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What do you do with a degree from Reed?

Computational biologist Keith Allen ’83 volunteered his expertise to crunch a database of approximately 16,412 living Reed alumni seeking to trace the connection between their major and their occupation (see larger).

We crunched numbers to find out more about the career trajectory of various majors.

Reed degree circle preview

Click above to view slideshow for individual majors


What do you do with a degree from Reed? That question has vexed generations of graduates as they head off to the job market with the ink on their parchment still wet. 

Naturally, the possibilities are limitless—but now, for the first time, we can offer some statistical insight based on the experience of Reed alumni.

Computational biologist Keith Allen ’83 volunteered his expertise to crunch a database of approximately 16,412 living Reed alumni seeking to trace the connection between their major and their occupation.

To simplify matters, Keith grouped majors and careers into broad categories. (We suspect French majors and German majors will not appreciate being ganged together, but what can we say? Welcome to statistics!)

He then created this stunning visualization that shows where alumni of various majors have taken their careers.

Keith has also produced charts for individual majors (we’ve included the one for language majors here). For more charts, greater levels of granularity, and more discussion, visit our website.

Special thanks to Greg Byshenk ’89 for data wrangling.

Major Abbreviations

Amer: American Studies

Anthro: Anthropology

Art: Studio Art and Art History

Bio: Biology and combined majors with Biology

Chem: Chemistry, Chemistry/Physics

Econ: Economics and combined majors with Economics

Hist: History, History/Literature

Intl: International Studies

Lang: Chinese, English, French, German, Russian, Spanish, and Linguistics

Lit: Literature, Classics

MA: Master of Arts

Math: Mathematics (including Math/Physics)

Music: Music

Other: Interdiciplinary and short lived majors

Phil: Philosophy and combined majors with Philosophy

Physics: Physics

PoliSci: Political Science

Psych: Psychology

Rel: Religion

Soc: Sociology

Thea: Theatre and Theatre/Dance

Career Abbreviations

ARTS: Arts and Design

CON: Consulting

DIV: Divinity

EDK: Education: K-12

EDU: Education: College/University

ENG: Engineering

FBV: Food Services

FIN: Banking, Financial Services, Insurance

GVF: Federal and International Governments

GVL: State and Local Government

IT: Information Technology

IND: General Business and Industry

LAW: Law and Judicial System

MED: Health Professions and Administration

NGO: Non-Profits and NGOs

OTH: Other

PRA: Marketing, Public Relations and Advertising

PUB: Journalism, Communications, Media, Publishing, and Entertainment

RED: Real Estate Development and Management

RES: Research

SOC: Social Work and Social Services

UTL: Energy, Utilities, and Infrastructure