Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, nine of every 10 recent University of Dayton grads responding to the career services office's Flyer First Destination Survey report being employed, pursuing a graduate degree or participating in a service program within six months of graduation. It's a remarkable track record of success, with at least a 90% success rate for the last 10 years of the survey.

The success extends to every academic area: for the 10th-straight year, all four undergraduate academic units achieved at least a 90% success rate.

Of the graduates who selected employment as their destination, 95% reported they hold full-time jobs and 96% of them are working in their chosen field or in a job that's a first step toward a position in their field.

"Our grads are not only landing jobs, but also landing competitive starting salaries that accelerate their earnings and career progression, as illustrated by the current PayScale survey and our internal data," said Jason Eckert, executive director of career services.

According to the UD career services survey, the average starting salary for graduates jumped to $52,599 for the class of 2020 from $52,042 for the class of 2019, an increase of 1.1%. PayScale indicates graduates with a UD bachelor's degree earn an average yearly salary of $58,700 early in their careers and $108,400 mid-way through their careers. Those figures jumped $1,300 and $3,400, respectively, since the release of the Flyer First Destination Survey for the class of 2019.

"A characteristic of UD's Marianist education is educating for change, and graduates definitely have had to learn adaptation and change in the last year," Eckert said. "We've seen our graduates navigate an uncertain landscape in 2020 with much success. In addition to the academic success and hands-on learning that's appealing to employers, students also have acquired digital work skills and show the ability to work in different environments that's desired in today's workplace."

The UD career services survey is of graduates from August and December 2019 and May 2020. Click here for the complete Flyer First Destination Survey.

Top employers of University of Dayton graduates include General Electric, the U.S. Army, Total Quality Logistics, EY, the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Fifth Third Bank and Ford Motor Co.

The Ohio State University, Loyola University Chicago and the University of Kentucky are among the top graduate schools for University of Dayton students.

Nearly half of the graduates who reported being employed found employment in Ohio while the other half found opportunities in at least 39 states and 19 countries.

For interviews, contact Shawn Robinson, associate director of news and communications, at 937-229-3391 or srobinson@udayton.edu.