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Studying abroad is more than just traveling and exploring a new country. It involves getting out of your comfort zone and building skills through firsthand experience instead of classroom courses. This growth can translate into better career prospects for you in the future. Here’s how your career can benefit from a semester abroad.
Employment Prospects and Salary Numbers
You can start to see your return on investment as soon as graduation. According to CIEE, 97 perfect of students who study abroad find employment within 12 months of graduation. Other studies show that only 49 percent of college graduates who don’t study abroad find employment within the same 12 month timeframe. The difference is staggering, especially during a time when the job market for students is extremely competitive.
Once you secure a full-time role, your study abroad experience can also translate into a higher salary. Accordingly to CIEE, 25 percent of study abroad students earn more money compared to their peers.
The Forum on Education Abroad adds that 73 percent of employers say international experience is an important factor during the hiring process for junior-level positions, with 70 percent saying they actively prefer candidates who have this experience. That's not a marginal difference.
Valuable Skills You Can Gain Abroad
With skill-based hiring on the rise, it's crucial to build both soft skill and hard skills. Study abroad provides unique opportunities and experiences to grow competencies such as adaptability, cross-cultural communication, problem-solving in ambiguous environments, and independent decision-making. These skills are hardest to screen for in a traditional interview but most valued once someone is actually on the job. Studying abroad is a way to provide some credibility to your skills on your resume.
If Cost Is the Barrier
Cost is the most common reason students don’t go abroad, and it's a valid concern. But it's worth noting that many study abroad programs cost the same as or less than a semester on your home campus, especially in countries with lower costs of living. Financial aid often applies, and there are scholarships specifically for study abroad through organizations like the Gilman Scholarship Program. Talk to your study abroad office before completely shutting down the idea.
Study abroad isn't just a personal experience but a career investment with measurable returns. Higher starting salaries, stronger employer preference, and skills that are genuinely hard to build any other way make a compelling case. If there's a semester you can make it work, the data says go.
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