Buck up, recent computer science
bachelor's degree holders. You are earning (or have the potential to earn) more
than your peers by a nice margin.
Computer and engineering graduates are receiving some
of the highest starting salaries at present, although year-over-year starting
salaries for these groups are down, according to the National Association of
Colleges and Employers' Summer 2010 Salary Survey.
Information science graduates are averaging $55,084,
which is a 5.7 percent increase from 2009. Computer science slipped slightly by
.5 percent to $61,112; engineering graduates—who had fared really well at the
beginning of the 2008 recession and even in to 2009—have seen a bit of a
decline, also seeing a .5 percent decrease, to $58,970.
"Within the engineering fields, chemical
engineering graduates enjoyed a 1.1 percent increase, for an average offer of
$65,628, but many of the disciplines—including computer engineering, electrical
engineering and mechanical engineering—saw their average offers decrease,"
NACE said July 8. "Computer engineering graduates saw the biggest decrease
in the group: Their average offer fell 2.9 percent to $59,917. Electrical
engineering graduates' average salary offer dropped 1.2 percent to $59,381 and
the average offer to mechanical engineering graduates dipped less than 1
percent to $58,457."
Graduates in technology-related fields are faring
much better than accounting, business, liberal arts and social sciences
graduates, however. Accounting graduates are garnering starting salaries of
$48,691 while business administration graduates have lost a chunk of
starting-salary change and are only taking in $43,879. Liberal arts graduates
are even worse off, taking in only $34,747.
The only business-centric areas that saw slight
increases were economics, up 2.1 percent to $50,885, and finance, up .8 percent
to $50,356. English majors saw an increase of 7 percent to $37,154, and
sociology graduates saw an increase of 5.7 percent to $35,173.
No doubt the economy is dragging down most starting
salaries, giving an across-the-board average of $48,661—down 1.3 percent from
2009.
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