Technical Disciplines Command Highest Salaries Among College Class of 2008
New college graduates with degrees in the engineering and computer science fields boast the highest average starting salaries, according to a new report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).
The Spring 2008 issue of NACE's Salary Survey shows that chemical engineering graduates are currently pulling the highest average starting salary offer--$63,616--followed by computer engineering graduates at $59,962. (See Figure 1.)
"There is competition among employers for many graduates in the technical disciplines, and the high salary offers we're seeing reflect that," says Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director.
| Curriculum | Average Salary Offer |
|---|---|
| Chemical Engineering | $63,616 |
| Computer Engineering | $59,962 |
| Computer Science | $59,873 |
| Industrial/Manufacturing Engineering | $58,252 |
| Aerospace/Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering | $57,999 |
*Source: Spring 2008 Salary Survey, National Association of Colleges and Employers. All data are for bachelor's degree candidates and reflect majors for which 45 or more offers were reported.
In fact, many disciplines have seen their starting salaries offers rise by 10 percent or more over the last year. For example, the average offer to computer science graduates skyrocketed 14.7 percent from $52,177 in Spring 2007 to $59,873 currently. Also experiencing big jumps in their average starting salary offer: construction science/management (13.4 percent increase from $46,506 to $52,745); aerospace engineering (11.3 percent increase from $52,131 to $57,999); and agricultural business and management (11.2 percent increase from $38,055 to $42,299).
And hefty increases aren't limited to the technical fields: "The average offer to psychology graduates rose 10.7 percent from $30,751 to $34,054," says Mackes.
Conversely, many of the business disciplines seem to be feeling the effects of changes in the economy and have seen little movement in their average starting salary offers. For example, the current average salary offer to accounting majors--$47,429--is literally just a few dollars higher than the average these grads posted in Spring 2007--$47,421. Business administration and management graduates didn't fare much better: Their average offer increased 0.3 percent from $44,048 to $44,195.
NACE will continue to track demand and average salary offers for the Class of 2008 in the two remaining issues of the 2008 Salary Survey reports, Summer and Fall, which will be released in July and September, respectively.
Since 1956, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) has been the leading source of information about the employment of college graduates. NACE maintains a virtual press room for the media at www.naceweb.org/press/.
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