New Jersey Institute
of Technology
Career Development Services
Division of Academic Support and Student Affairs
Year In Review
2015
973.596.3100 • Campbell Hall, 4th & 5th Floors • www.njit.edu/cds
Contents
Message from the Executive Director
1
Significant Accomplishments 2015
2
Our Collaborative Partnerships
4
Trends and Future Directions
6
Class of 2015: What They Are Doing
7
Message from the
Executive Director
The primary mission of NJIT Career Development Services
(CDS) is to be a value added contributor to the career
planning, personal and professional development of NJIT
students, and professional success of our graduates.
We have made significant progress in fulfilling our mission
including an 11% increase in the number of student and
alumni-attended career development programs. Four
thousand eight hundred and fifty (4,850) individual
students were served by career advisors and staff through
1-1 counseling sessions or within group workshops,
seminars and other CDS produced events. A record number
of employers posted over 26,000 technology-related
employment opportunities, and 555 (+12%) organizations
attended on-campus interviews and NJIT career fairs. We
led the volunteer and agency recruitment and logistical
site alignment efforts for NJIT’s third Alternative Spring
Break, and continued our mentoring partnerships with
Big Brothers/Big Sisters. In all 3,026 students participated
in community service projects at 260 non-profit agencies,
schools and other organizations.
CDS contributes to the overall university mission and newly
established NJIT 2020 Vision strategic goals by inspired
teaching and learning experiences within and outside the
curriculum. A record number 603 students enhanced their
knowledge and acquired workplace relevant skills and
experience through our co-op and internship programs.
NJIT alumni engagement was broadened through increased
participation in our annual Speed Networking event. There
were increases in the number of NJIT alums serving as
Campus Champions in advocating for the employment of
our students and graduates within their workplaces. Alumni
usage of CDS programs, resources and services increased this
year, particularly so in our Talent Marks on-line career and
professional advancement webinar series.
CDS greatly supports the NJIT goal for serving as a catalyst
for regional and national economic growth through our
expanding efforts in employer engagement and student
workforce readiness and through our roles within state and
regional professional associations. Of extreme importance
this year, we co-lead the NJIT report submission attaining
NJIT designation as an APLU Innovation & Economic
Prosperity University. Of this accomplishment President
Joel S. Bloom stated, “We are delighted to be recognized
by the APLU with this designation that accentuates our
commitment to be a leader in economic development and job
creation through hands-on education, talent development,
applied research, innovation, entrepreneurship and business
incubation.”
We increased our work with the Office of Strategic
Communications to create weekly feature stories of our
students’ career success. CDS contributes to university
retention efforts financially through our student co-ops’ and
interns’ earnings of over $4.2 million. We maintain a presence
at NJIT Admission’s open houses and partner with the Center
for Pre-College Programs in administering the Panasonic
Creative Design Challenge. We work with individual
academic departments to facilitate career programs and in
producing marketing pieces about careers within specific
disciplines and career fields. A comprehensive overview of
our outcomes is presented in CDS By the Numbers.
We look forward to welcoming our many clients and
colleagues to our new state-of-the-art career center this
January on the 2nd floor of Fenster Hall. We will be
strategically located one floor above the Admissions’ Office
at the center of campus allowing us high visibility within our
campus community.
Sincerely,
Gregory Mass
Executive Director
NJIT Career Development Services
1
Significant Accomplishments 2015
Throughout the past year, we have focused our attention towards providing leadership and resources that benefit a
wide array of constituents. We are guided by a set of strategic objectives that aligns with the university’s mission and
centers on enhancing the professional success of our graduates. In doing so, we have not only improved our students’
lives, we have contributed to several of the university’s key performance indicators including recruitment, retention,
and success at graduation.
Student Retention and Alumni
Engagement
Career advisors provided quality career counseling for
developing lifelong career strategies to 2,830 undergraduate
and graduate students, assisting them with attaining their
first choice destination upon degree completion. Over
4,800 unique students made 12,800 visits or contacts with
CDS. Credit-bearing cooperative education experiences
and internship learning experiences provided hands-on
real world opportunities and exposure to business and
industry for 603 undergraduate and graduate students locally,
regionally, and nationally. The companies involved in these
NJIT programs employ a significant percentage of these
students after they graduate.
