Top 10 Jobs for the Class of 2008
Nathan Lippe, Senior Career Adviser for CBcampus.com
Once summer is in sight, students everywhere spend less time outlining their research papers and more time planning their summer vacations. The annual exception is, of course, the class of graduating seniors, whose commencement pushes them into the mythic "real world." They spend the last few weeks of the semester ensuring they can walk across the stage and deciding what they will do that next day.
The realization that this semester's final exams are their last and summer breaks are things of the past is both exciting and nerve-racking. After all, once they start job hunting, they find out how valuable their degrees – which took a lot of money and the last four years of their lives – are to employers. This summer is a major milestone in their lives.
Luckily, employers are ready to hire and looking to woo them with signing bonuses and higher starting salaries than in years past, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employees. Among the most sought-after graduates are those who majored in business, finance and information technology.
We analyzed this information and data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on the industries doing the most hiring and expecting the most job growth. Here are 10 of the best jobs for the graduating class of 2008:
1. Financial analyst Major: Business administration Median annual salary: $66,590* Projected job growth: 34 percent Jobs created: 75,000
2. Computer systems analysts Major: Information sciences and systems Median annual salary: $69,760 Projected job growth: 29 percent Jobs created: 146,000
3. Computer systems software engineers Major: Computer science Median annual salary: $85,370 Projected job growth: 28 percent Jobs created: 99,000
4. Accountants Major: Accounting Median annual salary: $54,630 Projected job growth: 18 percent Jobs created: 226,000
5. Civil engineers Major: Engineering Median annual salary: $68,600 Projected job growth: 18 percent Jobs created: 46,000
6. Marketing managers Major: Advertising or journalism Median annual salary: $98,720 Projected job growth: 14 percent Jobs created: 24,000
7. Financial managers Major: Finance Median annual salary: $90,970 Projected job growth: 13 percent Jobs created: 64,000
8. Chemical engineers Major: Engineering Median annual salary: $78,860 Projected job growth: 8 percent Jobs created: 2,400
9. Electrical engineers Major: Engineering Median annual salary: $75,930 Projected job growth: 6 percent Jobs created: 9,600
10. Mechanical engineers Major: Engineering Median annual salary: $69,850 Projected job growth: 4 percent Jobs created: 9,400
*Salary, job growth and job creation information is based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Nathan Lippe is an expert in the post-college job search and oversees CBcampus.com, a site that helps college students and recent college graduates find internships, part-time jobs and after-graduation careers. He also assists college career centers across the country with their job search resources.
Search By Job Category