Top 10 Jobs for the Class of 2008
Nathan Lippe, Senior Career Adviser for CBcampus.com
Copyright 2008 CareerBuilder, LLC – Reprinted with permission
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:
- Financial analyst
Major: Business administration
Median annual salary: $66,590*
Projected job growth: 34 percent
Jobs created: 75,000
- Computer systems analysts
Major: Information sciences and systems
Median annual salary: $69,760
Projected job growth: 29 percent
Jobs created: 146,000
- Computer systems software engineers
Major: Computer science
Median annual salary: $85,370
Projected job growth: 28 percent
Jobs created: 99,000
- Accountants
Major: Accounting
Median annual salary: $54,630
Projected job growth: 18 percent
Jobs created: 226,000
- Civil Engineers
Major: Engineering
Median annual salary: $68,600
Projected job growth: 18 percent
Jobs created: 46,000
- Marketing managers
Major: Advertising or journalism
Median annual salary: $98,720
Projected job growth: 14 percent
Jobs created: 24,000
- Financial managers
Major: Finance
Median annual salary: $90,970
Projected job growth: 13 percent
Jobs created: 64,000
- Chemical engineers
Major: Engineering
Median annual salary: $78,860
Projected job growth: 8 percent
Jobs created: 2,400
- Electrical engineers
Major: Engineering
Median annual salary: $75,930
Projected job growth: 6 percent
Jobs created: 9,600
- 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.