A SAIS education: A resource of growing importance

Here is a report on the types of jobs SAIS students landed after graduating in 2011.

SAIS is considered a professional school, and so careers matter. SAIS prepares its students for a variety of jobs -- the diversity of choices is reflected in the report -- and graduates are able to shift careers throughout their professional lives. This flexibility characterizes SAIS's multidisciplinary approach.

Ronald Lambert, director of Career Services in Washington, says in the report that a SAIS education is more relevant than ever nowadays:

"Whether helping to assess risk for international investment houses, monitoring elections in emerging democracies, or working in concert with development agencies and members of the military on the ground to bring aid assistance to refugees, the SAIS education has emerged as a resource of growing importance to global employers seeking talent to solve the world's most pressing problems and to maximize existing opportunities."

Here are some of the highlights of the report:

• 41% of the 2011 class went into the private sector, 25% into the public sector, 17% into nonprofit and 13% into multilateral institutions;
• 84% of the class started their jobs in the United States;

• of those working outside the United States, 38% started in Asia and another 38% in Europe;
• the top types of jobs in the private sector were consulting, energy and banking/finance;
• the top employer in the public sector was the U.S. State Department;
• of those going to the nonprofit sector, 30% chose international development, 24% think tanks and research and 22% education/training;
• of those going to the multilateral sector, 46% selected the World Bank, 12% the Inter-American Development Bank and 12% the United Nations;
• 75% of the class participated in internships during the summer between their first and second year, and half worked internships during the academic year.

For a report on the employment outcomes for the class of 2010, click here.

Nelson Graves