WPI Attracts Record Number of Employers to Fall Career Fair

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

GoLocalWorcester Business Team

The post-college environment looks increasingly bright for WPI grads, as a record number of employers will attend the university's Fall Career Fair.

The career forecast looks bright at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), which will hold its fall Career Fair with a record 185 employers participating from a range of industries.

This is more evidence that WPI's STEM focus pays off for its students after graduation.

While national unemployment hovers at 7.3 percent, college students are graduating with increasing debt and tight job prospects. The skills most in demand and drawing the highest wages are in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.

For WPI’s Class of 2012, some 85 percent of those earning a bachelor's degree were placed in full-time jobs or graduate school, while 98 percent of those receiving a master's or PhD went on to full-time work or further postgraduate study. The average starting salary for those earning bachelor’s degrees at WPI in 2012 was $56,723, or 27 percent above the national average reported by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

“At David Clark Company Incorporated, we have several WPI graduates in engineering and management positions,” said Peter Kasparson, assistant human resources manager at David Clark Co. Inc. “WPI’s rigorous course work combined with distinctive project experience make graduates uniquely qualified to not only enter the workforce, but to excel and quickly attain leadership roles.”

Who will be at WPI this week

Employers representing a range of industries from New England and beyond will participate, from technology giants such as EMC Corp. and United Technologies Corp. to defense contractors, construction contractors, manufacturing firms, and companies reflecting new majors at WPI, such as robotics engineering and interactive media and game development.

Among the participating companies are Allegro Microsystem, Bose, Bluefin Robotics, Consigli Construction, Cisco, and IPG Photonics Corp.

On Sept. 19, the day following the Career Fair, George Oliver, chief executive officer of Tyco – and a 1982 WPI graduate – will meet with students at Higgins House to give a corporate presentation and talk about internship opportunities for next summer. Recruiting visits on campus by United Technologies and General Electric took place prior to the Career Fair, as well as workshops on resume writing and job interviewing, held by the Career Development Center.

WPI grads + earnings

In May 2013, WPI was ranked 15th in the nation in Payscale’s College Education ROI Rankings. The Payscale survey showed that a graduate of WPI with a bachelor's degree should expect cumulative earnings of $1,316,000 over 30 years, after college costs are subtracted. This marks the sixth straight year that Payscale has ranked WPI high for the employment and salary opportunities of its alumni. The Fiske Guide to Colleges praises the WPI Plan, the university's revolutionary approach to undergraduate education, saying it is "hands-on and project-based and takes a humanistic view of engineering." Additionally, the guide notes that WPI "emphasizes teamwork instead of competition" and offers a "global emphasis unusual for an engineering school."