We facilitated 163 professional development workshops
for over 3,800 students, including three workshops on how
athletes can effectively display their skills through resume
writing, interviewing, and networking. CDS partnered with
three student professional organizations on a workshop on
Business Dining Etiquette that was funded and attended
by corporate partners. We co-hosted an IDP Preparation
workshop for architecture students and a career fair
workshop specifically for international students.
CDS continued to provide access to career advising and
job search resources to our alumni. In conjunction with
the Office of Alumni Relations, we hosted the 6th Annual
Speed Networking Event where alumni shared networking
techniques and career advice with undergraduate and
graduate students. We entered our second year of providing
the Career Speaker Webinar series for alumni. Through the
Campus Champions Network, alumni stay actively involved
with NJIT while facilitating an important staff sourcing and
talent development role for their employers.
Expand Partnerships with Business
and Industry
In 2015, Career Development Services arranged for over 500
organizations to conduct on-campus recruitment through
our career fairs and on-campus interview programs. The fall
and spring career fairs filled to capacity with 180 employers
each and over 4,700 students. Our on-campus interview
programs increased this year as well. Over 150 employers
held over 2,200 interviews for more than 1,000 students.
Eighty-seven (87%) of the employers rated NJIT students’
interview preparation as excellent or good.
More than 26,000 technology full time, co-op, and internship
job listings were posted to the CDS electronic database, an
increase of 3,500 from last year. Moreover, nearly 62,000
student and alumni resumes were referred to employers.
Both Buzzfeed.com and PayScale.com place NJIT among the
top 1% in the nation for return on investment based on the
metrics of entry and mid-career salaries of NJIT graduates as
compared to annual cost of tuition.
We produced the Reverse Career Fair, an event held prior to
each career fair, which allowed employers to interact directly
with student leaders from our diverse student organizations.
Twenty-four student organizations were represented.
Walid Bouabid, BSCE, ‘14 MSCE, ‘16; Said Ouabi, MSCE, ‘16
Walid and Said gained scholarships and shared a unique summer experience in
2015, working in Doha, Qatar for Louis Berger Corp. Through CDS’ relationship
with the company, the two Civil Engineering master’s students spent three
months on the building of Doha’s subway stations, in both engineering design
and construction management roles. Waid and Said contrasted the US working
culture to Doha, where the work week runs from Sunday to Thursday and
working hours are often off shift to accommodate the weather. They learned how
to adjust to safety practices and changes in measurements common to the Middle
East. Both students are interested in pursuing careers in construction.
2
Significant Accomplishments 2015
NJIT Service to the Community
Career Development Services serves as the centralized unit of
Civic Engagement for NJIT. Over 3,000 students participated
in community service projects and contributed well over
45,000 hours of service. A grant of $10,000 from Wakefern
Food Corp. to fund our Civic Engagement Computer Center
allowed for a high impact venue for NJIT students to produce
technical solutions for web design, data management, and
basic computer training needs for local non-profits.
Civic Engagement: A Good Neighbor
In August 2015, the largest NJIT incoming freshman class
took to the streets of Newark for a Day of Service. For
the third consecutive year staff and student leaders joined
nearly 1,000 First Year students to engage in service projects
throughout the city.
brought 200 Newark students to campus during the summer.
The goal was to provide young people from Newark ages 16 –
19 with employment, technology, education, and enrichment
opportunities in science, technology, engineering and
mathematics (STEM). The inaugural Newark Beautification
Initiative involved the design, construction, and planting of
four community gardens. The Ras Baraka Coding Institute
provided students access to four exciting real world project
tracks of coding experience and ended with a showcase.
Both the initiatives were a collaboration of Career
Development Services, College of Architecture & Design, and
the College of Computing Sciences.
Service Day is an important opportunity for new students to
get to know and work with other students in their major and/
or programs, and to become acquainted with the faculty and
staff. At NJIT learning does not just happen in the classroom,
but through teamwork and real life experiences that make
a difference in neighboring communities through service.
