By Lauren del ValleNEWS EDITOR
Hofstra media and business alumni have gone on to thrive in their respective industries, according to recent LinkedIn and Payscale.com studies.
The Lawrence Herbert School of Communications ranked second only to New York University in the LinkedIn study rating “Best Schools for Media Professionals.” Payscale.com placed the Zarb School of Business at number 10 in their study, “Best Schools by Salary Potential for Business Majors.”
The Zarb School of Business received its title based on the 2014-2015 salary data aggregated from business majors from 499 colleges and universities. The PayScale College Salary Report ranked the schools based on early career and mid-career salaries of business major graduates. It is the only university in the state to crack the top 10, exceeding Syracuse, Cornell and New York Universities.
According to the PayScale report, Hofstra business grads average early-career and mid-career salaries of $48,300 and $116,500, respectively. University of California-Berkeley capped the list, boasting grad salaries of $72,000 and $138,300, respectively.
Senior International Business major Jonel Boileau said, “Even though not every Zarb graduate has a job lined up when they graduate, it’s reassuring to see Hofstra alumni proving to find success in their professional careers.”
According to the latest Zarb school career outcome report, more than half of the 2012-2013 graduating class accepted their jobs prior to graduation.
For media professionals, LinkedIn found the Lawrence Herbert School of Communications to be superior to programs such as Syracuse, Northwestern and Yale.
LinkedIn analyzed their database of over 300 million members to determine from what schools professionals graduated that then successfully secured desirable jobs at desirable companies.
LinkedIn described a desirable job as those that are best at attracting and retaining talent in a given profession. They ranked the top universities in eight industries based on those graduates who are working in the field correlating to their major.
“It made me hopeful that I’ll be able to get a good job,” said junior journalism major Medea Giordano. “I did choose Hofstra for the communications program, but I wasn’t expecting it be number two under NYU.”
Ninety-six percent of 2012-2013 Herbert School graduates reported being employed or pursuing graduate studies full-time, according to a University Relations press release. Almost 30 percent of those accepted their positions prior to graduation.
“Each professor tries to keep in touch with the alumni,” said associate professor Carol Fletcher, chair of the Journalism, Media Studies and Public Relations department. “A lot goes on at a one-to-one level too, where people just stay in touch with the people that have come through their classes or offices.”
“Now everyday I get emails from alumni saying ‘we have an opening here or we have an internship here’ and they want to hire a Hofstra person,” said Fletcher.
