Starting salaries for college graduates, especially in technical fields, may not be as high as they hoped.
Every year, the National Association of Colleges and Employers surveys employer members about their hiring and salary plans for college graduates.
For 2003, 44 percent of employers said they expected their starting salaries to stay flat for students with bachelor degrees. But according to NACE, starting salaries are beginning to drop in some fields.
“The market is very sluggish,” said Karen Hayes, director of Career Employment Services at The University of Memphis. “Consumers are not spending in the market out of concern with the war. Some employers have put a hold on spending until they feel more comfortable.”
Taking the biggest loss in average salaries this year are computer science graduates. Three years ago, they saw a double-digit increase in their starting salaries. Now, their salaries will take a double-digit decrease.
Since January 2002, computer science graduates’ salary offers fell 13.1 percent from an average of $50,531 to $44,678. Information science graduates are also seeing a decrease of 2 percent, from $41,876 to $41,055.
“The tech field is not doing well,” said Jeff Wallace, economist for the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at The University. “We are in a slow growth economy, and the field never fully rebounded from the recession. During the dot-com boom, companies spent lots of money on expensive equipment and high salaries going to graduates with little experience, and it didn’t pan out.”
Other areas may see a relatively smaller decrease. Most engineering discipline salaries fell, including chemical, mechanical, electric and civil engineering.
Business administration graduates are doing far better with an 11 percent gain, bumping their average from $32,604 to $36,634. Many of these offers were for management trainee and sales positions, with starting salaries that ironically fell short of the overall average.
Management information systems majors aren’t doing as well as other business concentrations. MIS graduates were once the highest paid among business graduates. Hit with a 5.6 percent drop from last year, they now fall behind accounting, actuarial and business system graduates, with an average of $40,566 down from $42,838.
“Businesses and investors are uncertain about the war and their future,” Wallace said. “We will begin to see a difference when we have a successful end to the war.”
However, computer science majors should not let the war or the economy keep them from doing what they enjoy.
“Think about the big picture, the long term,” said S.J. Schaeffer III, director of the Advanced Learning Center at The U of M. Schaeffer entered the software industry during a time of recession.
“It’s not that we’re using less technology, we’re using more,” Schaeffer said. “What we’re seeing now is just a minor blip on the radar. It will correct itself in the long run. There will always be a demand for qualified technical employees.”
