LinkedIn gives college ratings a big data twist
LinkedIn is entering the crowded field of college rankings and giving it a big data twist.
When you join LinkedIn, you tell the site where you went to school, your field and where you work. The job site ran the numbers on its more than 313 million members to see where they went to college and what they’re doing now, says spokesperson LinkedIn Crystal Braswell.
They used it to “narrow down the list of top schools that are really launching their students into successful, desirable jobs,” Braswell says.
LinkedIn defined “desirable jobs” by crunching the numbers to find companies that are good at both attracting and retaining employees.
Mark Schneider of the American Institutes for Research says the list is limited.
“Right now, only the top 25 schools in any of the fields is displayed,” he says.
And so it’s mostly the usual colleges that top the lists. Still, Schneider favors this data-driven approach, especially in the current economy.
“I think the 2008 financial crises scared the life out of everybody,” Schneider says. “You go to college and now you’re not even guaranteed good employment.”
And with college tuition rising, Schneider says students are increasingly interested in what their college degree will get them in the job market.
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