Edufacts™
July 2008
Despite Economic Downturn, College Graduates Finding Good-paying Jobs
There is widespread belief that the chances of a recent college graduate finding suitable employment are directly tied to the general condition of the national economy, which today is in turmoil.
But despite the current anemic economy, and consensus by leading economists that it could yet get worse, recent college graduates are not having trouble landing good jobs. In fact, 2008 college graduates are finding jobs that pay better than their 2007 counterparts.
The U.S. unemployment rate recently took a big jump to 5.5 percent, up from 4.5 percent during the same time in 2007. However, for recent college graduates the unemployment rate is less than half that (about 2.3 percent), according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), the leading source of information on the employment of the college educated.
NACE's most recent report also found that hiring for 2008 college graduates will increase by 8 percent from last year, and that salaries are up 4 percent compared to 2007. Camille Luckenbaugh, NACE's research director, says there is nothing surprising about these figures.
"The market for college students is not as affected by the economy," Luckenbaugh says. "It's just a different market."
Luckenbaugh says many employers take a long-term approach in the hiring of recent college graduates, and look at more factors than just their current bottom line.
"A lot of employers look at it as hiring their future leaders, as a way to build up their employee pipeline," she says. "They are looking five to 10 years down the road."
The NACE report on 2008 college graduates continues to show that those with technical degrees are not only getting job offers ahead of other graduates, but also drawing the highest salaries. The average salary for a graduate with a chemical engineering degree is $63,749, an increase of 6.2 percent from 2007 and 10 percent from two years ago.
The highest average percentage salary increase from the previous year (7.9 percent) , however, was for graduates with computer science degrees. Computer science majors this year are finding jobs that pay $56,921, second only to chemical engineers, and just ahead of electrical engineers ($56,512) and mechanical engineers ($56,429).
An engineer is directly involved in the development of many products, and is the reason recent graduates in those fields command higher salaries. Chemical engineers, for example, are in great demand in the petrochemical and pharmaceutical industries, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
However, recent college graduates with liberal arts degrees still start out earning less than those in the engineering and computer science fields. A graduate going into the public relations field, according to NACE, will earn $30,667 this year, less than half the starting salary for a chemical engineer. Typically, graduates with liberal arts degrees will earn less than $40,000, while nursing, accountant, and business majors fall into the more moderate range of $43,000-$52,000.
The big discrepancy in the starting salaries of engineers and liberal arts majors is "one that we've seen forever. Liberal arts majors are just very different," says Luckenbaugh, adding that engineering graduates get offered jobs much quicker than those in liberal arts who usually must search much longer for that first job.
However, Luckenbaugh says that liberal arts majors have more long-term career opportunities, not only to attain higher salaries but also to reach leadership positions. Engineering graduates will usually reach a salary plateau sooner than a marketing or public relations professional.
"A chemical engineer will always be a chemical engineer," Luckenbaugh says. "Those with liberal arts degrees may take longer to reach a better salary, but they will always have more career options in their future."
-30-
For tips on how to establish high expectations for students as early as middle school and for assistance in planning for higher education academically and financially, visit www.AIE.org. TG provides this Web site has a public service to help all families and students achieve their educational goals and career dreams.
About TG
TG is a public, nonprofit corporation that administers the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). High resolution files suitable for publication are available as a free download from TG's Web site at http://www.tgslc.org/edufacts/index.cfm. For more information, please e-mail or call ray.perez@tgslc.org or (512) 219-4990.