany, NY
KPMG Senior Associate/Associate
(multiple graduates) Albany, NY/New York, NY/Sacramento, CA New York State Energy
Research and Development Authority
Assistant Project Manager
(multiple graduates) Albany, NY Village of Port Chester, NY Assistant to the Village
Manager Port Chester, NY
Adirondack Mountain Club Director of Government
Relations and Conservation Albany, NY Fairfield County Community
Foundation Development and Philanthropic Services Assistant Norwalk, CT
Salary Information
The Class of 2012 had an average salary of $52,413, an increase of $2,148 from the Class of 2011, and a median salary of $49,000, an increase of $4,000 from the Class of 2011. The salary range was between $32,500 and $92,000. The majority of graduates with a salary below $40,000 did not have prior work experience. In addition, students who had previous work experience received an increase in salary of $2,000-$45,000, with an average salary increase of $17,578. Overall, MPA graduates experienced a 64.86% salary increase from their salary at the start of their graduate studies.
Geographic Location
Approximately half of all graduates remain in the Capital District after graduation. Approximately 33% of students are enrolled in the MPA program part-time while employed full-time; therefore, those students tend to remain in the Capital District after graduation. In addition, approximately 25% of full-time job offers were the result of a student completing an internship with that
organization. Notably, many students decided to remain in New York State after graduation, which can be anticipated based upon the number of in-state students in the program.
0% 0%
3.70% 5.55%
12.96% 12.96% 18.51%
3.70% 3.70% 3.70% 3.70% 0%
5.55%
25.92%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
Class of 2012 Salary Information
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
Salary Information
Overall 2011 2012
0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00%
Class of 2012 Geographic Locations
0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00% 70.00%
Employment by Geographic Location
Overall 2010 2011 2012
