According to a new report from MSOE’s Career Services Office, 96% of the university’s 2018-19 graduates are employed in their area of study or attending graduate school. Their average starting salary has increased to $65,428 from $61,490 last year.  

A total of 221 companies hired these graduates, with many more hiring students for internship positions. Selected employers included: Advocate Aurora Health, Amazon, Collins Aerospace, Foxconn, GE Healthcare, Generac Power Systems, Honda R&D Americas Inc., Johnson Controls, Mayo Clinic, Milwaukee Tool, Mortenson, Northwestern Mutual and Power Construction. 

In September a record-setting 338 employers attended the Fall Career Fair and students continue to be recruited at record pace by employers. The university is currently registering hundreds of employers for the Civil and Architectural Engineering and Construction Management Career Night and Winter 2020 All Majors Career Fair, to be held Jan. 23-24.  

This time of year, prospective college students and their parents are evaluating post-high school plans. Some of them wonder if college is worth it. Those who attend MSOE quickly realize it is a solid investment in their future with an extremely high return on investment. In a recent report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce entitled “A First Try at ROI: Ranking 4,500 Colleges,” MSOE was at the top of the list, offering the highest ROI of all colleges and universities in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota that offer bachelor’s degrees.  

“As I reflect on the decision I made 20 years ago on which college to attend, I find myself being thankful that at such a young age I had the vision and the support of my parents to choose MSOE. Life can be defined as a series of forks in the road and when presented with the choice of MSOE or the other five colleges I was considering, I chose MSOE and I’ve never regretted the decision,” said Lisa Vanlerberghe a 2002 industrial engineering graduate who is now a senior director of plant operations for MillerCoors. “At the time, I thought it was expensive but I knew the short-term and long-term benefits would pay off. The high placement rate landed me a great job with a competitive salary before starting my senior year. The discipline learned through MSOE taught me to balance living today while investing in my future so student loans have been gone for a long time. I wouldn’t change anything about my decision 20 years ago on which school to attend.”