Well Positioned

A month after graduating, 55 percent of students who earned a 2009 ILR bachelor's degree have reported into the ILR Office of Career Services.  Here's their news:

  • 50 percent are employed
  • 24 percent have been accepted and plan to attend law school this fall
  • 10 percent have been accepted and plan to attend other graduate programs this fall
  • 12 percent are seeking employment
  • 3 percent are seeking acceptance to law or graduate schools
  • 1 percent have other plans such as travel

Eighty percent of the students who received master's of ILR degrees in 2009 have reported their postgraduate activities.  Eighty percent have accepted employment offers or are pursuing other graduate programs.

Early figures submitted by 2009 graduates -- who have through February to report their plans – are a positive indicator for trends which will emerge from more comprehensive data, said Regina Duffey Moravek, director of ILR's Office of Career Services.

"The economy has impacted recruitment nationwide and ILR is no exception.  But ILR students, as always, fare reasonably well in both good times and bad.  It's the nature of our degrees, but also speaks to the high caliber of our students," she said.

"Our students are also uniquely prepared to impact and influence in the workplace, particularly during tough economic times," Duffey Moravek said.

Human resource studies, organizational behavior, economic policy, conflict resolution and other academic focus areas prepare ILR graduates to contribute to workplace changes triggered by the economic downturn, she said.

An ILR degree is versatile, which helps makes it resilient to economic turbulence, said Duffey Moravek, noting that ILR graduates pursue futures in many areas fields including public service, consulting, business, education and human resources.

Details on postgraduate activities of ILR graduates are available at http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/careerservices/postgrad/. An updated report will be available in late spring 2010.

Updated information on students who received bachelor's degrees from ILR in 2008 includes:

  • 67 percent went into employment.  That is higher than in the previous five years (61 percent in 2007 and 2006; 53 percent in 2005; 56 percent in 2004, 48 percent 2003).
  • Eighteen percent are going to law school.  That is a decline from previous years (26 percent in 2007 and 23 percent in 2006.) About 25 percent of 2009 graduates are expected to enter law school.
  • Eleven percent pursued graduate degree programs outside of law.
  • The second-highest mean salary ($50,154) of 2008 Cornell graduates, following the College of Engineering, for a fourth consecutive year.

Updated information on students who received master's of ILR degrees in 2008 includes:

  • MILR/MBA recipients had a mean starting salary of $110,500.  MILR recipients had a mean starting salary of $75,842
  • 53 percent of international graduates are employed in the United States through work visas.

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