Salaries for computer, engineering grads buck downward trends
A good reason to stay in uniform? According to a recent press release from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, starting salary offers to Class of 2010 bachelor’s degree graduates are down 2 percent — to $48,351 – from the average $49,353 offered to Class of 2009 bachelor’s degree graduates.
Before you start revamping your future plans, however, consider this: While the overall average offer fell, a number of college majors, including some very popular with former service members, actually saw encouraging increases. One example? Computer-related degrees, such as computer programming, computer science and information sciences/systems, saw a 6.1 percent average salary increase – the highest reported in the Winter 2010 issue of NACE’s Salary Survey – from $56,128 to $59,570. Engineering graduates also fared well. Although the average starting salary for engineering graduates as a whole increased by a modest 1.2 percent, to $59,245, eight of the 10 top-paid bachelor’s degrees in the survey were engineering-related.
Less-promising prospects are available for liberal arts majors, with overall average starting salary offers down a whopping 11 percent – to $32,555 – from last year’s average of $36,445, according to the survey.
