Average salary projection for 2021 grads up 7.1% from last year: RPT

Frank Hodge, Orin and Janet Smith Dean of the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business, joins Yahoo Finance Live to discuss what the future holds for 2021 college graduates.

Video transcript

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Well, those armed with a newly-minted diploma are entering a job market that suddenly looks a lot more promising than it did just a year ago. Employers project hiring about 7% more new college graduates from the class of '21 than they did from the class of '20.

And while the rebound does not bring college hiring back to pre-pandemic levels, it does suggest some newfound optimism. Here to talk about it is Frank Hodge, Dean of Foster School of Business at University of Washington, and our education reporter, Reggie Wade. Great to have you both here. So, Dean Hodge, I would love for you to characterize for us the job outlook for this year's graduates.

FRANK HODGE: Yeah, we're very optimistic on the job outlook. We were very concerned a year ago as we entered the job market, and for good reason. But this year, our job postings are approaching the level they were in 2019, both at the graduate level and at the undergraduate level. So very optimistic, given the economy and what we expect in the next year.

REGGIE WADE: Dean Hodge, one of the overarching theme from the recent Foster School of Business Annual State of the Economy Forum was that economic recovery can only follow public health recovery. Are you optimistic in what you're seeing out of the public health sector during this stage of the pandemic?

FRANK HODGE: Yeah, we have a very strong public health sector in the Seattle area. And the University of Washington Medical School is one of the global leaders in that space. So we're optimistic. If you look at applications to public health, they're up as well. I think there's a lot of interest in that particular area. And so I am optimistic in that area as well.

KRISTIN MYERS: So, Dean, curious to know what learning is going to look like going forward, at least for the students at the University of Washington, and if there's a consideration after the pandemic to, as many employers are saying, have this sort of hybrid model between being in-person but also being completely virtual?

FRANK HODGE: Yeah, we have something we strive to be at the Foster School, and that is be better tomorrow than we are today. So what we're doing is saying, look, what did we learn from the last year that would allow us to do what we used to do, but to do it better going forward? And I think we will have some classes that will be in hybrid mode-- in other words, you'll be in the classroom sometimes, and other times you'll be remote.

And we'll do that because we think it's a better model, not because it's something that we have to do. We're expected to be on-campus and in-person next fall when we start, and we're looking forward to that. But we will not just go back to the way we were before. We'll look to be better tomorrow than we are today.

KRISTIN MYERS: So I wanted to ask you there, Frank, curious to know if there's at all any pushback or any sort of tension between folks who might think that this e-learning or learning virtually perhaps isn't as good as learning in-person and in the classroom-- if employers, even, perhaps might think that some of these students that are graduating right now, perhaps, aren't being as well-educated as some of the students that were pre-pandemic getting some of their classes from their professors in-person.

FRANK HODGE: Yeah. I think what we've learned is when we teach in a remote environment, we're just as good at conveying facts. We're just as good at pushing information to the students. What we're not really good at is the most vibrant case discussions where people are interacting and having to discuss real world, complex problems.

We're getting better at that, but it's not the same as being in the classroom where you can sense that energy and you've got that discomfort from confronting someone that maybe has different views than you. So I do think that our graduates have the same fundamental skills that any of our graduates do in the past.

I just think those experiential learning opportunities were a little bit further and farther between. And that's the part, I think, that was missing. But I think our students are every bit as prepared for the market as they've been in the past.

REGGIE WADE: Dean Hodge, what are you hearing from your students, particularly your students when it comes to entering the job market amid a pandemic? What are some of their concerns?

FRANK HODGE: Yeah, I think our MBA students, we're blessed to be one of the top schools in the nation with respect to placing our students. We were the top school for the last three years. We typically place between 95% and 100% of our students. So that's a great thing.

But our students are concerned. They're concerned about the kinds of jobs that they're going to get. They're concerned-- I'll tell you one thing that's come to the surface recently is our students are much more purpose-driven. In other words, they're looking at institutions and saying, is that institution's purpose in line with my values, as opposed to just saying, can I get a job somewhere?

And I think that's a big change that we've seen going forward. One other change that I'll mention is just the ability to interview online is a little bit different than in-person. So for example, when you communicate with someone and are interviewing with them, you need to look them right the eye. And I'm looking you in the eye now, but if I look at you on my screen in the eye, then I look down. And that's a little bit different. So we've got to teach our students some different skills when they're interviewing and working in a remote environment.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: That's an excellent point. I think we all have to do that as we even now work and broadcast from home. Eye contact is very important. Dean, it sounds like you have a great track record there of placing students. But can you tell us areas where you're seeing the most interest and the most hiring happening right now?

FRANK HODGE: Yeah. By far, it's in tech. We've been blessed to be in the Seattle area, and another strong market for us is the Bay Area. And so we've been able to place our students in those companies that are doing phenomenally well, which is that Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Apple-- you know, those kind of firms.

Consulting firms as well are doing fairly well. Product management, actually, is another strong area for us. And so we've seen a lot of demand for our students, but we are blessed to be in an area of the country that is doing very well economically. And we're fortunate for that.

REGGIE WADE: Dean Hodge, I know we talk about a lot of negative things in terms of the pandemic, but what's something that's really giving you a positive viewpoint as you look at this class of 2021 and everything they've had to go through?

FRANK HODGE: Yeah, one thing is we often teach in the classroom that you have to have a growth mindset. You have to be flexible. You have to look at challenges as opportunities.

But we don't often get to practice that while the students are on-campus. We say, this is the kind of leader you need to be. Last year, we got to practice that, right? So we got to witness what is it like in a one-week period to completely pivot to a remote environment, and then to succeed in that environment not for a short period of time, but for a long period of time.

So when we pivoted, we told our students, look, we've got to change. We're going to be there for you. We need you to step up and meet us halfway-- and they did. What we didn't realize is we were running a marathon instead of a sprint.

So we're still in a remote environment, and we need our students to be a part of that process. And they've stepped up to it. So I think that one thing that's been fortunate about this period is we've been able to walk the talk. We've been able to practice what we preach. And that's that growth mindset-- having that flexibility to attack real world, unstructured problems.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: All right, Frank Hodge, Dean of the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington and our education reporter, Reggie Wade-- thanks so much for being with us.