The students first campus experience was not academics, but
rather an experience of community and public service. They
collected trash, planted gardens, painted walls, pruned trees,
packed food and entertained both the young and old at about
40 different sites around the city. Fifty-five service teams
ranging in size from 10 to 30 served with local community
agencies which included Newark Public Schools, Apostle’s
House, Branch Brook Park Alliance, IHS Development Corp.,
the South Mountain Conservancy, and the Broadway House.
Months of planning gave birth to the Newark Beautification
Initiative (NBI) and the Ras Baraka Coding Institute (RBCI),
a partnership between NJIT and the City of Newark that
NJIT Architecture students are accompanied by high
school students as they build the community garden in
Newark’s West Ward.
Student Success Stories: Brian Lopez BSCE ‘12 MS Crititical Infrastructure Systems ‘15
Bryan, Civil Engineering ’12, Critical Infrastructure Systems ’15, has a rich history with
civic engagement. His involvement began through Career Development Services as a
Housing Scholars intern with Episcopal Community Development. He worked closely
with CDS’ civic engagement program as a Corporate Liaison, Project Manager, and Project
Coordinator, including assisting with the implementation of Alternative Spring Break and
First Year Connections Community Service Day for freshmen. Bryan has been the CoPresident and Board Trustee for Future City Inc. since 2009. A member of the American
Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE),
Bryan founded the Northern New Jersey chapter of SHPE Jr, to provide scholarship funds
for graduating high school seniors. After graduation with his master’s degree, Bryan
accepted a position as Project Control Specialist with Louis Berger consulting firm.
3
Our Collaborative Partnerships
With Your Help We Can Accomplish
So Much More
Kathy Wertalik of UPS with Jane
Gaertner and Patrick Young of
CDS.
Saara Marte of Verizon with Dean
Marek Rusinkiewicz of CCS.
Awards and Recognition Event
We hosted our annual CDS Recruiting Partner Awards
Celebration on April 8, 2015 to honor our top organizations
whose outstanding work in recruiting and campus
engagement led to highly effective outcomes for their
organization and NJIT. We also featured best recruiting
practice presentations by our recruiting partners,
including building a talent pipeline, diversity and inclusion
engagement, innovative programming, and sponsorship.
In all thirteen awards were given out with Verizon, Parette
Somjen Architects and Cognizant receiving honors as Top
Hiring Companies. Kevin Belfield, Dean CSLA; Katia
Passerini, Dean, Dorman Honors College; and Basil Baltzis,
Vice Provost for Academic Affairs were among the many
NJIT faculty administrators who presented the awards.
At NJIT Career Development Services, our goal is to provide
employers with efficient recruiting experiences that result
in quality outcomes for them and for our students. Many
of our employer partners have expressed a keen interest in
increasing their commitment to our partnership through
supporting specific branding and inclusion opportunities
that focus on increasing their level of visibility to a talented,
diverse group of NJIT students.
We are delighted to recognize the following organizations for
their generous sponsorship this year:
Award Recipients
Company
Category
Verizon
Parette Somjen Architects
Cognizant
NAVAIR
Future City Inc.
Cisco Systems
PSEG
TIAA-CREF
ADP
Johnson & Johnson
UPS
Optum Technology
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Top Hiring Company,
Graduates
Top Hiring Company,
Graduates
Top Hiring Company,
Graduates
Top Government
Partner
Top Non-Profit Recruitment
Partner
Top Diversity and Inclusion
Partner
Top Diversity and Inclusion
Partner
Top Diversity and Inclusion
Partner
Top Hiring Company,
Co-ops & Interns
Top Hiring Company,
Co-ops & Interns
Top Hiring Company,
Co-ops & Interns
Best Emerging Recruitment
Partner
Top Recruitment Partner
Sponsor
For more information regarding the NJIT Career Center
Partner Sponsor Program, please contact Greg Mass,
executive director, mass@njit.edu or 973 596 5745.
Moreover, we would greatly appreciate your informing us
of any student career development, civic engagement or
business/higher education collaboration grant funding
opportunities that may be available through your
organization’s community outreach department of corporate
foundation.
