Job Market Data & Career Outcomes: Helping Students Make Informed Decisions

Students often ask questions like: “What can I do with this major?”, “Are there jobs in this field?”, or “What do graduates from here end up doing?” While you don’t need to have all the answers, you can point students toward resources that help them make informed, confident choices.

Key Messages to Share with Students

Data Can Empower Decision-Making

Knowing employment trends, salary ranges, and alumni outcomes helps students connect academics to future opportunities.

Career Paths are Flexible

Many graduates pursue jobs outside of their major. Skills, experiences, and interests play a bigger role than major alone.

You’re Not Alone

Career advisors can help students interpret data and use it in their career planning process.

Tips for Talking with Students

  • Use data to open possibilities: Job market information can show options, not dictate a single path.
  • Help students reframe “success”: Encourage students to think about meaningful work, not just prestige or salary.
  • Share your observations: If you’ve seen alumni or students succeed in a range of roles, mention that! It reassures students that there are many paths.

Sample Conversation Starters

  • “Do you know how people in that field typically get started—like through internships or grad school?”
  • “Have you connected with any alumni yet to see what they’re doing? Sometimes their stories are even more helpful than the stats.”
  • “Have you seen the career outcomes data for your major? It’s pretty interesting.”
  • “Would it be helpful to look at the types of jobs recent grads have gone into?”
  • “There are tools that show how in-demand certain careers are—would you like a link to one?”

Campus Resources to Share

Our Career Outcomes Dashboard, informed by the First Destination Survey results, shows where recent grads are working, grad school outcomes, industries, employers, and salaries by major or college.

The Minnesota Private Colleges Labor Market Tool helps students explore job trends, top employers, and education requirements, providing real-time data to make informed career decisions.

Alumni connections share real stories that help students envision their own career paths and feel supported. Encourage students to use St. Thomas Connect and LinkedIn.

Additionally, please share the contacts of alumni you’re still connected with to help students build meaningful connections.