College Track: 2020 Social Mobility Report 2020 Social Mobility Report | Page 17

EMPLOYMENT LANDSCAPE
Are our college graduates
successfully navigating the
employment landscape and
securing high quality jobs?
In addition to examining starting salary and
income, we also asked alumni questions
to help determine if our graduates are
securing high quality jobs that provide a
solid mix of employee benefits, alignment
with career interests, and opportunities for
professional advancement.
“Square, Inc., offers amazing healthcare,
retirement, and stock benefits with an
income level that allows me to support
myself and my family. My income level has
even surpassed that of my parents. But
more importantly, I have a job doing what
I love. I feel valued in my role and have the
resources and support to be productive,
inspire innovation, and advance in my
career.”
employed
graduates...
Of Of
our our
employed
graduates...
These findings are encouraging, but
for the second straight year we also asked
our graduates if their “job requires a
bachelor’s degree” and we found that 19%
responded “no.” These roles include flight
attendant, train conductor, paraeducator,
and health technician.
Nationally, the percentage of bachelor’s
degree holders who are over-qualified for
their occupation is similar to what we found
amongst our graduates, and most common
with recent gradates and those who
graduated in a weak economy, 9 but lower
for those who hold a graduate degree.
This is an area of concern for us, as we see
that graduates who hold jobs that require
a bachelor’s degree earn $12,600 more
on average than those in jobs that do not.
In fact, national studies demonstrate that
college graduates can earn up to or greater
than $1 million more over their lifetime
than their peers with only a high school
diploma. 10
95% have a job with employer provided benefits
76% have a job that is related to their career
interests and aspirations
We see stronger alignment for our older graduates with 68%
reporting “a lot” or “perfect” alignment, versus only 48% for our
recent graduates who are in their first job.
78% agree with the statement, “There is someone at
work who encourages my development.”
92% have opportunities for internal advancement
51% of our older graduates (more than two years after college
graduation) were promoted within the past 12 months.
-Jacky, College Track Oakland, B.S.,
University of California, San Diego 2013
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