Outcome questions that show what your course led to
Ask graduates what they are doing now and how well the course prepared them for it. Each question below comes with when to ask it and what the answer tells you.
What graduate outcomes survey questions tell you
Graduate outcomes survey questions ask former students what happened after the course: whether they work in their field, how long the job search took, which skills they use and how their pay changed. The answers show whether the course delivers what its description promises, and they give your team outcomes to plan the next intake around.
Ask six months after the course ends, when graduates have had time to look for work, and again a year or two later. Send the link by email to your graduate list, keep it to six to eight questions, and use logic so graduates who didn't use career services skip the question that rates them.
Each written answer is read as it arrives and given a theme and a sentiment, so the skills graduates wish they had learned group together for the curriculum team. Pay answers show as a median and a middle half, which keeps one very high or very low figure from skewing the picture.
- Questions
- 13
- Best asked
- Six months after the course ends
- Industry
- Education
- Where to find them
- From library in the Usertick survey editor, on every plan
The 13 outcomes and careers questions, with when to ask each
Grouped by what they tell you. Use them as they are or change the wording.
Where graduates are now
What graduates do, how long ago they finished and how long the job search took, which frames every other answer.
- 01Multiple choice
What are you doing now?
What the graduate is doing now, from working in their field to taking a break. Select an answer in Results, such as Looking for work, to filter the whole page and read what those graduates say the course missed.
- 09Dropdown
How long ago did you graduate?
How long ago the graduate finished. Select a range in Results to filter the whole page and compare recent graduates with those five years out.
- 03Ruler
How many months did it take to find a job?
Months to the first job, on a ruler. Results shows the median and the middle half; add logic so graduates still looking or continuing their education skip it.
- 12Emoji
How do you feel about your career path?
How the graduate feels about their career path, on a row of faces. Read it next to what they do now: a low face from someone working in their field says something a pay figure doesn't.
How well the course prepared them
Rate the preparation, then ask which skills graduates use and what was missing, for the next curriculum review.
- 02Big scale
How well did the course prepare you for what you do now?
How well the course prepared the graduate for what they do now, from 1 to 10. Results shows the average and a column per step; compare graduation years with the dropdown.
- 06Multiple choice
Which skills do you use most?
Picks every skill the graduate uses most at work. Results shows bars with each share; a skill many graduates use and the course teaches in one short module is a candidate for more time.
- 07Text
What should the course have taught you?
Asks what the course should have taught. Each answer gets a theme, so repeated gaps such as a tool or a kind of project show up for the curriculum team.
Who used career services
Ask who used career services, and let only those graduates rate them.
- 04Yes / No
Did you use career services?
Whether the graduate used career services. Add logic so only those who answer Yes see the next question, which keeps the rating to people who used them.
- 05Stars
How useful were career services?
How useful career services were, in stars, shown only to graduates who used them. Results shows the average and the share who rated 4 or higher.
Pay and coming back
Pay change and expectations, with the recommendation and the chance of a return, asked last.
- 11Number
What is your salary compared with before the course, in percent?
Pay change since before the course, in percent. Results shows the median and the middle half, which a few very large changes can't skew. Ask it near the end, after the questions about the course.
- 13Slider
What salary range do you expect in your first job?
The pay the graduate expects in a first job, on a slider. Results shows the median and the middle half; ask it of recent graduates and those still looking for work.
- 08NPS
How likely are you to recommend the course to someone starting out?
Whether the graduate would recommend the course to someone starting out. Results shows the score with detractors, passives and promoters; select the detractors to see what they do now.
- 10Yes / No
Would you come back for another course?
Whether the graduate would come back for another course. Results shows the share that said yes; those graduates are the first people to tell about an advanced course.
Tips for asking about outcomes and careers
Small choices that get honest, useful answers.
- 01
Wait six months
Ask once graduates have had time to look for work. At graduation the answers are hopes; six months later they are outcomes.
- 02
Ask the same group again
Send the same questions a year or two later to the same graduates, so you can see how careers develop after the first job.
- 03
Handle pay questions with care
Put pay questions near the end and say why you ask. Results shows medians, which suit pay better than averages.
- 04
Bring the answers to the curriculum review
Take the open answers on missing skills, grouped by theme, to the next curriculum meeting with the share of graduates working in their field.
Add these questions to a survey
From the library to the first answers.
- 1
Open the library
In the Usertick survey editor, choose From library, filter by industry and topic, and add several questions at once.
- 2
Or paste your own list
Paste questions reads up to 10 questions from any text on Free, 100 on Starter and 200 on Pro and above, keeps your wording and picks an answer type for each.
- 3
Choose where it runs
Show the survey on your website, send it by email, share its link and QR code, or switch it to a conversation.
- 4
Read the answers
Results counts every score and choice, and Usertick reads each written answer and files it by topic, on every plan.
Templates and more questions about outcomes and careers
Full surveys that ask about the same things, and neighboring topics in the library.
Templates
Browse all templatesFrequently asked questions
Six months after the course ends, and again a year or two later. Send it to your graduate list the day you are ready, or schedule the email up to 30 days ahead.
Everyone who finished the course, including graduates who are still looking for work. Their answers show where the course or career services fell short.
Yes, with the number and slider questions. Results shows the median and the middle half, so a few very high or very low figures don't skew the picture.
Yes, when you share the survey by link or QR code: an anonymous response stores no user ID, traits or visitor ID. Anonymous responses don't apply to surveys sent through Usertick email, so share a link for the pay questions.
Yes. The question library comes with every plan, the free plan included, and the free plan covers 150 responses a month across your surveys.
Yes. Once a question is in your survey, reword it, change its options or its answer type, and add logic to skip it for some answers.
Yes. The library is translated into Usertick's built-in languages, and in any other language it shows in English for you to translate.
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