Report shows recent grads enjoy higher salaries
January 18, 2012
There's definitely truth to the thinking that a college degree helps boost earning potential, according to a recent survey released by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).
NACE’s Winter 2012 Salary Survey report revealed that those who graduated in 2011 enjoyed higher starting salaries than those who graduated in 2010.
Overall, 2011 graduates at the bachelor’s degree level began their first post-graduation job with an average salary of $41,701 - up 2.3 percent over the average salary for Class of 2010 graduates.
Although salaries were higher regardless of industry, NACE reports that graduates with certain majors tended to make more right out of school than others.
"Graduates in the engineering and computer science disciplines fared best in terms of overall average starting salary, and computer science graduates saw the largest overall increase," Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director, said.
The report found that engineering majors now make an average of $61,872 per year and computer science grads make an average of $60,594 per year upon graduating.
Other disciplines that saw large increases in the average annual salary included business majors (a 3.8 percent increase with an average starting salary of $48,144), communications majors (a 2.9 percent increase with an average starting salary of $39,577) and education majors (a 2.1 percent increase with an average starting salary of $37,830).
Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) also confirms that getting a bachelor's degree is a good investment.
The BLS reports that in 2010 individuals with a bachelor's degree made an average of $1,038 per week, compared to $767 per week for those with an associate degree, $712 per week for those with some college (but no degree) and $626 per week for those with a high school diploma.
While pursuing a college education is certainly a time-consuming undertaking, mothers who go back to school not only help ensure their family's financial independence, but also set a great example for their children.
However, many mothers and single mothers believe that a college education is not financially-realistic for them. Luckily, a wide variety of grants for parents, single mother scholarships, scholarships for mothers and other financial aid can help make a dream of obtaining a college degree a reality for many moms.
