Math, science degrees earn more

Students who graduate with degrees that generally require more math and science tend to earn more after graduation according to a new survey on starting salaries for college graduates.

Engineering degrees on average earned the most in starting salaries in a new survey from PayScale Inc., an online provider of global compensation data.

“Engineering, just by the nature of the degree, the work in college is much more rigorous, (employers are) rewarding for that,” said Phil Gardner, director of the MSU Collegiate Employment Research Institute.

Chemical engineering earned the most among engineering degrees, averaging $63,200 at the start and $107,000 at mid-career, at least 10 years into the profession.

Among Big Ten universities, MSU ranks seventh in starting salaries, with students averaging $46,300 after graduation.

Nearly 72 percent of MSU students stay in the Midwest after graduation, while about 50 percent of those stay in Michigan, Bishop said.

“A lot of what’s emanating in Michigan are the start of small market companies,” Bishop said. “While you will be making a smaller salary, what may present itself as an opportunity can’t be quantified in salary. It gives you the chance to play different roles in a company rather than the one role you may take with a mega corporation.”

However, just because a career starts off hot doesn’t mean it will maintain that growth potential, Gardner said.

“You start getting mid-career, economics is one of those degrees that gets better with age,” Gardner said. “Engineering plateaus about seven to 10 years out.”

Economics senior Kayla Sanders said she thinks a starting salary isn’t dependent so much on major, but the skills each individual brings to a position.

“For me, starting salary, I think, depends on the person and what your skill sets are and what you have to offer the company you work for,” Sanders said.

Other majors in the top 10 of the survey include computer science, physician assistant and nursing, though the latter two degrees don’t make the top 10 in mid-career salaries.

Liberal arts degrees, such as English and history, tend to earn a little less out of college, mostly due to the nature of the degrees, Gardner said.

“It’s not that the education is less valuable, they just don’t have any defined skill sets in the labor market,” Gardner said. “You think accounting or engineering, those have set career paths. With (liberal arts) it takes some planning, it takes a few different jobs. About 5-10 years out you get to see where your degree goes.”

The survey also showed that Ivy League graduates, as well as those on the West Coast, earn more on average than those in the Midwest.

Kelley Bishop, executive director of Career Services and Placement, said those regions on average get paid more to offset the cost of living.

“A lot of our finance majors go on to corporate settings as opposed to those on the East Coast, who will probably go to Wall Street,” Bishop said.

Two universities in Illinois, University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign and Northwestern University, topped the list, benefiting from their proximity to the Midwest’s largest city, Chicago.

Regardless of the major, the university tries to help students get the best salary possible, Bishop said.

One of the functions of Career Services and Placement is to help students negotiate contracts after they graduate.

“We help students to understand how the process works,” Bishop said.

“You’re about to enter a relationship you have to treat it like a relationship.”

Published on Wednesday, August 6, 2008