美컴퓨터공학도 몸값 최고

NACE 대졸 초임연봉 비교
화학공학과 2위…비이공계 10위권 회계학 뿐

미국에서는 컴퓨터, 화학 등 이공계 대졸자의 몸값이 가장 높은 것으로 나타났다.

미국의 전국대학취업협회(NACE)는 5일 발표한 지난해 4/4분기 전공별 대졸자 초임 연봉 분석 결과에서 컴퓨터공학(computer engineering)과 졸업생이 전년 같은 기간보다 약간 상승한 5만3117달러로 가장 많은 연 봉을 받았으며 화학공학과가 5만2563달러로 2위에 올랐다고 밝혔다.

또 도시공학과 전기공학 전공자들의 초임 연봉도 다소 감소하긴 했으나 다른 전공자들과 비교할 때 상대적으로 높은 급여를 받고 있는 것으로 조사됐다.

초임연봉 상위 10위권에 올라있는 전공학과 중 이공계열이 아닌 학과는 8위인 회계학뿐이다.

10위권에 속한 전공 중 컴퓨터과학(computer science) 전공자는 8.9% 상승한 4만8656달러, 정보과학 전공자에게는 2.6% 상승한 4만2108달러, 경영정보시스템 전공자는 1.3% 상승한 4만1103달러를 받고 있다.

반면 인문계 전공자들은 지난해보다 3.5% 상승한 연봉을 받고 있지만 평균 3만153달러에 그쳐 전공학과 중 가장 낮은 수준의 초임연봉을 받고 있다.

심리학 전공 졸업생들의 평균 초임연봉은 8%나 하락한 2만5032달 러에 불과해 19개 학과별 연봉 순위에서 최하위를 기록했다.

한편 고용시장이 아직 침체를 벗어나고 있지 못하지만 기업들이 2년 만 에 처음으로 작년보다 12.7% 대졸채용을 늘릴 계획이어서 올해 미국 대 학졸업생의 취업전망은 지난해보다 한결 개선되고 있다고 협회 측은 전 망했다.

정은정 기자(koala@heraldm.com)

2004.02.06

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cnn 기사 원문 링크
http://money.cnn.com/2004/02/05/pf/college/lucrative_degrees/?cnn=yes

Most lucrative college degrees

Latest survey on hiring and starting salaries finds there may be more in '04 for many college grads.
February 5, 2004: 3:30 PM EST

By Jeanne Sahadi, CNN/Money senior staff writer


NEW YORK (CNN/Money) – The job market may not be booming. But for many in the college class of 2004, it won't be quite as dismal as it was for last year's grads.

That's the preliminary conclusion of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), which released its latest quarterly starting-salary survey on Thursday.


It's still early days for most college seniors on the hunt for a job. Only a small number of students typically have full-time job offers in hand halfway through their senior year. And the number of offers covered in NACE's winter survey is a small percentage of the offers covered in its fall survey, which reflects hiring through the previous August.

Still, NACE thinks there's reason for cautious optimism.

On balance, employers said they expect college-grad hires to be up 12.7 percent from last year, which is the first hiring increase in two years, said NACE spokesperson Camille Luckenbaugh.

Based on the 2,300 offers covered in the current survey, more disciplines were reporting increases in starting salaries. Only a third of disciplines are seeing starting salaries drop, compared with nearly half at the same time last year.



Major dollars

Majors in computer engineering and chemical engineering top the list of most lucrative college degrees. Average starting salaries for computer engineers reached $53,117, up very slightly from their levels at this time last year. Starting salaries for chemical engineers, meanwhile, rose 2.5 percent to $52,563.

Starting salaries for those who major in civil engineering and electrical engineering still compare favorably with those of most other majors, but both experienced modest declines compared with last year.

For the first time since 2001, employers reported increases in starting salary offers to students in computer science, information sciences and systems, and management information systems.

The average offer for computer science majors rose 8.9 percent to $48,656; and more than half the offers surveyed topped $50,000.

Information sciences grads had an average starting salary of $42,108, up 2.6 percent from last year, while management information systems grads have seen starting salaries average $41,103, up a modest 1.3 percent.

Meanwhile, liberal arts majors still rank on the low-end of the salary scale, although as a group, the average starting offer rose 3.5 percent to $30,153.

Many psychology majors aren't as likely to see that kind of paycheck, however. Their starting salary average fell 8 percent to $25,032