Penn State Law Employment Data

For the class of 2020, 77.05 percent of our graduates secured full-time, long-term employment within 10 months of graduation that either requires bar admission or in which a J.D. provides an advantage; at one-year post-graduation, this number was 83.61 percent. These numbers only includes graduates employed in full-time, long-term J.D. required or J.D. advantage positions.

Employment Summary Reports

ABA Employment Summary Report -- Class of 2020

• Information on employment outcomes for the Class of 2020 may not reflect a particular law school’s typical results in this area. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, bar admission exams were canceled or delayed in many jurisdictions, thus making it more challenging for graduates to secure employment by the annual Graduate Employment Status Date of March 15. Please reference the 3 years of employment outcome data posted on the ABA Required Disclosures webpage of each ABA-Approved Law School or at www.abarequireddisclosures.org.
• Per Interpretation 509-2 of Standard 509, law schools may choose to publicize additional employment outcome data beyond what the Employment Protocols require. This additional data, per Standard 509, must be “complete, accurate, and not misleading to a reasonable law school student or applicant.” Law schools are expected to use “due diligence in obtaining and verifying such information.” The following additional employment outcome data has not been, and will not be, audited by the ABA. It is meant to supplement the annual ABA Employment Summary Report, which reflects the employment status of members of each graduating class as of the annual Graduate Employment Status Date of March 15. Please reference the 3 years of employment outcome data posted on the ABA Required Disclosures webpage of each ABA-Approved Law School or at www.abarequireddisclosures.org

Class of 2019 ABA Employment Summary
Class of 2018 ABA Employment Summary
Class of 2017 ABA Employment Summary

Class of 2018 NALP Summary Report
Class of 2017 NALP Summary Report

Please see the NALP website for an explanation of the discrepancies between ABA and NALP employment data. If you have additional questions regarding employment data, please contact Assistant Dean for Career Services​ Magen Mihok at mkm26@psu.edu. 

Geography**

Penn State Law graduates start their careers all over the country. The map below shows a sampling of where alumni from our previous classes have found employment following graduation.

2019 Employment Profile

Penn State Law graduates work in every part of the legal profession and in non-legal careers where a law degree is preferred. This employment information was gathered from a survey of our 2019 graduates 10 months after graduation. Employment categories and geographic distinctions follow the National Association of Legal Professional (NALP) definitions.

Penn State Law Career Services

To help guide our students in the job-seeking process, the Penn State Law Career Services Office is available from day one to work with our students one-on-one to craft an individualized approach to help them gain a foothold in the city and practice area of their choice. Our Career Services team works relentlessly to make connections with employers through constant alumni networking and employer outreach, and they develop unique job search resources, including a database of nationwide job postings. They prepare students with the skills they need to land a job and find success through programs like our On-Campus Interviewing Bootcamp and Leading Law Students, which places students on nonprofit boards. From day one, they lead Penn State Law students through the job search process so they can accomplish their individual career goals.

** The map on this page includes graduate information from both campuses (Carlisle and University Park, Pa.) of the formerly unified Penn State Dickinson School of Law.