9 out of 10 Cal Poly alumni start jobs, graduate studies after leaving school, report says

Nine out of 10 Cal Poly alumni found jobs, enrolled in graduate studies or were otherwise engaged after graduating from the San Luis Obispo university, according to a new report.

According to Cal Poly’s latest Career Services Graduate Status Report, 91% of Cal Poly graduates from the 2021-2022 graduating class were “positively engaged” after graduation, the university said in a Tuesday news release, with the vast majority working or attending graduate schools in California.

Eight in 10 Cal Poly graduates accepted jobs in the Golden State, the release said, including 18% in San Luis Obispo County.

According to the release, Cal Poly’s Career Services annually surveys Cal Poly graduates to determine their post-commencement plans, top employers and locations, employment regions and starting median salaries. The most recent report looks at 2,232 graduates in the nine months following graduation.

“Employers tell us time and again that they seek to hire Cal Poly graduates because our grads are ready day one,” Amie Hammond, executive director of Cal Poly Career Services, said in the release.

Report: Salaries for Cal Poly graduates on the rise

According to the release, 71% of recent graduates considered “fully engaged” were working full-time jobs, while 4% found part-time work and 14% were attending graduate school.

Around 9% of the graduates were still seeking employment, while around 2% were engaged in other pursuits, such as travel, a gap year or personal commitments, the release said.

Employers who have hired recent Cal Poly graduates include Abbot, Amazon, LinkedIn, Northrop Gruman and SpaceX, according to the release.

Graduates of Cal Poly College of Engineering were positively engaged 99% of the time, according to the release.

More than 90% of graduates of the colleges of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences; Architecture and Environmental Design; Engineering and Orfalea College of Business found jobs related to their majors, the release said.

Meanwhile, around 33% of graduates of the Baliley College of Science and Mathematics went to graduate school.

Members of Cal Poly’s 2021-2022 graduating class earned a median starting salary of $72,000 annually, rising from $68,000 the prior year, the release said.

Median starting salaries for Cal Poly graduates have grown 22% since the 2014-2015 survey, when graduates reported a median starting salary of $56,000, the release said.

Graduates of the College of Engineering reported an 18% median starting salary bump in that time, growing from $68,000 for the class of 2014-2015 to $83,500 for the class of 2021-2022.

“The latest Graduate Status Report confirms that a Cal Poly degree continues to provide a strong return on investment,” Hammond said in the release.