Cal Poly architecture job recruitment numbers up

Cal Poly’s College of Architecture & Environmental Design is attracting significant attention from job recruiters.

The college’s career fair last week attracted 80 companies, more than twice the number compared with a few years ago. In 2010 and 2011, the event was canceled because of a lack of firms committing to the event. Ray Ladd, the college’s special projects coordinator, said the attendance was a sign of better economic times.

The college’s research shows that 142 of 178 students in the program were employed full-time from last year’s graduating class, compared with 119 of 183 graduates in 2008-2009 during the economic downturn.

In 2015, 17 students from the college were seeking employment, compared with 28 in 2009. Research showed that 13 students went to graduate school in 2015 compared with 18 students in 2009. The data asks graduates to tell the university their employment status within eight to nine months of getting their Cal Poly degree.

“Cal Poly students have fared better than most graduates because of the strength of its program and graduates, but you can still see an increase over the past five years,” Ladd said.

The median annual salary for graduating Cal Poly College of Architecture & Enviromental Design students has risen, as well — to $52,000 in 2015 from $42,000 in 2009.

This story was originally published February 25, 2016 at 5:18 PM with the headline "Cal Poly architecture job recruitment numbers up."