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Technical Degrees Still Draw Highest Salaries

Though the technology sector has recently taken an economic downturn, the latest New York Times Job Market (NYTJM) survey reports that students graduating with technical degrees are typically offered the highest starting salaries compared to their peers holding other degrees. In order to identify current trends in on-campus recruiting, Beta Research Corp. on behalf of […]

Written By

Christopher Pace

Aug 26, 2002

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Though the technology sector has recently taken an economic downturn, the latest New York Times Job Market (NYTJM) survey reports that students graduating with technical degrees are typically offered the highest starting salaries compared to their peers holding other degrees. In order to identify current trends in on-campus recruiting, Beta Research Corp. on behalf of NYTJM interviewed more than 450 hiring managers and job seekers in the New York metropolitan region.

Students holding both undergraduate and graduate technical degrees are
offered the highest starting salaries, $38,000-$52,000 and $55,000-$78,000,
respectively.

Although graduates holding technical degrees command the
highest starting salaries, hiring managers in the New York metropolitan
region said they also are likely to recruit undergraduate students with
degrees in business, liberal arts, technical disciplines, and
communications. Among graduate students, hiring managers said they are
likely to recruit those with M.B.A. degrees and M.A./M.S. degrees.

But simply having a specific degree does not guarantee a job, according to
the hiring managers polled. There are certain key attributes that job
seekers need to possess. Topping the list in importance when hiring
undergraduate students is “demonstrating strong ethics,” followed by
“ability to multi-task” and “ability to work well in teams.”

More than half
of hiring managers also cited the importance of “being a strategic thinker”
and “willingness to do ‘grunt’ work.” When recruiting graduate students,
hiring managers say they seek functional work experience or specific
industry work experience and regard such experience as an extremely/very
important attribute in the graduate students they hire.

According to the
study, to become better job candidates in today’s competitive employment
market, hiring managers say students should take advantage of on-campus
courses, activities or programs such as internships, leadership roles in
extracurricular activities, work/study and research in fields of interest.

When asked what the most important behaviors job seekers should portray
during interviews, hiring managers cited, in order of importance, having a
positive attitude, dressing and appearing professional, making eye contact,
displaying effective communication skills and displaying confidence in their
abilities.

The study confirms that the goals of college students are in line with the
needs and desires of the tech sector. According to the survey results, job
seekers continue to believe that enrollment in a business program will help
them secure good jobs. Nearly two in five job seekers interviewed think that
recruiters are most likely to hire candidates with a business degree. A
business program is a top choice among current students and among those who
plan to enroll at a college/university during the next year.

Job seekers
also remain optimistic about companies’ demand for employees with technical
backgrounds. Nearly one-fourth of job seekers surveyed think that hiring
managers will be most likely to hire someone with a technical degree. A
technical degree is a second choice, behind business, among those currently
enrolled or who plan to enroll at a college/university during the next year.