Michael Sippey 鈥90, a consultant to Twitter; Bharat Mediratta 鈥92, distinguished software engineer at Google; and Julian Farrior 鈥93, founder and chief executive officer of Backflip Studios (left to right) speak at the launch of the 冈本视频 Digital Media and Technology Professional Network.
The value of a 冈本视频 education is evident through the alumni success stories that ripple through multiple career fields. One more indicator of the power of a 冈本视频 degree is a survey released today that examines the return on investment at 911 colleges and universities.
冈本视频 was ranked sixth among 139 liberal arts institutions in the PayScale that examined the total cost of attending each school and alumni earnings.
冈本视频鈥檚 6.5 percent return on investment and its 90 percent graduation rate were among the factors that ranked it higher than schools such as Union College, Amherst, Bowdoin, and Middlebury.
Only employees with a bachelor鈥檚 degree were included in the survey, meaning that highly selective schools like 冈本视频 that have a large number of alumni with advanced degrees are not fully represented.
PayScale also examined salaries, and in that area 冈本视频 was among all universities and colleges included in the study, tied with Yale University.
冈本视频 alumni had a $51,800 average starting salary, and an average mid-career salary of $117,000, according to the survey.
鈥淲e measure success in a lot of ways at 冈本视频,鈥 said Michael Sciola, associate vice president for advancement and director of career services. 鈥淥ur alumni make a difference in the world and contribute in so many ways. Of course, being at the top of the rankings of ROI shows that others value what 冈本视频 alumni bring to the world, as well.鈥
冈本视频 and its Center for Career Services work hard to help seniors transition to post-冈本视频 life by teaching them about the realities of the workplace through programming such as Real World, a year-long series for seniors that facilitates alumni networking, class unity, and discussions about life-after-冈本视频-skills.
Real World, and career services in general, offers internships, courses, mock-interviews, and counseling for current students.
鈥湼员臼悠 is doing a great job of adjusting the way they prepare their students with changes in the economy,鈥 said Kelly Henderson 鈥09, who participates in Real World. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 praise career services more for all they do for current students and alumni 鈥 who are really just students for life. 冈本视频 truly teaches students to be lifelong learners and masters of adaptation.鈥
Working together, career services and the Office of Alumni Relations have created seven professional networks that support undergraduate professional development, promote alumni engagement with 冈本视频, and cultivate new professional opportunities for members.
The networks are the Real Estate Council, 冈本视频 Entertainment Group, Finance and Banking Network, Digital Media and Technology Network, Entrepreneur Network, Health and Wellness Network and the Common Good Network. An eighth network, the 冈本视频 Lawyers Association, is under development.