Top Jobs for the College Class of 2009
What’s in store for recent graduates?
They graduated into one of the toughest job markets in years, so what types of jobs were graduates of the college Class of 2009 most likely to be offered? Teaching positions topped the list, according to a new report published by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).
NACE’s Fall 2009 Salary Survey report lists teaching, management trainee, financial/treasury analysis, consulting, and sales positions as the top five jobs offered to 2009 graduates. (See Figure 1.)
“The types of positions offered to new grads has remained fairly stable over the past five years,” says Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director. “In general, employers value graduates who have these the skills required for these types of positions, regardless of the economy.”
What has changed is the importance the private sector plays in providing job opportunities for new college graduates.
Although teaching has consistently been an important opportunity for new college grads, private sector opportunities held the top spot until 2008, when teaching moved up the list.
“From 2002 through 2007, the number one opportunity was management trainee or sales positions,” says Mackes.
Besides underscoring the importance of the public sector as a “home&rdlquo; for new college graduates, the shift from private to public sector opportunities could have ramifications for salaries for new grads.
“In general, public sector jobs pay less than those in the private sector,” Mackes says.
In fact, the average starting salary offer to new college graduates fell this year. The average salary offer to a 2009 bachelor’s degree graduate stands at $48,633; that&’s 1.2 percent less than the $49,224 average offer for the same graduate from the Class of 2008.
Figure 1: Top Jobs for the Class of 2009
Job Function: Teaching
Starting Salary Offer: $35,496
Job Function: Management Trainee
Starting Salary Offer: $41,353
Job Function: Financial/Treasury Analysis
Starting Salary Offer: $52,043
Job Function: Consulting
Starting Salary Offer: $56,472
Job Function: Sales
Starting Salary Offer: $41,577
Job Function: Accounting (Public)
Starting Salary Offer: $49,437
Job Function: Accounting (Private)
Starting Salary Offer: $45,859
Job Function: Software Design & Development
Starting Salary Offer: $63,798
Job Function: Registered Nursing
Starting Salary Offer: $45,229
Job Function: Project Engineering
Starting Salary Offer: $58,570
Source: Fall 2009 Salary Survey, National Association of Colleges and Employers. Data represent job functions for which the most data were reported; all data are for bachelor’s degree candidates.
About Salary Survey: Salary Survey is a quarterly report of starting salary offers to new college graduates in 70 disciplines at the bachelor’s degree level. The survey compiles data from college and university career services offices nationwide. Salary Survey is issued in Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall, with the Fall issue serving as the year-end report. (Salaries reported in this press release reflect offers to bachelor’s degree candidates.)
About NACE: Since 1956, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) has been the leading source of information about the college job market. NACE is headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
