January 31, 2013

Salary Report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers


The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), Winter 2013 Salary Survey of new college graduate offers has just been released and it is very positive. This is the final overall report for 2012 hiring.

According to NACE, salaries for candidates rose 3.4% across all academic disciplines. The economy is adding jobs for new college graduates across the board. Five industries: Education; Professional, Scientific & Technical Services; Healthcare; Government; and Finance & Insurance added the most new grad jobs. More new college grads found jobs in education than in any other industry for a total of 444,500. The next top industry was Professional, Scientific and Technical Services adding 289,400 jobs in 2012. Healthcare and Social Assistance added 269,100 jobs.

Industries adding largest numbers of new college grads:
  • Education - 444,500

  • Professional, Scientific & Technical Services - 289,400

  • Healthcare - 269,100

  • Fed, State, & Local Government - 191,900

  • Finance & Insurance - 96,700


  • Although engineers find employment in all of these industries, they are primarily employed in Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services.

    The starting salaries for engineering and computer science majors are at the top of the pay scale. The numbers are up significantly for all engineering and computer science graduates due to increasing demand.

    Nationwide the 2013 over 2012 average salary results for relevant technical BS degrees found at CSUS:
  • Average salaries for CS new grads: +3.7% to $64,400 from 2012 average salaries

  • Average salaries for CE new grads: +2.5% to $57,600 from 2012 average salaries

  • Average salaries for EEE new grads: +3.8% to $62,300 from 2012 average salaries

  • Average salaries for CpE new grads: +3.8% to $70,400 from 2012 average salaries

  • Average salaries for CM new grads: +2.9% to $56,600 from 2012 average salaries

  • Average salaries for ME new grads: +4.0% to $62,900,200 from 2012 average salaries


  • The chart below shows the high, average, and low 2012 salaries for new/recent grads with BS or MS degrees in engineering and computer science. Salaries for CSUS graduates tend to run closer to the top of the chart below (and higher) due to the fact that Sacramento is in the high cost of living area of Northern California and students frequently graduate with major project and work experience.

    Other excellent sources for salary information include http://www.glassdoor.com and http://www.salary.com

    Some fields are not available due to lack of data.


    Winter 2013 National Salary Data
    Source: National Association of Colleges and Employers Salary


    Bachelors Degrees

     75th PercentileAverage25th Percentile
    CE68,10057,60046,700
    CM66,50056,60045,100
    CpE80,70070,40054,700
    CS75,10064,40050,400
    EEE74,10062,30050,500
    ME74,30062,90050,200

    Masters Degrees

     75th PercentileAverage25th Percentile
    CE***
    CpE***
    CS84,00073,70058,200
    EEE77,50066,10052,100
    ME77,00066,80053,000
    Jan 2013

    * No offers were reported for statistical analysis