The numbers are in: fall ’04 and spring ’05 IST graduates are headed into the work world with initial compensation packages of almost $60,000 a year.
Already 69 of the 132 May graduates-to-be have jobs or outstanding offers according to the latest in-house survey, said Shaun Knight, coordinator of professional placement services for IST. Their average salary is $54,500 with an average signing bonus of $4,700. That placement rate exceeds last year’s at this time and puts IST on track for a 95 percent placement.
About 40 percent of seniors who responded to the survey are headed into consulting with firms such as Accenture, IBM, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Of the rest, 20 percent will work in companies in the defense sector; 15 percent have taken jobs in telecommunications with companies like AT&T and One Wireless World; and 15 percent have positions with financial services organizations like J.P. Morgan and Merrill Lynch. For the first time, two IST graduates are foregoing job offers to start up their own companies, Knight said. Several students also will continue their education in graduate schools.
December ’04 graduates also fared well with 88 percent of those who responded to the in-house job placement survey hired. Their total compensation packages averaged $59,888, Knight said. Salaries are up 2 percent from May 2004 while bonuses have surged by 250 percent.
Job placement for this spring is only going to get better, Knight said.
“Branding and increased exposure are getting companies to IST students,” Knight said. “The marketing is working, so I expect that there will be a substantial number of companies that will be hiring IST students this spring.”
