slides: Central Mass Colleges With the Highest Paying Majors

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Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Monica White, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

Central Mass college students who earned engineering and technical degrees will be making much higher salaries than the rest of the Class of 2013, according to a new report by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). NACE released the numbers as part of its April 2013 Salary Survey, which takes a first look at starting salaries for this spring's graduating class.

With the list of the Top 10 highest-paying majors, GoLocalWorcester wanted to know which Central MA colleges offered the most of these high-salary majors. Worcester Polytechnic Institute was the clear winner by a landslide, offering 7 out of the 10 top-paying majors. In light of its high ranking in terms of return on investment, WPI's Senior Vice President for Enrollment and Institutional Strategy Kristin Tichenor believes that students must think ahead when making college decisions. She said in a statement, "Now, more than ever, students and parents have to consider the financial consequences of their college selection. Interest rates on some federal student loans are about to double, underscoring the importance of that decision. The outcomes for our graduates have been remarkable, year after year."

For a run-down of how many top-paying majors are offered at each Central Mass. college, look below.

Clark University takes pride in its 3/2 Engineering program, offered in conjunction with Columbia University. Students in the 3/2 program spend three years at Clark taking pre-engineering science classes and other liberal arts, humanities, and social science classes at the school, followed by two years taking advanced engineering classes at Columbia's Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science. "It's a nice way to combine a liberal arts education with an engineering degree," says Vickie Cox-Lanyon, Interim Director of Career Services at Clark. Students that graduate with degrees in Computer Science are also very successful, says Cox-Lanyon. "It's a small program, so students get individualized attention and mentoring. The faculty have connections in the industry, and often help funnel students into fantastic summer internships to prepare them for great careers."

Things might be looking up for recent grads across the board. According to the NACE's report, starting salaries rose across all professional areas–from business to health sciences, to communications, to education, humanities and social sciences–from under 2 percent to almost 10 percent. The overall starting salary is $44,928, up 5.3 percent over last year's graduates, whose realized salary was $42,666.

Find an executive summary of the NACE's report, including top-paying industries, average salaries, and top-hiring industries here. And check out which Central Mass. colleges are offering these high-paying majors.

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