New college graduates are receiving lower starting salary offers than last year’s graduates, according to a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). NACE’s Winter 2010 Salary Survey shows that the overall average offer to a bachelor’s degree graduate is $48,351, down 2 percent from the average offer to 2009 graduates with bachelor’s degrees ($49,353).
While the overall average offer for 2010 graduates fell, the salary direction of individual majors varied. Among the business disciplines, salaries are down slightly (less than 2 percent). Liberal arts majors have fared much worse, with their starting offers down almost 11 percent from last year’s reported average ($36,445).
In contrast, graduates with computer-related degrees (computer programming, computer science, computer systems analysis, and information sciences/systems) posted a 6.1 percent increase, the highest increase reported in the survey, pushing their average up from $56,128 to $59,570.
Starting salary offers for engineering graduates have risen slightly, with the average salary offers for engineers as a group up 1.2 percent. Though their pay increase was modest, engineering majors are faring well overall, accounting for eight of the 10 top-paid bachelor’s degrees in the survey.
|
Major |
Average Salary Offer |
| Petroleum engineering |
$86,220 |
| Chemical engineering |
$65,142 |
|
Mining and mineral engineering |
$64,552 |
| Computer science |
$61,205 |
| Computer engineering |
$60,879 |
|
Electrical/electronics and |
$59,074 |
| Mechanical engineering |
$58,392 |
| Industrial/manufacturing engineering |
$57,734 |
| Aerospace/aeronautical/astronautical engineering |
$57,231 |
| Information sciences and systems |
$54,038 |
