Starting salaries for new graduates vary greatly, says CollegeJournal.com, The Wall Street Journal’s guide for career-minded college students.
“Many college grads have unrealistic salary expectations,” says Tony Lee, editor in chief, CollegeJournal.com. “Geographic location, cost of living, and supply and demand all play a role in determining starting salary.”
For example, the starting salary in a metropolitan area with a high cost of living may be significantly higher than the salary for the same job in a rural area. If you’re looking for a job in a field that is filled with candidates, you’ll find stiff competition — so your ability to negotiate salary will probably be limited. However, some fields are so hot that
graduates in these areas will have their choice of employers.
The education and health-services industry supersector is projected to grow faster, 31.8%, and add more jobs than any other industry supersector. About one out of every four new jobs created in the U.S. economy will be in either the health-care and social-assistance or private educational-services sectors, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
College students looking for some of the highest starting salaries may want to consider majoring in chemical engineering — with an average entry-level salary of $52,038 — or computer science, with an average income of $50,007.
CollegeJournal.com gives the average starting salaries for these selected disciplines:
* Entry-level consulting: $48,247
* Manufacturing: $47,861
* Actuaries: $46,991
* Engineers: $44,500
* Accounting: $42,155
* Economics/finance majors: $40,718
* Retail/wholesale-trade: $33,536
* Journalism: $27,646
* Customer-service representatives: $25,000
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