Benefits of Study Abroad
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Can studying abroad jump-start your career? Our findings say yes!
By living and learning abroad, IES Abroad students develop highly sought-after professional skills—adaptability, communication, self-awareness, confidence—that not only make them more hirable, but also launch their career. Our survey findings show key career benefits of study abroad, including:
Increased Hireability
Most IES Abroad alumni feel that studying abroad helped them develop valuable job skills, such as language proficiency, cultural understanding, tolerance for ambiguity, adaptability, and self-confidence.
Jobs Secured More Quickly After Graduation
Nearly three quarters of IES Abroad alumni secured their first job within two months of graduation.
Higher Starting Salaries
IES Abroad alumni earn an average of $6,000 more in starting salaries (compared to recent U.S. college graduates from the National Career Outcomes Report).
Higher Acceptance Into Grad School
90% of IES Abroad alumni continuing on to graduate school earned admission into their 1st or 2nd choice graduate or professional school.
Employers understand the extraordinary benefits of study abroad, and many seek out graduates who made their study abroad dreams a reality. After all, the skills you learn when you’re abroad—adaptability, global understanding, leadership, and independence, to name a few—are directly applicable to finding success in any professional environment. From the boardroom to the classroom and everywhere in-between, changed lives change the world.
IES Abroad Alumni Career Outcomes Research
From a ground-breaking 50-year longitudinal study (2002) to a timely study of economic recession/post-recession outcomes (2012), IES Abroad has a rich history of leading the field of international education in quantitative research on the practical outcomes of studying abroad. The most recent study was conducted in April 2016 to assess the impact study abroad has on a recent graduate's career. A total of 1,205 IES Abroad alumni who graduated college between 2012 and 2015 responded to the survey.
For more information, explore the 2016 Career Outcomes of Study Abroad Students survey results. You can also view the 2012 Recent Graduates Survey: The Impact of Studying Abroad on Recent College Graduates’ Careers as well as the results of our 50-Year Alumni Study.
Something unexpected is just around the world. Study abroad is your chance to explore it.
See the world.
Pretty soon you'll realize weekends are meant for travel...to another country.
Develop your language skills.
When you study abroad, you don't just learn the language, you live it!
Gain professional experience.
An international internship is a great way to boost your résumé.
Step outside of your comfort zone.
"They say college is for growing and finding who you truly are, and I agree with that, but I think taking new opportunities like these are what ultimately challenge you." Read more about how Gracie W. stepped outside her comfort zone while abroad.
Form everlasting friendships.
From classmates to host families, before you know it strangers become friends.
Increase your self-confidence.
Our students know it best: “The first person you find abroad is yourself.”
- Kiersten M. | IES Abroad London
