Oh, the places they go

Whether a member of the class of 2004 or the class of 2007, chances are, most Tufts students have given at least a few moments of thought to the real world that awaits them after graduation. But where do most Tufts grads go? What do they do?

According to a survey done last year around graduation, about 21 percent of the class of 2003 went to graduate or professional school this fall. This number increases within several years of graduation. "Historically, about 70 to 80 percent of Tufts students go on to grad school within five years after graduation," Director of Career Services Jean Papalia said.

The majority of students who pursue graduate school choose to take a year off after their Tufts undergraduate careers, citing a variety of reasons.

"It will give me a better sense of what to focus on in grad school, and it will also give me some financial stability," senior Louise Flannery said.

Simply being unsure about what type of graduate studies to pursue is another common factor. "I do eventually want to go to graduate school, but I do not yet know what I would want to go to graduate school for, so it would be a waste of time and money for me to go right now," senior Aaron Weinstein said.

Alumni also stressed the importance of taking a year off between undergraduate and graduate studies. "I worked as a legal assistant at Planned Parenthood for two years in between college and law school." Shilpa Patel (LA '01) said. "I highly recommend this... working in between gives you a sense of the real world and motivation to go back to school."

Citing the need for a break, Rebecca Rich (LA '01) said "pre-med classes as well as my major were pretty intense... I was feeling burned out by my senior year, and knew that I couldn't start medical school that way,". Rich took time off to work in oncology research at Dana Farber after graduation.

"There is no rush," Rich said. "Medical school will always be there. You can only be enhanced as a person by spending time doing other things. The more you know yourself, the better equipped you will be to handle the intensity and excitement of medical school."

Many students chose to head directly into the work force: "About half of the class planned to work full time and about half of those had already received a job offer by graduation," Papalia said.

The preliminary numbers of those 2003 graduates who had job positions before graduation showed that education was the most popular field for Tufts graduates, with 14.8 percent of graduates pursuing a career in that field. Engineering followed with 9.7 percent, Law/Paralegal pulled 8.9 percent, Banking/Finance took 8.4 percent; Consulting, 7.6 percent; Government, 5.5 percent; and Communications (including media, marketing, journalism, writing, advertising and public relations), 5.2 percent.

These numbers are taken from those students going into the work force following graduation, and, according to Papalia, subject to change, because only half of those students going to work had firm plans at graduation time.

Even the careers of those who had chosen positions by graduation are subject to change. "The days of one career or job for a lifetime are well behind us," Papalia said. "Reports indicate that the average person will be in several careers and hold 12 to 15 jobs over the course of their work life."

"I think my first job will be something that gives me good experience and a source of income, but not necessarily one I'll keep for many years to come, although at least a few years would be nice!" Flannery said.

The graduation-time survey also collected information about the destination of graduates once they leave the hill. Last year's survey suggests that 55 percent of the class of 2003 intended to stay in the Boston area or the Northeast. A large portion of students also planned to seek employment or graduate studies outside the US.

Given the make-up of the Tufts population, this information may not be surprising, because of the large number of students from the Northeast and from abroad. However, many students choose to stay in the Boston area for job or housing purposes, or for graduate studies.

The resources of the Boston area help to account for why so many people stay here. "Boston is the place for medical training... The amount of learning, clinical care, and research done here is incredible," Brad Crotty (LA '03) said. Crotty decided to stay in the area to attend Harvard Medical School.

"It's less overwhelming to look for jobs close to home and where you could room with friends," Flannery said. "People... have a feel for the process of getting an apartment and a job here."

Others say that the desire to stay near home could be a result of the current economy. "That could also be a function of the tight job market -- might as well stay where you have friends and know people if you're going to work a menial job anyway," senior Julia Buck said.

As far as making plans for after graduation, many students do not have specific plans upon graduation. For this year's seniors, the process of finding a job is in its very early stages.

"It is still quite early in the year for the majority of students to know their post graduation plans," Papalia said. "Career Services staff is available to help seniors figure out what they want to do and how to obtain it."

However, even though it is early, some seniors are already feeling the pressure of graduation. "Most of us don't know yet, which is stressful!" Flannery said. "I think it'll come together in the spring for most of us."

"I feel pressure when all the kids around me are talking GRE business and applying to grad schools and I don't even know what I want to do yet," Weinstein said. "It's very hard to do all these plans and do school and extra curricular activities and jobs and all that. I know I won't regret not making plans as of tomorrow, but I think by February I should have the ball rolling."

Alumni say that not having a job lined up is relatively common. "Most of my friends and I were in the same boat," Patel said. "Not many people had jobs lined up at that point and the economy was just beginning to turn from great to bad."