Four out of five members of Northwestern’s class of 2013 were either employed or continuing their education six months after graduating, according to a new study from University Career Services.

More than 1,000 students from the class of 2013 responded to the survey that was sent out in November. According to the survey, 59 percent of the class has a full-time job and 22 percent of the class is pursuing graduate or professional school. Only four percent of the class is still actively job searching.

The study also found the two most popular industries for graduates were consulting, and communications, marketing and media, with 16 percent of the students who responded having full-time jobs in each of these fields. Business services, financial services and investment banking was the next most represented industry with 15 percent of respondents.

The study also looked at average salaries by school and students’ experience with experiential learning and co-curricular involvement while on campus.

The average salary for those with full-time employment was nearly $50,000 per year.

In the past, career services gathered this data from seniors before they graduated. However, Mark Presnell, executive director of career services, said collecting information in June was too early. He said the timing for jobs varies based on the industry.

“For example, if you’re in finance, consulting, engineering, you’re likely to know your outcome at graduation,” he said. “Whereas if you’re in other fields like nonprofit, public policy, advertising, public relations, you might not be likely to know your destination until after graduation. So I was concerned that it was reporting data that didn’t really reflect the full outcome of the student class.”

Presnell said the study supports the conclusion that students are successful after graduating from NU. He said this is particularly important for the class of 2014, as they are set to graduate this weekend.

“When they’re headed toward graduation at the end of the week, knowing that six months after graduation, the vast majority of them are going to be successful,” he said. “Hopefully that calms some of the concerns and anxieties that are a normal part of ‘what do I do next after graduation?’”

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