Computer science graduates are receiving more job offers than any other job field, according to a new survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
The survey, which included more than 50,000 college students, found that more than 56 percent of computer science majors who have applied for a job have received an offer, making it the major with the highest offer rate from the class of 2011. Job offer rates for computer science graduates increased 13.8 percent since 2010, the survey found.
Computer science outpaces other in-demand fields, such as accounting (53.8 percent), economics (50.9 percent) and engineering (50 percent). Education (19.5 percent), English (23.5 percent) and health care (28.7 percent) had the weakest offer rates.
Overall, job offers for 2011 graduates are up, with 41.2 percent of graduates who have applied for jobs receiving at least one offer, compared with 38.2 percent of the class of 2010 at this time last year, NACE found.
Still, a separate NACE survey released earlier this month found that the government sector had the bleakest outlook on hiring projections, with the majority of government respondents indicating plans to cut their hiring numbers. The survey also showed computer science graduates receiving starting salaries of $63,000. Federal salaries for new grads are much lower, with General Schedule Grade 7 pay in the Washington area coming in at $42,000.
Brittany Ballenstedt
Brittany Ballenstedt writes Nextgov's Wired Workplace blog, which delves into the issues facing employees who work in the federal information technology sector. Before joining Nextgov, Brittany covered federal pay and benefits issues as a staff correspondent for Government Executive and served as an associate editor for National Journal's Technology Daily. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Mansfield University and originally hails from Pennsylvania. She currently lives near Travis Air Force Base, Calif., where her husband is stationed.
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