4
Our Collaborative Partnerships
Since its inception in 1986, the Cooperative Education Program has been supported by a partnership between students,
faculty, employers, and Career Development Services. Co-op at NJIT is one of the few experiential learning programs that is
academically integrated and confers credit through faculty involvement. Faculty co-op advisors and career advisors in CDS
work as a team to ensure that work experiences are related to the major course of study and that learning objectives associated
with the experience are fulfilled. With their knowledge of curricula and familiarity with students, faculty co-op advisors are
an invaluable component of the Cooperative Education Program.
Faculty Co-op Advisors
George Abdou
Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering; Engineering
Management; Occupational, Safety & Health; Pharmaceutical Systems Mgmt
Piero Armenante
Pharmaceutical Bioprocessing; Pharmaceutical Engineering
Michele Bell
Computer Science; Information Systems; Information Technology; HumanComputer Interaction
Athanassios Bladikas
Transportation Engineering
Joseph Bozzelli
Chemistry; Environmental Science
Daniel Brateris
Electrical & Computer Engineering Technology
John Cays
Architecture
Maurie Cohen
Science, Technology, and Society
Carsten Denker
Applied Physics
Alev Erdi
Biomedical Engineering
Chris Funkhouser
Communications
Melodi Guilbault
Business; MBA
Edwin Hou
Computer Engineering
Michael Khader
Telecommunications Management Technology
Walter Konon
Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering
Lev Krasnoperov
Pharmaceutical Chemistry
Alison Lefkovitz
History (2nd Co-op); Law, Technology & Culture
Samuel Lieber
Mechanical Engineering Technology
David Lubliner
Computer Technology; Medical Informatics Technology
Mohamed Mahgoub
Concrete Industry Management Technology
Eileen Michie
Applied Math; Statistics
Durga Misra
Computer Engineering; Electical Egnineering
Somenath Mitra
Environmental Science
George Olsen
Computer Science; Information Systems; Information Technology Admin. &
Security; Bioinformatics
Karen Rappaport
Actuarial Science
Nuggehalli Ravindra
Applied Physics; Materials Science & Engineering
Karen Roach
Biology (U)
Ron Rockland
Technology Education
Roberto Rojas-Cessa
Internet Engineering; Telecommunications
Max Roman
Biomedical Engineering
Richard Sher
History
Marek Sosnowski
Electrical Engineering
Reginald Tomkins
Chemical Engineering
John Wiggins
Construction Engineering Technology; Construction Management Technology
Mengchu Zhou
Bioelectronics; Computer Engineering; Power & Energy Systems
5
Trends and Future Directions
If there has been one emerging trend that has grabbed national attention among the college career center and corporate college
recruiting community this year it is hands down – recruit once, hire twice. By definition this phrase references the practice of
hiring co-op and intern students for the purpose of converting the top performers to full time regular employees upon their
graduation. While this strategy has been in practice for decades it has recently exploded with greater interest and usage.
In many cases students wrapping up their summer internships are receiving solid job offers months before they graduate.
On the plus side these students get to enjoy their entire final year of college without fretting whether they will land a good
job when they graduate. Meanwhile employers are maximizing a return on their training and development investment by
retaining their best employees, and in doing so are nixing their industry competitors from accessing this newly claimed talent.
The employment demand for NJIT graduates, especially in
IT related disciplines, continues to be high. However, the
assumption that increased job opportunities automatically
results in higher employment rates is erroneous.
Job offers to recent college graduates have become
increasingly dependent upon candidates who possess
previous related work experience and competency in
technical and managerial skills related to success on the job.
Students lacking related work and leadership experience and
in-demand skills are less competitive.
members were selected primarily from those organizations
having an established recruitment and employment
relationship with CDS. The first meeting held in April
included representatives from Johnson & Johnson,
Prudential, PSEG, Enterprise, ADP, TATA, Optum, and
Universum. Among the issues addressed were challenges with
obtaining hiring outcomes from students and employers.
CDS Advisory Board
Mr. Torrence Traynham
ADP
Student debt remains a national concern. The implications
are that the more we can do to reduce the debt need, the
more success we will have in recruiting and graduating our
students. Increasing participation in university administered
co-op and internship programs will dramatically decrease
student debt loads.
