2005 Graduate Survey Summary

Summary of 2005 Graduate Survey Results

	Nearly all of the 2005 journalism and mass communication bachelor’s degree recipients who looked for work had at least one in-person job interview in 2005.

	For the second year in a row, the percentage of journalism and mass communication bachelor’s degree recipients reporting at least one job offer upon graduation increased in 2005.

	The percentage of bachelor’s degree recipients with a full-time job on October 31, 2005, was 62.3, up from 59.7% in 2004 and from 56.1% in 2003.

	Of those graduates who actually looked for work in the five or so months after graduation, the level of full-time employment in 2005 was 73.0%.

	When they returned the questionnaire, 69.9% of the bachelor’s degree recipients held full-time jobs.

	The unemployment rate for those who received bachelor’s degrees from journalism and mass communication programs in 2005 was just slightly lower than the unemployment rates of their age cohort in the general population.

	The job market for those who earned a master’s degree from journalism and mass communication programs around the country also seemed to improve in 2005.

	Salaries for journalism and mass communication bachelor’s degree and master’s degree recipients in 2005 increased in nominal terms compared with a year earlier. For the bachelor’s degree recipients, the gains were erased by inflation; for the master’s degree recipients, they were not.

	Graduates in 2005 reported more benefits being offered as part of their employment than was the case in 2004. The improvement in benefits came about because the graduates picked up at least part of the costs.

	Three in 10 of the employed bachelor’s degree recipients in 2005 reported that they wrote and edited for the web as part of their jobs.

	Job satisfaction increased in 2005, both for those in full-time and part-time positions.

	Journalism and mass communication bachelor’s degree recipients are relatively confident about the future of the newspaper industry and broadcast television and radio.

	About four in 10 of the graduates expect jobs for journalism and mass communication graduates will be greater in 20 years than at present.

	Eight in 10 of the bachelor’s degree recipients completed their degree in four years or less.

	The percentage of students working, and the percentage of students working more than 20 hoursper- week, have remained very consistent as well over the last five years.


	The full text of the 2005 Annual Survey of Journalism and Mass Communication Graduates is available here (PDF, 528 KB).

	You may also read about the history of the graduate surveys.

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