Average College Grad Income: Class of 2007

The average college grad income for 2007 graduates is looking bright, according to a recent article by the Wall Street Journal. The financial bible cites a new survey released by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) which says the average college grad income is predicted to increase by 4.6%. In another survey by NACE, college recruiting is intensifying, so much so that businesses will reportedly be hiring 17% more graduates from 2007 than in the previous year.

Leading the pack of recruiters is the accounting and consulting firm Deloitte & Touche. According to Diane Borhani, head of U.S. campus recruiting, the firm is recruiting college grads, lots of them, close to 3,300 seniors, up from less than 3,100 in 2006. As part of its college grad job search, the firm has raised starting salaries and that dangling carrot known as the signing bonus. Borhani says that U.S. starting salaries (base) have increased around 5%, boosting the average college grad income to the 60K range – in certain jobs for recent college grads. 

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Earnings for College Grads

The typical college grad entry level career job search has been reversed with consulting firms out in full force recruiting college grads. Consulting firms are not the only ones. Investment banks, tech, consumer products, nonprofits, government, and accounting firms are heavily recruiting college grads. What’s behind all this recruitment? A strong economy and corporate profits; in 2006, 1.8 million new jobs were created and the average weekly earnings increased by 4.5%, in contrast to a 3.2% gain in 2006.

As baby boomers approach retirement age, their imminent vacancies have proven to be a boom in earnings for college grads. According to Trudy Steinfeld, executive director of career development at New York University, 40% of NYU graduating seniors have job offers already - better than any year since the class of 1998-99, and up from 15% at the same time last year. Steinfeld says that starting salaries have increased from 5% to 10% (compared to 2006 offers) and a signing bonus can be as great as $10K.

According to money.cnn.com, this is the best job market for college grads in four years, with earnings for college grads increasing in these fields:

• Information sciences and systems: Up 7.5 percent to $47,182
• Economics/finance: Up 6.2 percent to $44,588
• Civil engineering: Up 5.3 percent to $46,084
• Chemical engineering: Up 4.9 percent to $56,269
• Accounting: Up 4.6 percent to $44,928
• Business administration/management: Up 4.2 percent to $41,155
• History: Up 4.2 percent to $33,071

Does your salary make the grade? Check your score with our salary calculator.

Cheers,

Dr. Al Lee

• Curious about salaries? Email Dr. Salary
• Compare your salary: Get a free Salary Report
• How to Search for a Job after College - AlexanderKharlamov.com
• Ten Job Hunting Myths - EmploymentDigest.net

Comments

[Eric]

You are using civil engineering as one of the representative jobs of 2007 college graduates, but there are inherent flaws in doing so. Civil engineering encompasses a variety of engineering disciplines that are nothing alike, i.e. environmental engineering and structural engineering. Accordingly their pay scales are nothing alike. You are quoting the average starting salary for a civil engineer as 46k/year, but environmental engineers and hydro resource engineers are the only civil engineers making that low. As a structural engineering graduation from the University of Illinois this May, I am starting at 60k/year and most of my cohorts are earning in the high 50's. This is just something to consider before posting that statistic.

[Econ/Finance]

To Eric:

The numbers are meant to represent an average. Analysts headed to major investment banks this summer certainly make multiples of the average finance/economics major salary (around 3 times more) but who cares? The overall statistic is an average.

[katie]

I am graduating this Spring 07 with a bachelors in social science and religion. I have no idea what to do other than teaching. Are there any jobs that my majors apply to that are unseen gold mines. Jobs I haven't even thought of??
Thanks, graduating and confused

[Cindy]

I am looking for a comparison of average salaries for high school graduates, technical school graduates, some college, 4-year college degree, masters degree, and doctorate degree. Can you help me? How does the amount of education generally affect earnings?