Two weeks ago, Career Services was able to post the Class of 2025 Undergraduate Career Outcomes on our Elevate portal. It’s always an exciting time for me to get this data collected and shared with Illinois Tech stakeholders, because it gives us a read on the job market for new graduates and where they are landing.
As any reader of this may know, the current job market is considered to be a difficult one, especially for new college graduates. The popular storyline is that AI is eating up entry-level jobs across industries, with new college graduate unemployment rates the highest they have been in years. We’ve also heard stories of layoffs at the biggest companies in the country, especially the big tech firms who did a lot of hiring during the COVID period and the immediate aftermath.
So, what are we seeing in 2025? Well, I can say with certainty it’s not all doom and gloom! It’s still a bit of a mixed picture overall though. Here are some of the highlights I’m noticing as I sift through the data.
- Topline hiring is fairly steady – At 6 months, 13.8% of undergraduates were still seeking employment from the 2025 class, a tick lower than the 14.5% still seeking at the same time last year for the 2024 class. More students choose to continue their education with Master’s or PhD degrees in 2025 vs. 2024, which may or may not be a sign of a weaker job market.
- Big companies are definitely doing less entry-level hiring – this aligns with the national trend, listed above, and it shows up clearly in the 2025 data. In 2025, the top employers for our undergraduate graduates are, in order: Sargent & Lundy, Walsh Group, Benesch, Biotics & Molex. All great companies in their own right, but not large companies in comparison to many national firms. Zooming out to the past 5 years, the top employers are, in order: Northrop Grumman, Sargent & Lundy, Accenture, Lockheed Martin, Amazon. Also in the top 10 are Grainger, Boeing, ComEd, and Ford – large national & international firms.
- College of Computing continues to hold its own – A lot of the consternation of job losses have been in computing fields, but our computing degrees continue to hold their own in the job market. The employment rate is higher than the class overall and salaries continue to be robust, with the average salary for CoC undergraduates coming in at $83,474.
- Graduate numbers hold strong – With a large portion of our graduate college being international students, there was a concern that the 2025 graduate college outcomes data would show a big drop in employment for our international new alumni. While I haven’t been able to post the data yet, I know that has not been the case, with over 90% of graduate students finding positive outcomes post-graduation. However, the picture is still somewhat mixed, with a clear drop-off of big name companies hiring our graduate students, which reflects national trends.
I hope that this information has raised the spirits of our current seniors and graduate-level students graduating this May; however, I don’t want to give the impression that this job market is some sort of walk in the park. Students who use our index and receive career coaching from career services are going to be better equipped to tackle this job market. Set up an appointment with one of our coaches today if you are seeking opportunities this summer!
All the best,
BJ Engelhardt
Executive Director
Career Services
