ACCOUNTING MAJORS HAVE SIXTH HIGHEST AVERAGE STARTING SALARY OFFERS Engineering majors, garnering the four highest spots and five of the Top 10, can expect to see the highest offers, on average, according to a report by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).
Accounting came in just outside the top five in sixth place. The following majors have the highest salaries paid to 2005-06 graduates – with average salary offers:
1. Chemical engineering – $55,900
2. Computer engineering – $54,877
3. Electrical/electronics and communications engineering – $52,899
4. Mechanical engineering – $50,672
5. Computer science – $50,046
6. Accounting – $45,723
7. Economics/finance, including banking – $45,191
8. Civil engineering – $44,999
9. Business administration/management – $39,850
10. Marketing/marketing management (and marketing research) -$36,260
BETHLEHEM, PA?Increased competition for new college graduates is translating into higher starting salaries, according to a new salary report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).
The Spring 2006 Salary Survey report shows that many disciplines at the bachelor’s degree level are getting salary offers that outstrip those offered just a year ago.
The increases, says Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director, are not unexpected and “track with what employers told us earlier this year-that they expected more competition for this year’s college graduates. That increased competition often results in higher starting salaries.”
In the business disciplines, accounting degree graduates saw their average starting salary offer increase 5.4 percent over last spring to $46,188. Business administration/management majors also fared well, posting a 3.9 percent increase for an average starting salary of $40,976. The news is also good for economics/finance graduates; their average offer rose 5.3 percent to bring their average starting salary offer to $45,058.
However, not all disciplines saw salary increases. Marketing graduates saw their average offer dip 1 percent to $37,446. Similarly, the average offer to computer science graduates fell 0.8 percent to $50,892. The decrease is small, but is the second this year for computer science graduates; in the Winter 2006 Salary Survey report, their average offer fell 2 percent.
Nearly all engineering disciplines posted solid increases. The average salary offer to chemical engineering graduates rose 4.2 percent to $56,549, and the average salary offer to civil engineering graduates rose 4.8 percent to $45,544. Computer engineering graduates saw their average starting salary offer rise a healthy 5.3 percent to $54,200. The average offer to electrical engineers rose 3.9 percent to $54,053. Interestingly, although employers responding to a NACE survey earlier in the year cited mechanical engineers as among the disciplines they expected to target, mechanical engineering graduates haven’t seen that interest bubble up into their salary offers; their average offer rose just 1.4 percent to $51,761.
Data on the various liberal arts disciplines are limited at this time of year, but looking at liberal arts as a group shows that these graduates are also doing better this year than they did last year. As a group, the average starting salary to liberal arts graduates stands at $30,958, up 2 percent from last year at this time.
“Overall, we believe that this year’s graduates will fare well in the job market,” says Mackes. “At the same time, the good job market shouldn’t be an excuse for students to sit back and wait for employers to come to them. Students need to be proactive in the job search; they can start by going to their campus career center for guidance and resources.”
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