Developments in Brief : It All Adds Up to Big Pay for Science Grads

Some science students, armed with only a bachelor’s degree, may trade in their caps and gowns this spring for jobs paying nearly $30,000 a year, according to an American Electronics Assn. survey of 540 member firms.

Graduating computer engineers, computer scientists and electrical engineers are the most likely to command such starting salaries at the nation’s electronic firms, the survey said. It found that firms in Northern California, home of the so-called Silicon Valley, expect to offer the highest average salary of nearly $29,600, followed by Los Angeles firms at almost $29,000 and New England firms at more than $28,000, said the association’s Celeste Mahoney.

“While some segments of the electronics industries have experienced a slowdown in the last year, it appears that electronics companies are still willing to pay top dollar to hire the newest technical graduates fresh off the nation’s college campuses,” she said.