Forbes Names Duke Among America’s Best Employers for New Grads in 2024

University included on list of 400 top workplaces for young professionals

Students walk on Duke's campus
Photo courtesy of Duke University Marketing & Communications.

Duke University is one of the top places in the country to start your career, according to Forbes’ 2024 list of “America’s Best Employers for New Grads,” which was released this week. Duke University ranked No. 258 on the list of 400 employers with 1,000-or more U.S.-based workers.

The list, which was compiled for Forbes by the market research firm Statista, was based on an independent survey of more than 100,000 U.S. employees from workplaces across a range of sectors with less than 10 years of work experience.

Survey participants were asked how likely they would be to recommend their employer and employers they were familiar with. They were also asked to rate their employers on factors such as professional development, compensation, diversity, working conditions and how proud they feel to work there.

“We want to be a place where people want to come and start their career, and where they want to stay,” said Antwan Lofton, Vice President of Duke Human Resources and Chief Human Resources Officer. “Just look around and you’ll find people who have come here and made it their home. This is a place where you can grow and continue to build the practical skills that can help you succeed.”

Duke offers a range of programs a benefits to help employees at all stages of their career build their skills and grow. That includes a robust list of professional and technical courses available through Duke Learning & Organization Development as well as professional development programs for employees at different points in their journeys.

“We work very hard to ensure that we have courses and programs that can help people, wherever they are in their career, to chart out their development,” Lofton said. “That includes new hire orientation and ways to teach best practices, all the way up to the Duke Leadership Academy. We want to constantly invest back into our No. 1 priority, which is our people.”

Employees can also take advantage of benefits which can help them pursue educational goals and benefits designed to help young and growing families. Duke University staff and faculty can also be eligible for certain federal and state student loan forgiveness programs.

In addition to the benefits of working at Duke, Durham and the Triangle region have become destinations for young professionals. Raleigh and Durham were ranked among the fastest-growing metro areas in the country according to a recent U.S. News & World Report list. Meanwhile, Durham was recently ranked by real estate firm Point2 as one of the top markets for members of Gen Z who want to buy a home.

“Not only is Duke a great place to start your career, we’re in one of the best places to live right now,” Lofton said. “It’s not as expensive as other cities and there’s a great quality of life.”

Earlier this year, among other recognition, Newsweek named Duke University one of “America’s Greatest Workplaces for Job Starters” for 2024. Newsweek also listed Duke University among “America’s Greatest Workplaces for Women” and “America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity.”

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