Average Starting Salary Up for College Class of 2011

According to the Winter 2012 Salary Survey report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), the college Class of 2011 earned a higher average starting salary than the Class of 2010.

Overall, graduates who earned bachelor’s degrees in 2011 began their first post-college job with an average salary of $41,701, a 2.3 percent increase over the average salary for the Class of 2010. Average salaries grew across several concentrations, albeit modestly for most.

Graduates in engineering and computer science had the highest overall average starting salary, while the latter saw the largest overall increase from 2010 at 4.1 percent.

The average starting salary for 2011 computer science graduates was $60,594, more than $2,000 more than the Class of 2010. Engineering graduates had the highest overall average starting salary at $61,872.

Class of 2011 business graduates, including accounting majors, saw their average starting salary increase to $48,144, a 3.8 percent increase.