Mr. Les Lartey
AT&T
Mr. Chris Fitzpatrick
Enterprise Rent-a-Car
Mr. Russell Moke
Johnson & Johnson
Mr. Joseph Hinksmon
Merck
Ms. Kimberly Lam
NJIT Student
Students’ interest in experiential education including coop, internships and civic engagement is at an all-time high
among our underclassmen. Students who avail themselves
of these services will be more satisfied and successful
constituents.
Mr. Larry Hansen
Prudential
Ms. Angela M. Parrinello
PSEG
Ms. Kimeth Williams
Tata Consultancy Services
Mr. Richard Target
United Health Group
To assist us in staying informed about trends and planning
for the future, the newly formed Career Development
Services Advisory Board was introduced in 2015. Board
Mr. John Flato
Universum USA
Ms. Saara Marte
Verizon
Student Success Stories: Yohana Garcia BSChE ‘15 & Michael Scudiero BSChE ‘15
Yohana and Michael are two May 2015 graduates in Chemical Engineering that accepted positions
with ExxonMobil in Texas and here in New Jersey. Career Development Services played a role in
each alumnus’ experience. Yohana met up with ExxonMobil at the Career Fair and also obtained
a co-op position with Colgate-Palmolive, both through CDS. Including an internship at Merck,
Yohana had the work experience and credentials that were attractive to ExxonMobil. She is now a
Process Contact Engineer at the Baytown site in Texas. Michael found out about the ExxonMobil
LOFT Fellowship through Career Development Services when he was a sophomore, leading to
two summer internships. In the fall, Michael was offered a full time position in Annandale, NJ in
Exxon’s Pilot Plant and Laboratory Engineering Group.
6
Class of 2015: What They Are Doing
Employment and Graduate School Outcomes
Each year Career Development Services produces an employment and graduate school report for the May graduating class.
Sixty two percent (62%) of our BS and 52% of MS graduates are employed full time within 3 months of graduation. For our
BS graduates this number is up 10% from a year ago and remains significantly higher than the national averages for all BS
graduates. NJIT graduates continue to fuel local economies by beginning their careers in NJ with such firms as Verizon,
Johnson & Johnson, UPS, Prudential and PSEG. Nationally, more graduates are making an impact by accepting positions with
Cisco, Microsoft, and ExxonMobil.
Employed Full-Time
or Employment Offer
Perhaps the year’s most impressive outcome is the tremendous number
of employment offers received by our Bachelor of
52%
Architecture graduates. Eighty-five percent (85%) of the survey respondents reported having attained an offer at the time
of graduation. Among the hiring firms this year are Parette Somjen, Ware Malcomb, Perkins East, SSP, and Hatch Mott
MacDonald.
Employed Full-Time or
Employment Offer
62%
Employed Full-Time
or
Employment Offer
62%
Employed Full-Time
or
Employment Offer
52%
Undergraduate
Students
Seeking
Employment
20%
Graduate
Students
N=391
N=451
Graduate School
Full-Time 18%
Graduate School FullTime
10%
Graduate School
Full-Time 10%
Seeking
Employment
38%
Seeking Employment
20%
Graduate School FullTime
18%
Student Success Stories: Nida Riaz BChE ‘15
Nida is a May 2015 graduate in Chemical Engineering who took advantage of the
opportunities available through the CDS Cooperative Education Program. Nida’s
first co-op experience was with Infineum USA as a Project Engineer, followed by a
summer as a Chemist Co-op with L’Oreal USA. She finished up at Merck as an intern in
Chemical Process Development & Commercialization. Along the way, Nida found time
to be Corresponding Secretary then President of AIChE. Beginning fall 2015, Nida will
begin doctoral studies in Chemical Engineering at NJIT with a view towards a career in
research advancement and academia.
7
Seeking Employ
38%
CDS
Class of 2015: What They Are Doing
Employment Source for NJIT May 2015 Graduates
May 2015 graduates who reported that they had obtained full time employment were asked how they found their positions.
OCI
Fifty-nine percent (59%) of the 243 undergraduate
respondents and 53% of the 133 graduate student respondents reported
15.0%
that they found full time employment through their participation in one or more NJIT Career Development Services
administered programs.
