Starting salaries are exceeding new college graduates' expectations. Liberal arts graduates are earning more than they expected.
According to information from Camille Luckenbaugh, NACE employment information manager, Jonathan Grayer, President & CEO of Kaplan, and Richard Smith, Chairman & Editor-in-Chief of Newsweek, the average offers to college graduates are on the rise:
Humanities & social sciences Offer
Political science/government
$28,873
English language & literature
$27,167
Psychology
$26,545
Media/entertainment Offer
Marketing/advertising/PR Manager
$57,100
Film editors
$40,740
PR specialists/publicity writers
$36,260
Reporters & correspondents
$29,660
Announcers, radio/TV
$23,680
For Journalists, this is a very strong job market. "New media is a driving force Technology reporters, business reporters, and copy editors are in particularly high demand. The explosion of journalistic Web sites and magazines has created hundreds and hundreds of jobs over the last four years, a few paying more than $50,000 a year for beginners."
-- Ann Colamosca, "Pay for Journalists is Going Up", Columbia Journalism Review; http://www.cjr.org/year/99/4/pay.asp.
"The continued strength in the economy and the low unemployment rate mean that more employers are looking at new college graduates to fill their work needs."
-- Camille Luckenbaugh, NACE employment information manager, Starting Salary Offers, http://www.jobweb.org/pubs/pr.
A quick synopsis of today's job market reveals: "Low unemployment. Aging baby boomers. More women and minorities in the workplace, along with more part-time workers and fewer corporate-lifers. "Prepare for the next downturn, which means even generalists should arm themselves with some marketable skills. Get as much technology and financial training as possible."
-- Grayer & Smith, The Job Market at a Glance; Careers 2000.