As graduates prepare for Syracuse University’s 2010 Commencement ceremonies this weekend, many who are graduating from the School of Information Studies are also celebrating the fact they have jobs lined up, despite a tough economic climate.
Graduates of the iSchool will leave campus to work in such companies as Ernst & Young, JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft, GE, Cisco, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Middlebury College, and the American Library Association.
They will hold such titles as business intelligence analyst, web site administrator, informatics analyst, technology associate, reference and instruction librarian, teacher-librarian, business project leader, IT advisory associate, Internet application programmer, Google Policy Fellow, and technical account manager.
Many of the students secured their full-time positions after completing internships during the studies at the iSchool. Several undergraduates participated in the six-month global enterprise technology (GET) immersion experience, an extended work experience focusing on enterprise technology at a global company while earning credits toward their academic degree.
Daniel Librizzi ’10 interned with JPMorgan Chase at the company’s new technology center on the SU campus and the experience led to a full-time offer from the company.
Other students credit the support they received from faculty and staff at the iSchool and at the Syracuse University Career Services Center.
“I am grateful to the faculty and the staff for their constant support and guidance,” said Ankita Verma, a graduate of the M.S. in Information Management (IM) program. The career services office helps out in providing opportunities to network with employers and alumni through career fairs and other events. One of such events helped me get a job at Ernst & Young.”
Verma and several other IM graduates have accepted positions at Ernst & Young, working primarily in Technology and Security Risk Services Practice and in IT Advisory Services.
Networking with SU alumni and using resources such as recruitment fairs and Orangelink, an online database of job postings for SU students.
Justin Allan Breese ’09, G’10 was offered the job of technical account manager at Microsoft Corp. the same day of his interview there. He accepted the position and plans on continuing to work with two iSchool colleagues—Shay Colson G’10 and Andrew Farah G’11—on their web services company, capesquared.com in his free time.
Jeffrey Moses ’10, a graduate with a dual degree in information management and technology and advertising, found his job in the Forensic Technology Services section of PriceWaterhouseCooper through an Orangelink posting.
Jamie R. Greene ’10, a graduate with a dual degree in information management and technology and retail management, is happy to be part of the executive trainee in the Executive Development Program for Product Development at Macy’s Merchandising Group after attending a reception at SU’s Lubin House in New York City.
Some graduates of the iSchool’s B.S. in Information Management and Technology program have deferred employment offers to attend graduate school.
Katlyn Bennett ’10 deferred a full-time offer from JPMorgan Chase in order to earn her master’s degree in information management at the iSchool. She hopes to continue to work with the company through its Tech Center on campus.
Dave Chenell ’10 of the iSchool and his business partner, Eric Cleckner ’10, who is a graduate of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, have both elected to enroll in the M.S. in Information Management program while they continue to work on their start-up, Grafighters, at the Syracuse Technology Garden.
Anthony Ortiz ’10 also decided to stay at the iSchool for graduate work in information management and information security management. “To get this far was really a lot of hard work,” he said. “Meeting with the right people—faculty and students—convinced me that graduate school is worth the effort, and was key to help me make my decision.”
A formal survey of 2010 graduates is being conducted with preliminary results expected in three months and final results within six months.
The University’s latest survey of B.S. graduates indicates the iSchool’s alumni have a nearly perfect placement rate and the highest starting salaries of any undergraduates at SU. For more information, check out the survey results.
The October 16, 2009, issue of Library Journal reported that graduates of the M.S. in Library and Information Science program at Syracuse University School of Information Studies command the highest average salary compared with graduates from other library and information science programs. Read the full article.