Had I written this article two years ago, it would have been a lot more positive. But I didn’t, so it’s not. For the class of 2010, overall hiring is expected to decrease by 7%. This is a far cry from the projections for the current class of 2009: a 1.3% increase over the class of 2008 (which is still the lowest in 6 years).
Even though 43% of employers intend to maintain their current level of college hiring, they say they want to focus on fall recruiting and cutting costs by attending less job fairs. If they are attending less job fairs, that means you will have to be more vigilant then your fellow classmates to get noticed.
Overall college hiring intentions (Class of 2010 vs. Class of 2009)
| Year | Increase | Maintain | Decrease |
| 2010 | 16.9% | 43.4% | 39.7% |
| 2009 | 39.4% | 45.4% | 15.1% |
“Don’t project beyond the range of the known observations”
But, how are things looking for the class of 2009?
Top 10 Degrees By Demand
10. Marketing/Marketing Management
Majors in this field study how to build a successful image or campaign for a business or product and can be employed by any number of companies in a variety of capacities. Marketing graduates average a starting salary of $43,334.
9. Management Information Systems/Business Data Processing
MIS involves the different ways that technology can propel a business. Expect to start with an average starting salary of $52,817
8. Computer Engineering
Companies need people who know how to design and develop software and systems for a computer network. Employers, who on average were offering a $59,803 starting salary, range from software engineering to telecommunications firms.
7. Information Sciences & Systems
Students majoring in this area learn the ins and outs of creating computer systems or a web site. Information sciences and systems graduates were offered a starting salary of $49,167.
6. Economics/Finance
With the state of the economy, who doesn’t need an economist to put it all in perspective? Finance and economics majors are expected to rank sixth on the hiring list. When it comes to starting salaries, the average starting salary was $49,794.
5. Business Administration/Management
Majors in this area, who earned an average starting salary of $45,887, are trained to successfully lead a team and complete a business’s plans and goals efficiently.
4. Computer Science
Computer science majors graduate knowing how to develop computer programs and how the machines work. Their skills earned grads an average salary offer of $56,128.
3. Electrical Engineering
At an average starting salary of $57,404, electrical engineer majors are able to design and oversee the electrical aspects of everything from a car to the electrical wiring in a building.
2. Mechanical Engineering
Majors in this field can become mechanical engineers where they design and manufacture mechanical devices like an elevator or a generator. Their first salary out of college averages $58,648.
1. Accounting
Take out your calculators: Employers said they expect to hire accounting majors more than any other group from the class of 2008. Accountants averaged a starting salary of $48,334.
(Source)
Key Takeaways
As my quote in the introduction says, don’t read too much into these lists. Just because a major is in high demand now doesn’t mean you should go into it. If you are just starting college, 4 years can change quite a lot. However, if you look at it every year, it can provide you the direction that we are heading.
- Undergraduate majors with “technical” skills (accounting, engineering, computer sciences) command the most attention in today’s job market.
- If you want to be in demand AND make money, you need to go more technical. Try mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, or computer engineering.
- New jobs are not likely to be plentiful, but replacement openings due to aging in the work force will be dominant.
- The only major that I saw drop in pay from previous years data was Business Management. The abundance of business grads may be driving the price down.
- Elementary and Secondary Education and Information Technology are the best prospects for new grads in the next few years.
- Healthcare positions, particularly in nursing, are also attractive options.
You do not have to be in one of those majors to get hired (obviously). There are also niche majors that are in high demand relative to the amount of people who go to school for the subject matter. For example, I went to school for Supply Chain and Logistics. This is a growing field both domestically and internationally. But it was also the smallest (I think) business major at my school. There were plenty of job offers for all of my classmates, and our major wasn’t on any “high demand” job lists.
When it all comes down to it, I published this list to give you some information, but don’t let it guide all of your decisions.
I'm MLR. After graduating from college debt free, I decided to write a blog encouraging people to adapt responsible and sensible personal finance rules.
October 22nd, 2009 at 2:38 pm |
I read in Accounting Today that something like 50% of all current CPA’s will retire in the next 10 years so if that is the case then an accounting career will most likely continue to be in great demand in upcoming years.
Credit Card Chaser´s last blog ..BOA’s Credit Card Business is Losing Money Yet Still Catching Flak
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MyLifeROI Reply:
October 23rd, 2009 at 2:00 pm |
@Credit Card Chaser,
“The percentage of CPA firm partners over the age of 50 has risen from 49 percent in 2005 to 53 percent in 2006 to 57 percent in 2007.”
2 years later.. so that could very well be closer to 60%! If that 60% retires in the next 15 years, even, that will be a huge hole to fill. I think we may see a lot of mergers, though, because you can’t really replace a partner with 25 years experience with a recent college grad.
