This graph shows recent university graduates responses to a survey question about how well their college education had prepared them to find a full-time job and to be successful in that job. The survey was conducted in the United States in 2012. 23 percent of graduates said that their college education had not prepared them very well to get a full-time job.
How well did your university education prepare you for the following?
Characteristic
Extremely well
Pretty well
Not very well
Not well at all
Not appropriate
To look for a full-time job
8%
27%
24%
24%
16%
To get a full-time job
16%
37%
23%
10%
12%
To be successful in a full-time job
16%
46%
18%
5%
14%
0%25%50%75%100%125%
Add this content to your personal favorites. These can be accessed from the favorites menu in the main navigation.
You have no right to use this feature.
Make sure to contact us if you are interested in scientific citation.
You can upgrade your account to enable this functionality for all statistics.
This feature is not available with your current account.Request access
Learn more about how Statista can support your business.
John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development. (May 10, 2012). How well did your university education prepare you for the following? [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved April 26, 2025, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/235233/preparedness-of-university-graduates-in-the-us/
John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development. "How well did your university education prepare you for the following?." Chart. May 10, 2012. Statista. Accessed April 26, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/235233/preparedness-of-university-graduates-in-the-us/
John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development. (2012). How well did your university education prepare you for the following?. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: April 26, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/235233/preparedness-of-university-graduates-in-the-us/
John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development. "How Well Did Your University Education Prepare You for The Following?." Statista, Statista Inc., 10 May 2012, https://www.statista.com/statistics/235233/preparedness-of-university-graduates-in-the-us/
John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, How well did your university education prepare you for the following? Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/235233/preparedness-of-university-graduates-in-the-us/ (last visited April 26, 2025)
How well did your university education prepare you for the following? [Graph], John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, May 10, 2012. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/235233/preparedness-of-university-graduates-in-the-us/
Profit from additional features with an Employee Account
Please create an employee account to be able to mark statistics as favorites.
Then you can access your favorite statistics via the star in the header.
Profit from the additional features of your individual account
Currently, you are using a shared account. To use individual functions (e.g., mark statistics as favourites, set
statistic alerts) please log in with your personal account.
If you are an admin, please authenticate by logging in again.
