Job Outlook Brighter for Liberal Arts Graduates, Recruiting Survey Finds

Job prospects haven’t been this good for liberal arts graduates in years.

Liberal arts graduates can expect to be more fervently sought after this year and to be offered better salaries, according to the 30th annual recruiting trends survey conducted by the Collegiate Employment Research Institute at Michigan State University.

Among the reasons: The earlier-than-predicted retirements of the oldest baby boomers have created job openings of all kinds.

Also, with the high-tech industry booming, employers in recent years have changed their attitudes about liberal arts majors, according to Terri LaMarco, associate director for employer relations at the University of Michigan.

“I think what they are seeing is that liberal arts majors can fill some of the positions that used to be considered technical,” LaMarco said. For example, they can be trained to do programming, she said.

A total of 380 employers, primarily in manufacturing and professional services sectors, responded to the survey.

Engineering and computer science graduates, who have had it good for several years, will continue to have it good, according to the survey.

They will still land at the top of the pay scale with starting salaries between $45,000 and $50,000. Programmers will be in particular demand: Their starting salaries are expected to increase 5% this year, to $43,700.

Liberal arts majors will see their average starting salaries push into the lower $30,000s.