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Credit Card Chaser Reply:
October 23rd, 2009 at 2:10 pm |
@MyLifeROI,
Good point although most forward looking accounting firms will hire grads starting now to fill the upcoming void of experienced CPA’s because by the time the experienced baby boomer CPA’s start retiring then the college grads of today will have gained more experience of their own.
Credit Card Chaser´s last blog ..House Votes to Move CARD Regulation Start Date up to Dec 1st
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MyLifeROI Reply:
October 23rd, 2009 at 2:17 pm |
@Credit Card Chaser,
“Most CPA firms are not properly prepared for–or simply fail to understand–succession planning, according to a recent PCPS Succession Planning Survey. This is true for both sole proprietors and multipartner firms. In fact, most CPA firms (81%) do not have a written succession plan and 22% do not believe they need a plan of any kind. Yet a majority of firms (62%) expect succession planning to be a significant issue for their firm in the near future.”
If “most forward looking accounting firms…”, then they are a minority in the group!
It’s just something that the industry has to look at. What you outlined is a path they should go, but they need to make sure that it is a company goal or they will find themselves in trouble soon.
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October 22nd, 2009 at 5:04 pm |
Aw, no one wants to hire a Film major? But I have producing experience and I know what auteur theory is!
Ah, well, guess we can’t all have “careers!”
;)
Stephanie PTY´s last blog ..Get Me In a Good Mood for Six Months
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MyLifeROI Reply:
October 23rd, 2009 at 2:05 pm |
@Stephanie PTY,
Haha. My best friends sister was a film major. I think she is a stage manager down in DC or Silver Spring somewhere.
She would probably argue that it is the BEST career! ;)
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Stephanie PTY Reply:
October 24th, 2009 at 10:57 pm |
@MyLifeROI, Really? I’m actually living down near DC and trying to be a stage manager – maybe I should talk to your friend’s sister!
Stephanie PTY´s last blog ..More from National Protect Your Identity Week
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October 23rd, 2009 at 10:12 am |
What about History majors Steph and MLR? :)
This is a solid list that makes a lot of sense. You major in one of these, make $48-50,000 a year at 22 years old, and fast for to 30 years old and you’re making over $100,000. The path to a six figure income seems pretty straightforward, so I don’t know what the big debate is about, hence my latest article.
These majors are incredibly math focused, resulting in high test scores. I tell ya, 50% of my part-time MBA classmates were engineers ALL wanting to get out of their careers and into management. Their average age was 30, making between $120,000-$180,000/yr and they all wanted out.
These are good majors to start your career in, but make sure you continue your education with the softer side, so you don’t get stuck either and bitter at those managers making 2-3X. Engineers become the blue collar workers, believe it or not for many companies. Nothing wrong with that, but the ceiling is strong.
Rgds, FS
Financial Samurai´s last blog ..Six Figure Incomes & Unemployment – Challenging Reality By Engaging The Community
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MyLifeROI Reply:
October 23rd, 2009 at 2:11 pm |
@Financial Samurai,
One of my best friends graduated with me with a history major. He hasn’t had any issues with it thus far. However, he chose to supervise a warehouse out of college and is now looking at getting a job with the government (foreign services). Both him and I had a lot of work experience coming out of college, though, so that may have helped.
As far as those majors being a straight forward path to $100,000: Absolutely, as long as they remain in high-demand. Common sense tells me that if everyone were to suddenly have a college degree tomorrow, those starting salaries would plummet.
One of my other friends dads took the path you mentioned. He was an engineer for a defense contractor. He said how they were pretty much looked at as machinists. (That was shocking) High-paid machinists, but the point was that they were the laborers. He went back to school and got his MBA so he could become the project lead and eventually got into management. He said pay wasn’t THAT much better, but benefits were.
[Reply]
Financial Samurai Reply:
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:21 pm |
@MyLifeROI, cool, interesting anecdote about your friends dad. Good for him to try and do something about his situation since he felt he could do more.
I think most college students or HS students DON’T want to get in those degrees is b/c of the difficulty involved.
I know I didn’t want to study mathematics for hours on end. There are some great fluff degrees, and some difficult degrees. I majored in Economics, and I believe it’s best to major in something you can get as high a GPA as possible, and then market yourself accordingly, all else being equal.
So, if it’s a major in home economics, fine! :)
Financial Samurai´s last blog ..Six Figure Incomes & Unemployment – Challenging Reality By Engaging The Community
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October 28th, 2009 at 2:48 pm |
I didn’t realize that were so many bean counters in the world. I would have figured that marketing would have been a little higher as well as engineering, but I guess the world needs people to count all the money.
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