Co-op/
Internship
Conversion
12.1%
Personal Networking
15.8%
Coop
11.3%
On-Campus
Interviewing
10.8%
Co-op/
Internship
Conversion
11.3%
Personal
Networking
15.8%
NJIT
Career Fair
17.8%
Onlin
On-Campus
Interviewing
15%
Personal
Networking
16.5%
Online Job Listings / Other
11.4%
Undergraduate
Students
N=243
Online Job
Listings (CDSlink)
18.2%
Non-NJIT
Career Fair
1.6%
NJIT Career Fair
15.0%
Other
6.1%
Faculty
Referral
4.4%
Other
Online
Job Listings
11.4%
Graduate
Students
NJIT
Career Fair
15%
Other
6.1%
N=133
Faculty Referral
Online Job
4.4%
Listings (CDSlink)
Other
11.3%
Non-NJIT Faculty 1.5%
Referral
Career
Non-NJIT
CareerFair
Fair
6%
1.6%
1.6%
Other
Online
Job Listings
21.1%
Online Job Listing / CDS
11.3%
TOP EMPLOYERS OF NJIT MAY 2015 GRADUATES
A&J Consulting Engineering Services Inc.
Merck & Company
Rutgers University
ADP
Microsoft, Inc.
Schindler Elevator Corporation
Alliant Technologies
NJ Transit
Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories
Cognizant
New Jersey Institute of Technology
TATA Consultancy Services (TCS)
ExxonMobil
Panasonic Corporation of North America
TechnoMax, LLC
Hatch Mott MacDonald
Parette Somjen Architects LLC
Turner Construction
IBM
PCL Construction
UnitedHealth Group
Johnson & Johnson
Philadelphia Energy Solutions
UPS Information Technology
Kroll Cyber Security
Prudential
Verizon/Verizon Wireless
Langan Engineering and Environmental
Services, Inc.
PSEG
ZT Systems
8
Class of 2015: What They Are Doing
Fields of Graduate Studies
The first choice destination of most of our new degree holders is the pursuit of full time employment. However, 18% of our
bachelor’s degree and 10% of our master’s degree recipients indicated that they will enroll in full time graduate or professional
school during the fall 2015 term. Biomedical engineering graduates remained the largest cohort of those pursuing advanced
study with more than half of the respondents reporting they are continuing their education.
The NJIT degree serves as
Management/Finance/Accounti
ng
Chart Title
excellent preparationEngineering
for advanced study. As in past years, NJIT
graduates have been accepted to some
of the most prestigious
18%
49%
graduate degree programs.
Computer/ IT
18%
Computer/Information
Technology
18%
Engineering
49%
Fields of
Graduate
Studies
Accounting/
Finance/
Management
18%
N=389
Other
1%
Other
1%
Architecture/
Design
3%
Liberal Arts
5%
Health/Medicine
6%
Liberal Arts
5%
Health/
Medicine
6%
Architecture/Design
3%
SAMPLE LIST OF GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL
SCHOOLS THAT NJIT GRADUATES WILL ATTEND IN 2015, N = 260
Auburn University
Stanford University
Carnegie Mellon
Stevens Institute of Technology
Columbia University
Tufts University
Cornell University
UMDNJ
Georgetown University Law Center
University of Calgary
Georgia Tech
University of Delaware
Harvard
University of Denver
MIT
University of Edinburgh
New Jersey Institute of Technology
University of Maryland Baltimore School of Medicine
NYU
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Oxford
University of Notre Dame
Penn State
University of Pennsylvania
Princeton
University of Pennsylvania/Dental Medicine
Rensselaer Polytechnic
Virginia Tech
Rutgers University
Yale University
9
Class of 2015: What They Are Doing
NJIT Salary Report of May 2015 Graduates
The class of 2015 continued to fill the pipeline that has earned NJIT top spots in the US for students’ return on their tuition
investment. Our graduates’ average starting salaries far exceed the national averages. Chemical engineering graduates average
starting salary was an amazing $76,000 per year. Three Surveying Engineering Technology graduates reported an average of
$83,333. Computer engineering grads averaged $69,500 and most all our College of Computing Science graduates received
salaries in the mid to upper $60,000 range. Three Information Systems graduates listed starting salaries averaging $94,167.
SALARY BY MAJOR
10