Engineering and Computer Science Graduates Continue to Earn the Highest Salaries

Data from the National Science Foundation's 2003 National Survey of Recent College Graduates (NSRCG) reveal patterns and trends in the employment of recent graduates who received bachelor's or master's degrees in science, engineering, or health fields. Data were collected between October 2003 and June 2004 and included bachelor's and master's graduates who received science, engineering, or health degrees between July 1, 2000 and June 30, 2002. Survey results on salaries, full-time employment status, full-time student status, employment in science, engineering, or health occupations, and employment sector of these graduates (hereafter, recent graduates) are highlighted here.

Salaries

Among those employed full time, median annual salaries for electrical/computer engineering graduates and chemical engineering graduates were the highest at the bachelor's degree level, and industrial engineering and electrical/computer engineering graduates were the highest at the master's degree level. Among recent bachelor's degree recipients, median annual salaries in October 2003 were $53,000 for graduates with degrees in electrical/computer engineering or chemical engineering, compared with $36,000 for all science, engineering, and health graduates.

Among recent master's degree recipients, median annual salaries in October 2003 were $71,000 for graduates with degrees in industrial engineering and $70,000 for graduates with degrees in electrical/computer engineering, compared with $52,000 for all science, engineering, or health master's graduates. Among science graduates, the median annual salaries of computer science graduates were the highest. Computer science graduates with bachelor's degrees earned a median annual salary of $45,000, and those with master's degrees earned a median annual salary of $60,000.