Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) is holding its largest Career Fair ever today, with 1,500 undergraduate and graduate students and alumni meeting with over 450 recruiters from 180 companies.
"Employers continue to highly value WPI graduates and the skills they bring to the workplace," said Sharon Deffely, interim director of WPI's Career Development Center, which is holding the fair with the assistance of multiple corporate sponsors. "Our graduates are well trained in their majors, and have the ability to work collaboratively. Our project-based curriculum prepares them to solve real-world problems."
Participating in the Career Fair are WPI's top hiring employers: General Dynamics, United Technologies Corp., General Electric Company, and Microsoft. In addition, the state's three largest building contractors are present to recruit prospective employees and interns, as are representatives from the military, defense contractors, biotech, manufacturing, power, high tech, as well as industries representing newer WPI majors, such as Robotics Engineering and Interactive Media & Game Development (IMDG). The fair is being held in the university's new Sports and Recreation Center.
The Career Development Center helped prepare students and alumni for the Career Fair by holding evening programs on resume writing and how to work a career fair; one-on-one appointments and walk-in opportunities to meet with seasoned career counselors; and held a seven-hour "Resumazing" event where over 440 WPI students met with industry representatives on campus to have their resumes critiques individually. Last year, the Princeton Review rated WPI 17th in the nation for career services. Some 91 percent of undergraduate students reported utilizing the many services offered through the Career Development Center over the past year.
WPI graduates rank 7th in the nation for highest starting median salary by PayScale Inc. In 2011, the average starting salary for a WPI graduate with a bachelor’s degree rose to $58,384, some 12 points higher than the national average.
