Average Salary Up for Class of 2011

Average Salary Up for Class of 2011 by Sara Murray (Wall Street Journal)

Those Class of 2011 graduates lucky enough to land jobs got a second bonus: Higher salaries.

The average salary offer for the most recent crop of graduates was up 6% compared to salaries offered to 2010 graduates, according to a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers released Tuesday. For those earning bachelors degrees, salary offers rose to $51,171 from $48,288 in 2010. 

Salary increases were widespread, but varied based on the field a study. Here’s a look at some of the salary breakouts by field: 

·         Business: Up 4.6% to $48,805

·         Business administration/management: Up 5.4% to $46,372

·         Economics: Up 3.9% to $53,690

·         Finance: Up 4.8% to $51,503

·         Computer-related: Up 9.6% to $63,760

·         Computer science: Up 9.3% to $66,084

·         Information sciences and systems: Up 5.9% to $55,619

·         Engineering: Up 2.8% to $60,291

·         Petroleum engineering (the highest-paid major in 2011): Up 7.1% to $82,740

·         Chemical engineering: Up 1.8% to $66,058

·         Computer engineering: Up 4.1% to $62,849