New engineering graduates are at the top of the latest salary survey produced by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
The survey, released late last month, shows engineers leading the “broad categories” of recent graduates, with an average starting salary of $62,535, an increase of 4% vs. a year ago.
Second on that list was computer science, at $59,977, followed by business ($54,235) and the health sciences ($49,713). The average starting salary for 2013 graduates in all disciplines is $44,928, a 5.3% increase vs. the class of 2012.
Broken down into more specific disciplines, engineering fields took the top three spots, with petroleum engineering leading the pack by a large margin, posting an average salary for new graduates of $93,500, followed by computer engineering ($71,700) and then chemical engineering ($67,600).
Rounding out the top 10 were:
- Computer science ($64,800)
- Aerospace/aeronautical/astronautical engineering ($64,400)
- Mechanical Engineering ($64,000)
- Electrical/electronics and communications engineering ($63,400)
- Management Information System/Business ($63,100)
- Engineering Technology ($62,200)
- Finance ($57,400).