Georgia Tech SCL Georgia Tech SCL Georgia Tech SCL

As we speak to students and alums and companies, many are curious about the next step for our graduates. ISYE surveys this data and I think the Spring details are of note and action:

Here are the post senior design plans from the Spring 2024 cohort (number of respondents = 171):

• Offer rate: 75.6% of job seekers had received an offer by the end of the Spring semester when they completed the survey. This figure has shown a declining trend: Fall ’23: 80.9%, Spring ’23: 87.6%, Fall ’22: 90.4%, Spring ’22: 91.5%, and Fall ’21: 88% 
• Starting annual salary: Median = $85K (Fall ’23: $84.5K, Spring ’23: $88K Fall ’22: $85K, Fall ’21: $80K, Spring ’22: $82K). Trend chart below. 
• Industry: Reported industry type they are joining: ~37% Consulting (including supply chain consulting), ~18% Financial, 7% Logistics. 
• Position: The most common titles are Analyst (40%), Consultant (24%), Engineer (14%). 
• Company: Similar to the previous fall semester, Manhattan Associates remains the largest recruiter, with 12% of offer recipients committing to them.. All of MANH recruits have the title: Software or Software Implementation Consultant. 
• Location: Of those who disclosed their job location, 52% will be based in Metro Atlanta, followed by NYC. Only 2 individuals reported positions on the West Coast. 
• Internship/Co-op: 47.7% have previously interned or participated in a co-op at the company from which they received then accepted an offer. 
• Graduate School: 16.7% (29 respondents) intend to pursue graduate studies. This statistic is consistent with most recent semester. Fall ’23: 16.4%, SP’23: 11%, see trend chart below. 
• After this spring, one student plans to pursue a PhD at GT, while 27 are pursuing an MS, primarily at GT, with exceptions including 3 at Cornell, 2 at Stanford, and 1 at Minnesota. 

It is clear that we have seen a dip in the past two years for those with offers moving from 91% to 75%.  The data does not capture students with multiple offers but conversation with advisors suggests that more students only had a single offer. 

The field of consulting is very cyclical so it is not a surprise that our offers are down and we know technology in general have seen a reduction in resources.  

We have taken a number of actions to support our Fall Recruiting efforts. We have talked to the Metro Atlanta Chamber and have extended our Supply Chain Day Recruiting information to all the Supply Chain companies in the Metro as well as their new working group on Automation and Robotics. The Atlanta area has strong growth with new companies and startups and not all these companies recruit at Tech. 

I would also observe that the traditional operational roles in Supply Chain in Retail and CPG are still hiring many front line supervisors. We have small participation in our recruiting from companies like Walmart and Kroger and their CPG suppliers but there are many out there who do not recruit at Tech. I do think this connects to our discussion with students about first line operations experience as a valuable first step as an ISYE graduate. Many of our Industry Advisory Board members and faculty have noted a heavy shift into analytics by our students at the expense of context.   

We plan to schedule sessions with undergraduate and Masters students in the Fall to educate on the reality of the market and the likelihood that these conditions will continue through 2025.  We will emphasize the need for traditional supply chain experiences in class projects, internships, coops, student research, and on campus. 

We are also discussing brand image action planning with key companies who view Tech as a long term resource for talent.  We encourage them to take a long term view to their actions as students and faculty have long memories for companies who are not consistent in their hiring presence. 

If you have thoughts on this topic, please reach out to me and we can discuss additional actions for SCL, ISYE, our affiliated partners, students, faculty, and companies. 

Chris Gaffney, SCL Managing Director