Spotlight for Career Services Professionals, July 20, 2011
Spotlight for Recruiting and Employment Professionals, July 20, 2011 

Engineering majors earned four of the top-five spots on the list of top-paid majors for the Class of 2011, according to results of NACE’s Summer 2011 Salary Survey.

Leading the way—and by a large margin—were petroleum engineering majors, with an average starting salary offer that is more than $15,000 higher than chemical engineering majors, who came in second on the list.

Rounding out the top five are computer engineering, mining and mineral engineering, and computer science majors. Following is the list of the top-paid majors among bachelor’s degree graduates from the Class of 2011:

 Top-Paid Majors (Major and Average Starting Salary Offer)   

1. Petroleum Engineering—$80,849
Driving the salary of petroleum engineering majors to the top spot was the average starting salary offer from petroleum and coal products manufacturers, who not only accounted for the largest number of offers to these majors, but also made the highest average offer ($80,741).

2. Chemical Engineering—$65,618
Like petroleum engineering majors, chemical engineering majors received both the largest number and the highest-average offers from petroleum and coal products manufacturers. These employers offered chemical engineering majors an average starting salary of $76,043, which soars well above their overall average offer.

3. Computer Engineering—$64,499
Computer and electronic products manufacturers made the largest number of offers to computer engineering graduates at an average of $68,439.

4. Mining & Mineral Engineering (including geological)—$63,969
Not surprisingly, mining companies made the largest number reported offers—averaging $61,467—to mining and mineral engineering graduates.

5. Computer Science—$63,402
Computer science graduates received the most interest from computer systems design/consulting/programming firms, which offered them a higher-than-average $72,493. And, although computer and electronic products manufacturers made slightly fewer offers to these graduates, the average offer of $74,666 was even higher.

*Source: Summer 2011 Salary Survey, National Association of Colleges and Employers