Did You Know?

College students majoring in Chemical Engineering can expect to earn more than their fellow graduates right out of the gate. According to a study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), new college graduates with degrees in Chemical Engineering were offered an average of $59,361 in the summer of 2007. That's a better than five percent increase from the salaries they were offered the year before. Computer engineering grads were second on the list, fielding offers that averaged slightly more than $56,000 per year directly out of college. Rounding out the top five were graduates with Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science degrees, each of whom averaged offers better than $53,000 per year right out of college. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Psychology majors might want to pick up a second major if they're looking to make money upon graduation. Psychology majors received the lowest offers directly out of college, averaging offers of $31,631 upon graduation. But psychology majors should be encouraged as the offers mark a nearly five percent increase from those received by those who graduated in 2006. Salaries rose for new grads across the board in 2007, although the increase didn't much benefit graduates with degrees in History, English or Sociology, each which averaged offers less than $34,000 annually upon graduation.