Shawn VanDerziel, NACE's president and CEO
The annual salary projection survey reveals an uneven landscape for the Class of 2025, with some disciplines seeing modest increases while others face declining salary offers. The projected changes range from a 2.8% increase for agriculture and natural resources graduates to a 3.6% decrease for those with social sciences degrees.
Despite the mixed salary outlook, the overall job market for new graduates appears robust. Employers plan to hire 7.3% more graduates from the Class of 2025 compared to last year's class, according to Shawn VanDerziel, NACE's president and CEO.
“This hiring increase hints at the overall health of the current job market for college graduates,” VanDerziel said.
Engineering graduates continue to command the highest starting salaries, with projections up 2.6% to an average of $78,731. Within engineering disciplines, computer engineering ($82,565) and software engineering ($82,536) top the list with projected increases of 6.5% and 5.8%, respectively.
Computer sciences majors also remain in a strong position with stable projections averaging $76,251, a 2% increase from last year. All reported computer science specialties are expected to see higher salaries.
Business graduates can expect average starting salaries of $65,276, up 2.1% from last year. This increase may reflect high employer demand, as finance majors tie with computer science for the most in-demand bachelor's degrees—both sought by 67.1% of surveyed employers.
Half of the top ten most sought-after bachelor's degrees fall within business fields, underscoring the continued market value of business education.
The outlook for master's degree holders shows significant improvement over last year, particularly for engineering graduates, who can expect an average salary of $94,086—representing a substantial 12.5% increase after last year's decline.
Business master's graduates should see a 3.1% increase to $77,632, rebounding from a 6.2% drop in projections for the previous year. Computer sciences master's degrees remain highly competitive at $84,960, though slightly down from last year.
Math and sciences graduates, while seeing a slight decrease of nearly 2% in projected salaries, still maintain the third-highest average at $69,709.
Social sciences majors face the steepest projected decline at 3.6%, though the report did not specify the average salary figure for this discipline.
The Winter 2025 Salary Survey compiled responses from 158 NACE employer members surveyed between October and November 2024. The data includes only base salary projections and does not account for bonuses, commissions, benefits, or overtime rates.
For students navigating the transition from college to career, these projections offer valuable insight into which fields currently command premium compensation in the entry-level job market.
