Degree-Salary Equivalency

Most lucrative degrees for college grads
Survey finds best job market in 4 years, with most college majors seeing salary growth and some students receiving multiple job offers.
By Rob Kelley, CNNMoney.com staff writer
October 27 2006: 12:42 PM EDT


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Employers continue to boost starting salaries for the Class of 2006, which is enjoying the strongest job market in four years, according to a recent survey.

The biggest beneficiaries are graduates who majored in information sciences and systems: they are taking home 7.5 percent more than they did last year, according to the Fall 2006 edition of Salary Survey, a quarterly report by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

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Employers have made a strong effort to attract college seniors and new grads through on-campus recruiting, career fairs, information sessions, and intern and co-op recruiting, according to NACE.

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"These salary increases combined with the results of a recent poll of Salary Survey participants indicate that 2005-06 has been the best job market in the past four years," said NACE executive director Marilyn Mackes in a statement.

According to the survey, majors that have seen some of the biggest increases in average starting salaries are:

Information sciences and systems: Up 7.5 percent to $47,182

Economics/finance: Up 6.2 percent to $44,588

Civil engineering: Up 5.3 percent to $46,084

Chemical engineering: Up 4.9 percent to $56,269

Accounting: Up 4.6 percent to $44,928

Business administration/management: Up 4.2 percent to $41,155

History: Up 4.2 percent to $33,071

For others, modest increases, some declines
Other majors also experienced slightly higher entry-level offers, but the increases from last year's offers didn't outpace inflation.

Mechanical engineering: Up 3.3 percent to $51,732

Electrical engineering: Up 2.9 percent to $53,500

Psychology: Up 1 percent to $30,369

Computer science: Up 0.3 percent to $50,744

Political science and government: Up 0.3 percent to $33,094

And in a few cases, starting offers actually declined. This was true for a few of the liberal arts majors, which only saw a 0.2 percent increase overall as a category.

English: Down 0.2 percent to $31,385

Sociology: Down 0.9 percent to $31,096

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http://money.cnn.com/2006/10/27/pf/college/lucrative_degree/index.htm?postversion=2006102712

Most lucrative degrees for 2007 grads
Marketing, business administration and engineering students see the biggest increases in average starting offers.
By Jeanne Sahadi, CNNMoney.com senior writer
February 8 2007: 1:24 PM EST


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- With less than four months to go before saying sayonara to the quad for good, the class of 2007 is finding it easier than recent classes to get their foot in the work world.

Employers have said they expect to hire 17.4 percent more college grads than they did last year, and in many instances they plan to pay them more, too, according to a survey released this week by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

The students faring the best are marketing and business administration majors.

The average starting offer for seniors majoring in marketing is up 14 percent from last year to $41,323.

Those majoring in business administration are seeing a 9.2 percent jump to $43,523 in average starting salaries.

Others who are seeing pay increases, albeit some far more modest than others, are seniors majoring in:

Mechanical engineering: Up 7.7 percent to $54,587
Chemical engineering: Up 7.4 percent to $60,054
Management information systems: Up 5.5 percent to $46,568
Civil engineering: Up 4.8 percent to $47,145
Electrical engineering: Up 3.2 percent to $54,599
Computer science: Up 2 percent to $51,070
Accounting: Up 1.7 percent to $46,508
There are no prior year comparisons for two majors because in prior NACE surveys they were grouped together as one. However, based on prior years' average starting offers in the category (in 2006 it was $45,191), NACE characterized these average starting salaries as "respectable."

Finance: $47,905
Economics: $51,631
There have been slight decreases in the average starting salary offers for just a few majors, but NACE notes that given that it's still early in the hiring season and the job market is strong for college grads, salary offers may improve in the next few months:

Logistics/Materials management: Down 1.8 percent to $43,294
Liberal arts (including psychology, political science history, English): Down 1.1 percent to $30,502
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http://money.cnn.com/2007/02/08/pf/college/lucrative_degrees_winter07/index.htm