LIVONIA – A new survey shows the three most popular
technical degrees among 168 companies, primarily auto suppliers in Southeast
Michigan, are mechanical engineers, electrical engineers and computer
scientists.
So says a new survey by the American Society of Employers
that asked questions of 168 companies, 80 percent of them located in the metro
Detroit region with an average of 760 employees. More than half of the survey
participants were classified as automotive suppliers.
“The economy is cyclical and unpredictable, and the hottest
job today may not exist four to six years from now,” said ASE President and CEO
Mary Corrado. “However, this annual survey confirms that organizations are
continuing to invest in co-ops and interns, jobs will again be available for
students with technical degrees and, regardless of industry, students need to
make sure they can adapt to different work environments.”
The top three most popular technical bachelor-degree
disciplines hired in the past year were: 1) mechanical engineering; 2)
electrical engineering; 3) computer science.
The top three most popular non-technical bachelor-degree
disciplines hired in the past year were: 1) business administration; 2)
accounting; 3) human resources/labor relations.
Of the six disciplines named above (mechanical engineering,
electrical engineering, computer science, business administration, accounting
and human resources/labor relations), the highest starting salaries went to the
engineering disciplines. Depending on the specific specialty, the starting
engineering salaries ranged from $57,000 to $63,467; computer science came in
on average at $54,495; finance at $51,038; accounting at $48,493; business
administration at $46,099; and human resources at $45,488.
Pay rates for high school and college co-ops and interns
were separated by technical and non-technical roles; the average hourly
rate for a college senior in a technical field is $17.23 an hour and $15.10 for
a non-technical field; the average hourly rate for a college junior in a
technical field is $16.02 an hour and $14. 20 for a non-technical field.
Other survey highlights include:
Three out of four (74 percent) of respondents say their
company has hired, or plans to hire, a recent college graduate in 2015.
More than half (56 percent) of those companies say hiring
practices have remained the same in 2015 as 2014.
40 percent of the companies who have hired or plan to hire a
recent graduate in 2015 have increased their hiring efforts this year.
Statistically, the top six in-state institutions the
responding companies actively recruit from are: 1) University of Michigan; 2)
Michigan State University; 3) Kettering University; 4) Oakland University ; 5)
Michigan Technological University and Wayne State University (tied)/
Automotive suppliers have increased hiring of bachelor-level
mechanical engineers, resulting in a 16 percent increase in hiring among
automotive suppliers compared to a year ago.
Candidate and Salary Trends:
The top three knowledge/skill factors organizations consider
when making hiring decisions, in order, are: 1) computer skills; 2) related
coursework (i.e., to the work required in the job); 3) work
experience/internships.
The top three shortcomings of recent college graduates are:
1) adaptability to the work environment (63 percent); 2) career expectations
(60 percent); 3) compensation expectations (51 percent).
Only 6 percent of survey respondents would pay a premium if
a graduate was from a specific school. However, when a company is willing to
pay a premium, the majority will do so for University of Michigan graduates.
