10 top-paying college degrees for 2012 graduates

(MoneyWatch) New college graduates who received technical degrees are once again getting the highest paying jobs, but 2012 graduates overall enjoyed a salary boost over the previous class.

Salaries for 2012 grads with bachelor's degrees rose 3.4 percent over what 2011 graduates were making, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). The average 2012 graduate with a job was earning $44,455, versus $42,987 for the previous class.

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Among broad academic categories, education majors enjoyed the biggest salary boost, at 5.4 percent, with the average salary at $40,668. The highest-paying industry for 2012 graduates was mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction. Employers in this industry offered starting salaries that averaged $59,400.

Top 10 highest paying degrees

Here are the top-paying college degrees, along with the average starting salary they draw, as ranked by the NACE:

- Computer engineering, $70,400
- Chemical engineering, $66,400
- Computer science, $64,400
- Aerospace engineering, $64,000
- Mechanical engineering, $62,900
- Electrical/Electronics and communications engineering, $62,300
- Civil engineering, $57,600
- Finance, $57,300
- Construction science/management, $56,600
- Information sciences and systems, $56,100

As usual, engineering dominated the best-paying college degree list. As a group, engineering majors saw a 3.9 percent increase in their average starting salaries over those in the previous graduating class. Aerospace engineers enjoyed the largest boost. with average starting salaries jumping 8.3 percent to $64,000.

While it's tempting for students to aim for the best-paying majors, there is a good reason why these jobs pay so well. Few students actually have the academic smarts to major in a so-called STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) field.

NACE compiled the salary numbers using data from the U.S .Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census Bureau and  Job Search Intelligence.

[sabniz]

yep, engineering/IT majors are for really smart/intelligent people, and they will be well rewarded for their careers.

[femalestemstudent]

Many students and their families don't know this, but the students who appear to have above-average abilities in the STEM subjects often have actually received continuous exposure to these subject areas from early childhood onward. I know this from personal experience and observation.
By taking advantage of a child's natural curiosity and answering their questions about scientific, mathematical, and engineering-related (e.g. "how does this work")questions, astute parents can give their children invaluable pre-academic exposure to these sujects, which then makes learning the subjects in high school and college so much easier.
Parents should also promote their children's reading of textbooks, online information (ie. Wikipedia), and other academic resources (easily-available bookstore books on advanced high school and college math, sciences, economics, and statistics) during latter elementary school, junior high, and high school, even though their children's classes may not yet have reached these levels of difficulty in these subjects.
Another good idea: buy a used set of quality encyclopedias and encourage children to read through them for fun. I did as a child.
And pay attention to writing, editing, and term paper research skills. Schools today fall far short of teaching students university-level reading, research, and writing skills. Truly master these skills and you will get better grades with less time and stress spent preparing your papers!
Hire a good private tutor, if you can. Check with the graduate departments at local universities for grad students who have taught undergrad students before in English or rhetoric. Ask them to read past and current papers and work with you on improving your writing.
Do this also for the STEM subjects, and ask these grad students to bring old final exams to use for practice.
I can't emphasize enough how helpful pre-studying challenging course materials is for enabling students to perform at top levels, along with the students everyone assumes are geniuses.
Good luck and get studying!