2014's starting salaries for college tech majors
As summer winds down, it's time for a look at how tech graduates' starting salaries are stacking up
With two thirds of the summer behind us, it's the time of year for students of all ages to contemplate what degree program to enroll in. And while compensation isn't always the biggest factor in their choice for a profession, it can be a good place to start.
Each year, with data provided by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), CIO.com looks at what degrees offer the best starting point salaries and how trends and markets have affected them over the previous year's data. Data in the Salary Survey is produced through a compilation of data from the BLS and the Census Bureau.
Salary gains are down significantly when compared to that of the previous salary survey. In fact, information sciences and systems degrees took a hit of almost 1%. This years' largest gain was in mechanical engineering degrees, up 2.5 percent, but that pales in comparison to the previous year's gains of 5.6 percent.
Under the computer science umbrella, federal, state, and local government officials are still the head of the pack followed closely by the manufacturing industry. All players in this category made small gains.
Information sciences and systems saw graduates and entrants pretty flat over the last year. Federal, state, and local government positions are still paying the highest in this category as well, beating out manufacturing by 9%. Professional scientific and technical services lost ground slightly on starting salaries, and the number of graduates decreased.
Computer engineering degrees, in most cases, made modest gains. Professional, scientific, and technical services saw a 7% increase in pay over previous salary surveys. People with computer engineering degrees who chose enterprise management lost 3% on starting salaries year over year.
If you've been paying attention, government jobs are where the money is at when you're just getting started with your technology degree. And it's no different with electrical/electronics and communications engineering degrees. No major gains were made in this category over the last year, and there were fewer graduates in the major categories.
Mechanical engineering graduates made significant increases in all areas except federal, state, and local government positions. In the professional, scientific, and technical services industries, mechanical engineering graduates gained 12 percent year-over-year.
There are many things to consider when choosing which technology degree is right for you, and starting salary is only one of them. Things like cost of living for a particular area, salary levels for your region, and personal interests all play a role. What is the most important factor to you? We'd love to hear from you in the comments.
For a look at last year's data, please check out my previous article, Best college tech majors for landing a top starting salary.
For more information on the NACE methodology and other relevant data, visit their website.
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