Outcomes for 2008 Bachelor’s Degree Recipients 10 years After Graduation

Title: Baccalaureate and Beyond (B&B:08/18): First Look at the 2018 Employment and Educational Experiences of 2007–08 College Graduates

Author: Melissa Cominole, Erin Thomsen, Mihaela Henderson, Erin Dunlop Velez, Jennifer, Cooney, Tracy Hunt White

A new report from the National Center for Education Statistics provides insight into results from the Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:08/18), an update to B&B:08, which examines employment and educational experiences of 2008 baccalaureate graduates.

Selected findings focus on the financial well-being, loan borrowing and repayment, post-baccalaureate enrollment, employment history, salary, employment characteristics, and teaching careers. Below are some key data points from the report:

• Ten years post-graduation in 2008, 86 percent of bachelor’s degree recipients had a retirement account and 63 percent owned a home. Yet, 14 percent reported not meeting basic needs expenses such as rent, mortgage, bills, and health care.
• The average monthly loan payment in 2018 was roughly $449 for all baccalaureate graduates; $393 for students who completed degrees at public institutions, $469 for private nonprofit institution graduates, and $485 for private for-profit institution graduates.
• As of 2018, 43 percent of 2007–08 graduates had completed another degree or certificate program.
• Of those who were employed 10 years after graduation, men were more likely to be employed full time (91 percent) than women (81 percent).
• Salaries varied across disciplines. Median income for those in engineering fields was about $93,000, while those in business support and administrative fields was $46,000.
• The majority (59 percent) of graduates who were working remained in the state in which their bachelor’s degree was received.
• Bachelor’s degree recipients from 2007-2008 represented 13 percent of current or former regular K-12 classroom teachers.

To further explore findings and tables, the full report can be found here.

—Ángel Gonzalez