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The initial starting salary projections for Class of 2019 bachelor’s degree graduates strongly indicate that those with STEM degrees will continue to earn the highest starting salaries, according to results of Winter 2019 Salary Survey.
The top-paid graduates this year are once again expected to earn engineering ($69,188), computer science ($67,539), and math and sciences degrees ($62,177). (See Figure 1.)
Overall, at this point in the reporting cycle, the news is generally positive for Class of 2019 graduates. While the gains in average starting salary projections across all reported disciplines are relatively small, there is only one that dropped and—at -0.1 percent—it is negligible.
Agriculture and natural resources majors are projected to see the greatest gain in starting salary at 4.1 percent. With an expected increase of 4.0 percent, engineering majors follow closely behind, while the average salary for computer science majors is anticipated to be 2.3 percent more than their counterparts from the Class of 2018.
The Winter 2019 Salary Survey contains annual salary projections for Class of 2018 college graduates. Data from the survey were obtained by surveying NACE employer members from August 1, 2018, through December 3, 2018. A total of 186 surveys were returned for a 20 percent response rate. The Winter 2019 Salary Survey report will be released later in January.
Figure 1: Average Salary by Discipline, Bachelor’s Degrees
|
Broad Category |
2019 Salary
Projection |
2018 Salary
Projection |
Percent
Change |
| Engineering |
$69,188 |
$66,521 |
4.0% |
| Computer Science |
$67,539 |
$66,005 |
2.3% |
| Math & Sciences |
$62,177 |
$61,867 |
0.5% |
| Business |
$57,657 |
$56,720 |
1.7% |
| Social Sciences |
$57,310 |
$56,689 |
1.1% |
| Humanities |
$56,651 |
$56,688 |
-0.1% |
| Agriculture & Natural Resources |
$55,750 |
$53,565 |
4.1% |
| Communications |
$52,056 |
$51,448 |
1.2% |
Source: Winter 2019 Salary Survey, National Association of Colleges and Employers