RAPID CITY, SD — South Dakota Mines 2019-2020 graduates are enjoying a 97% placement rate in their field of study or in graduate school. This is up from numbers reported in 2020. This cohort is also receiving an average starting salary of $66,156. The high placement rate and starting salary speaks to South Dakota Mines’ excellent return on investment. The earnings of graduates in science and engineering fields outpace other professions, and the cost of attending South Dakota Mines is lower than many schools across the country.
An increasing number of Mines students are staying in the state after they graduate, 36% of the 2019-2020 graduates are remaining in South Dakota to enter the workforce or to complete graduate school. This crop of graduates went to work for 50 different South Dakota based companies. These high-earning graduates play a vital role in the continuing economic growth of South Dakota’s high-tech sector. In the last five years, 351 graduates have accepted jobs with 172 employers in 37 South Dakota communities. Overall Mines’ 2019-2020 graduates went to work for 177 different employers in 35 different states and Japan.
“This data highlights the important role our students play in building the tech-sector economy in South Dakota,” says South Dakota Mines president Jim Rankin. “Our country needs scientists and engineers more than ever. Mines graduates lead the way in creating new technologies that offer solutions to our toughest challenges.”
Real-world experience is one advantage many South Dakota Mines graduates bring to their first job. Seventy-seven percent of students graduated with a paid internship or research experience with companies such as Microsoft, Garmin, Kiewit, Cargill, Black Hills Energy and many other companies and governmental agencies. Mines students who completed at least one internship during their time as students enjoyed a 100% placement rate and an above average starting salary of $68,533.
