Only Half of Recent College Grads Employed Full Time The great recession has taken a heavy toll on college grads, with only half of those who graduated between 2006 and 2011 reporting they have full-time jobs, according to a new study. The survey by Rutgers University's John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development was based on a random sample of nationwide interviews with 444 people who graduated from college during the period. "Although many have had a full-time job since graduation, only half the sample was employed full time at the time of the survey," the report's authors said. College graduates are unsure about their ability to move up. Only one-fifth believed that their generation will be more successful than the one that came before them. Well over half said they will be less successful. Fifty-one percent of responders had full-time jobs, the survey found, while 20 percent were in graduate school. Part-time workers made up 12 percent, and 11 percent were unemployed. Read the full report. The median starting salary for those surveyed was $28,000, some $3,000 less on average than pre-recession grads.