Shift in interests, slow economy causes dip in starting salaries for class of '02

"New Grads Faced Higher Competition, Lower Compensation." So reads the message that has been blazing across the Career Services website since the start of the school year.

A recent survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers reported that starting salaries for last year's graduates dropped, for the most part, across the board in three categories: business, engineering and the liberal arts.

Starting salaries in business, according to the NACE survey, dropped 4.24 percent on average. Engineering salaries dropped 1.68 percent. And salaries in the liberal arts fields dropped 5.72 percent on average.

In keeping with the national trend, members of the University's Class of 2002 are making 3.3 percent less money than the Class of 2001, said Becky Ross, associate director of Career Services.

The mean starting salary for the Class of 2002 for those employed in full-time, continuing positions is $49,082.

Ross attributed the 3.3 percent drop not to the economy, but rather to a different distribution of career choices than the University had ever seen before. Graduates were inspired by Sept. 11 to take more jobs in public works, social service and in the government — lower paying jobs — as opposed positions in baking and consulting.

But Beverly Hamilton-Chandler, Career Services director, attributed the national drop in starting salaries to the current economic pinch, causing many employers to "hire fewer applicants.

"The current economic conditions have caused many organizations to scale back their hiring goals and the decreased demand," she said. "With an increased applicant pool, salaries in many industries will not increase at the rate that they have in the past."

"As further cost-cutting measures, many organizations will also reduce the number of perks that they offer," she said.

Chris Karr '02, who works for Northwestern University as a technology specialist, said his experience has been exceptional, largely because he did not pursue employment in the private sector.

Other recent graduates have not been affected by economic troubles. Instead, they noticed a greater challenge when it comes to simply getting hired.

"It still seems to be very bad for those just entering the job market," said Karr, who earns $50,000 per year and benefits. "I only have a handful of friends that are actually pursuing a job at this point rather than going to graduate school, doing volunteer work or staying at home."

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Rakesh Satyal '02, who works for Random House Books, said companies tend to keep base salaries steady to lure the most qualified candidates.

"What is lower is not base salaries, but simply the number of people being hired. Even in times like these when we are in the midst of an economic recession, there is still competition among companies for the strongest applicants," Satyal said. "It is less an issue of lower base salary and more of an issue which candidates will make the narrower cut."

This is not encouraging for seniors who, while finding senior thesis advisers, are refining their resumes for today's career fair in Dillon Gym.

But Hamilton-Chandler maintains that students can maximize their chances by working with Career Services.

"Now is the time to become proactive and seize every opportunity to network with employers," she said.

About 700 organizations will be attending the career fair this year including The Walt Disney Company, Abercrombie and Fitch, Teach for America, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Peace Corps, Council on International Educational Exchange and Fund for Public Interest Research.