NewsLink

	E-Mail This Article Printer-Friendly Version

Positive Job Market for Class of 2008

Regardless of a weakening economy, average starting salary offers for the Class of 2008 are on the rise, suggests a new report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). According to the Spring 2008 issue of NACE’s Salary SurveyJob Outlook 2008 Spring Update report. “In fact, the overall change from the average salary offer to all graduates in this report is an increase of 5.3% compared to the overall average to all grads in the Spring 2007 report,” says Edwin Koc, NACE director of strategic and Foundation research. “However, in the areas where employers may have diminishing offers, average salary offers are beginning to diminish as well.” A look at individual majors in the business fields shows that these graduates have been affected more than others. Accounting graduates saw no change in their average salary offer of $47,429. Business administration/management graduates received a small increase of 0.3%, bringing their average salary offer to $44,195. The average salary offer to finance graduates moved up 1.5% over last year, to $48,616. Average salary offers to computer and information science graduates were higher than for any other majors in this report. Overall, the average salary increase for this group was 13%, indicating that these technical majors are in high demand. Computer science graduates saw their average salary offer increase by 14.7% to $59,873. The average salary offer for these graduates who were offered software design and development positions were even higher, topping out at $65,379. Engineering graduates also fared well—their average salary offer as a group rose by 6% over Spring 2007. And individual engineering majors saw respectable increases across the board. For example, chemical engineering graduates received a 6.5% increase to their average salary offer, boosting it to $63,616. Many of these grads were recruited for process engineering (chemical) positions and received offers, on average, of $65,258, well in excess of the overall average.