Numbers to write home about

Friday, Sept. 24, 2021

Dedicated students, distinguished colleagues and dear friends,

Happy Friday!

Boeing, Honeywell, ExxonMobil, Microsoft, Air Force, Army, Navy, Alcoa, Clayco, Dynetics, Federal Reserve, Ford, GM, Garmin, Emerson, L’Oréal, Sandia National Laboratories, U.S. Steel, Whiting-Turner …

These and hundreds of other companies recruit our students year-round, and many of them will recruit on campus and virtually next week through our Fall Career Fair. See the list of companies to date via Career Fair Plus.

In fact, we are breaking records this year. Consider the following:

  • No. 1 public engineering university in the U.S. (College Factual 2021 ranking)
  • No. 1 university in Missouri for alumni salary potential (Payscale 2020 ranking)
  • No. 4 public university in the nation for career placement and No. 9 for internships (Princeton Review 2021 ranking)
  • $67,520 average starting salary for S&T graduates in 2020
  • Tuition under $9,000 for in-state students and under $28,000 for out-of-state students
  • Average student debt is approximately $30,000 – less than half the average starting salary of our graduates
  • Record 337 unique employers at the upcoming Career Fair
  • Record 393 employer booths
  • Over 800 recruiters participating
  • Over 10,200 jobs posted in Handshake for S&T students

Our Career Fair, now held two times annually, is actually 75 years old. Professor Rex Williams first invited “vast numbers of potential employers” to campus to interview MSM seniors in 1946.

While the event has evolved over the years, so has its scope. Career planning no longer begins in the senior year of college – as early as their first semester at S&T, we encourage students to attend our fairs and network with employers. The result can be a domino effect: a student secures an internship, which they then use as experience for landing their next internship, and then a co-op and then full-time employment after graduation.

We heartily encourage our students to participate in the Fall Career Fair, which will be held Tuesday, Sept. 28, Wednesday, Sept. 29, and Thursday, Sept. 30. The first two days will be held in person at the Student Recreation Center, and the third day will be held virtually. Students and alumni can schedule appointments for the Sept. 30 virtual event through the Career Fair Plus app (or app.careerfairplus.com). The Sept. 28 and 29 events are in-person and open to all students and alumni, no appointments required. This hybrid event was initially designed to meet the needs of employers and students during the pandemic, but there is an added bonus: through this arrangement, S&T is able to accommodate a record number of employer booths.

The Princeton Review ranks S&T fourth in the nation among public universities for career placement. A key to that success is our career opportunities and employer relations (COER) department, which puts a wealth of resources at students’ fingertips. In addition to workshops, career advising and resume reviews, students can get a professional portrait for their LinkedIn profile, access professional clothing through our Career Closet and learn from alumni mentors via the Miner Network.

Not only do our graduates land jobs, but they land well-paying jobs. We are the top university in Missouri for alumni salary potential, according to Payscale’s 2020 rankings. The average starting salary for S&T graduates was $67,520 in 2020. (Compare that to the U.S. average of $55,260 in 2020, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers.) The average student debt is $30,168. Our tuition remains a good value at $8,864 for in-state or $27,580 for out-of-state students (both based on 28 credit hours per year).

I often hear from employers how happy they are with their S&T hires and how they wish more Rolla graduates were available in a specific field to fill the slots at their company. This is no coincidence – year after year, COER surveys employers and reports 100% employer satisfaction.

Likewise, one of my biggest joys when talking with students is hearing them say they have received five or six – sometimes more! – job offers from companies.

Whichever side of the booth you find yourself on next week – whether you are a hiring manager or searching for your dream career – I wish you great success!

In the meantime, check out our latest headlines:

-Mo.

Mohammad Dehghani, PhD
Chancellor
mo@mst.edu | 573-341-4116

206 Parker Hall, 300 West 13th Street, Rolla, MO 65409-0910
chancellor.mst.edu