Over the previous year, there has been an increase in employers' salary offers to college graduates in all career fields, according to the Salary Survey, a quarterly report published recently by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
The average starting salary offered by accounting firms increased to $43,370 as compared to $42,797 last year; followed by engineering services firms which increased to $47,161 from $45,807 and consulting services employers which increased to $46,856 from $45,278. The Salary Survey also reported that the demand for college graduates has been increasing and that among the 62 career fields with a percentage change in salary offers last year, 53 showed an increase.
Although most college graduates reported an increase in their average starting salary offers, computer science graduates experienced a moderate increase. Their average salary offer rose 2.3 percent to $50,820, while business disciplines saw a 5.3 percent increase and liberal arts graduates saw a 13 percent increase in their average offer.
Computer science Prof. Sudhanva Gurumurthi said the relatively moderate increase in computer science graduate salaries could be related to outsourcing of jobs overseas.
"One of the reasons to explain the phenomenon could be that many jobs for which employers sought recent college graduates in the United States are instead looking to fill the position with people in other countries," Gurumurthi said.
Ladd Flock, director of the College of Arts & Sciences career services, said there are two major trends that could explain the recent increase liberal arts salary offers.
"There has been an overall increase in the cost of living and more and more students are having related experience as part of their application package, such as summer jobs or internships that are directly related to the career they are entering," Flock said.
He said employers value any job experience graduates have had and are willing to pay more to recognize the time they have invested already.
Director of University Career Services James McBride said there has been a slow and steady growth in participation of employers and students in career fairs and interviewing sessions.
"We have experienced a steady rise since 2001-2002," McBride said. "There has been a 10 percent gain over the last couple of years in employment activity, which parallels with what's happening nationally."
He said the increase in participation indicates that students have a lot of confidence in the job market.
Fourth-year Commerce student Elizabeth Chiu said she felt confident about finding a job after graduation.
"I'm pretty confident because in large part I interned at Merrill Lynch and worked very hard," Chiu said. "I'm hoping for a job offer from them."
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