Employer starting salary projections for the Class of 2020 reveals that engineering, computer science, and math and sciences degrees continue to be the highest-earning bachelor’s degrees.

However, the individual average projections for these degrees appear to have leveled, according to the Winter 2020 Salary Survey published by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

Of the three disciplines mentioned above, engineering majors show the largest change in average starting salary projections. The current projection for the Class of 2020 engineering graduates is $69,961, which is up just 1.1 percent from last year’s salary projection at this time ($69,188).

For comparison, last year’s average was 4 percent higher than the average salary projection for the Class of 2018 ($66,521). Of the 14 reported individual engineering disciplines in this year’s report, chemical engineering majors are expected to be the highest-paid ($73,719).

Although petroleum engineering majors typically earn the top spot, this particular field had just one reported projection ($106,800).

In last year’s winter report, Class of 2019 graduates were projected to earn an average starting salary ($67,539) that was 2.3 percent higher than that for the Class of 2018 ($66,005).

Of the three reported computer-related disciplines, computer science majors continue to have the highest salary projection ($68,668), which is up 0.8 percent over last year’s projection ($68,103). The remaining two disciplines— information sciences and software applications—have slightly lower projections. While the average projected salary for information sciences graduates ($65,690) is down 1.5 percent and the average projection for software applications ($67,638) is down 0.1 percent, these two majors are following larger gains in salary projections last year.

What Do Employers Want?

Employers responding to the Job Outlook survey also said college students seeking employment after graduation should be sure to craft a well-written resume.

Problem-solving skills and an ability to work as part of a team are also highly desired, said employers participating in the NACE Job Outlook survey. Initiative, analytical skills, and a strong work ethic were also cited by more than 70 percent of respondents as key.