• Introduction
• Field of Study
• 1997 Employment Status and Occupation
• Full-Time Salaries
• Job Benefits and Job Satisfaction
• Gender Differences
• References

The analysis described in this report investigates the relationship between undergraduate major and early employment outcomes among 1992–93 college graduates who did not pursue graduate education within 4 years after earning their bachelor’s degree (i.e., as of 1997). The analysis is based on the “Second Follow-up” to the 1992–93 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:93/97), which tracks students who received a bachelor’s degree in academic year 1992–93. Participants were first sampled and surveyed in their year of graduation as part of the 1993 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:93). The “First Follow-up” (B&B:93/94) was conducted 1 year later and provided additional information. In 1997 (approximately 4 years after graduation), B&B participants were contacted again, for the “Second Follow-up.” In both follow-up surveys, participants reported on many aspects of their employment.

The 1992–93 college graduates who did not pursue graduate education within 4 years after earning their bachelor’s degree represented 70 percent of all graduates, and most entered the labor market immediately after finishing their degree. These college graduates entered a labor market in the midst of an economic recovery following a 2-year recession (Mishel and Bernstein 1994, p. 13). By 1997, the economy was strong and jobs were plentiful. Four years after most earned their bachelor’s degree, nearly all college graduates who had not enrolled in graduate school were working full time. The findings of this study confirm what has been reported consistently in other studies about earnings: college graduates who major in the applied fields of engineering, business, computer science, nursing, and other health fields earn higher-than-average full-time salaries.

This study also examined other aspects of employment, including job stability, job benefits, and job satisfaction. Taking into account all these aspects along with salary, engineering and computer science stood out as the fields with the most consistent favorable employment outcomes for bachelor’s degree recipients. In contrast, education and humanities and arts majors experienced the least favorable outcomes. Graduates of nursing, business, and engineering programs experienced greater-than-average job stability.

Results were mixed for social science and biological science majors. Those in social sciences reported lower-than-average salaries in 1994, but not in 1997. The opposite was true for those majoring in biological/interdisciplinary sciences: they reported average salaries in 1994, but in 1997 their salaries were lower than average. The salaries of mathematics/physical science majors did not differ from those of all graduates in either year, nor did the rate at which their full-time salaries increased between 1994 and 1997.

By far, the most popular undergraduate field of study was business. Over one-quarter (28 percent) of 1992–93 college graduates who did not attend graduate school by 1997 had majored in a business-related field (figure A). Following business, 15 and 13 percent, respectively, had majored in social sciences or humanities and arts. Nearly 1 in 10 had majored in education (9 percent), while approximately 7 percent had majored in engineering or architecture.¹

Figure A.—Percentage distribution of major field of study for 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who had not enrolled in graduate education by 1997

Consistent with historically gender-dominated fields, men were more likely than women to major in engineering (13 vs. 2 percent), computer science (4 vs. 2 percent), and business (32 vs. 24 percent), while women were more likely than men to major in education (13 vs. 4 percent), nursing (6 vs. 1 percent), and other health fields (4 vs. 2 percent).

Business fields tended to attract older college graduates: more than one-third of graduates age 30 or older when receiving their bachelor’s degree had majored in business (35 percent), compared with just over one-quarter (27 percent) of those age 22 or younger. Asian/Pacific Islander college graduates were more likely than black, non-Hispanic graduates to favor engineering as a major. To further illustrate racial/ethnic group differences in undergraduate major, a report based on the 1992 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System “Completions Survey”(IPEDS–C:1992–93) also showed that black, non-Hispanic graduates were more likely than others to complete degrees in business management and less likely to earn degrees in education or health (Morgan and Broyles 1995).

Unemployment was not a problem for most 1992–93 college graduates who had not pursued graduate education. In 1997, within 4 years of graduating, just 2 percent were unemployed,² while almost all (86 percent) reported working full time. Compared with all graduates, business, engineering, and computer science majors were more likely to be employed full time (over 90 percent), while humanities and arts majors were less likely to work full time (79 percent).

Job stability, as measured by the percentage of graduates with any unemployment spells, the number of jobs worked since bachelor’s degree attainment, and the average number of months worked in the April 1997 job, was high for graduates who had majored in nursing, engineering, or business. Graduates in all three fields worked in fewer jobs than all graduates and had worked in their April 1997 job longer (table A). Nursing majors also were much less likely to report any spells of unemployment since earning their bachelor’s degree. Conversely, those with majors in communications/journalism or humanities and arts fields worked in more jobs since graduation and fewer months in their April 1997 job than all graduates.

Table A.—Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who had not enrolled in graduate education by 1997, the average number of jobs worked, the percentage with any unemployment, and the average number of months worked at April 1997 job, by major field of study

College graduates who had majored in applied fields³ were very likely to be employed in occupations related to their majors (table B). This was especially true for those majoring in nursing and other health fields, among whom 96 and 68 percent, respectively, were employed as medical professionals. In addition, nearly three-quarters of education majors (74 percent) worked as teachers, and 60 percent of engineering majors as engineers.⁴ Similarly, 60 percent of social work/protective service majors were working in social service fields. There was an exception to this pattern, however, for communications/journalism majors, who were more likely than graduates in any other field to be working in service occupations (33 percent).

Table B.—Percentage distribution of 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who had not enrolled in graduate school by 1997, according to their occupation in April 1997, by major field of study

For academic fields,⁵ roughly one-quarter of college graduates with majors in either biological sciences or mathematics/physical sciences were working as teachers, and roughly the same percentage in both fields worked in occupations related to research, science, or technical work. Social science majors, on the other hand, were likely to be employed in business occupations (32 percent), followed by service occupations (18 percent) and human and protective services (16 percent).

As shown in table C, college graduates with degrees in nursing or other health fields reported higher-than-average full-time salaries for their April 1994 job, compared with all graduates ($34,194 and $35,515, respectively, vs. $26,464).⁶ The same applied to those who had majored in either engineering ($32,217) or business ($29,017). In contrast, education majors had lower-than-average 1994 full-time salaries ($20,443),⁷ as did those with majors in social work/protective services ($21,328), communications/journalism ($22,170), humanities and arts ($22,359), and social sciences ($23,166).

Table C.—Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who had not enrolled in graduate education by 1997, full-time salaries in 1994 and 1997, and for those employed full time in both 1994 and 1997, the average percent increase in salary between 1994 and 1997, by major field of study

In 1997, with a few exceptions, similar salary patterns emerged. The exceptions were computer science majors, who earned a substantially higher-than-average 1997 salary ($44,624 vs. $34,310), and biological science majors, who earned a lower-than-average salary ($28,760). In addition, communications/journalism majors no longer earned lower-than-average salaries in 1997. For education majors, graduates not only reported lower-than-average salaries in both 1994 and 1997 but also experienced lower rates of salary increase than did all graduates.

With respect to their job held in April 1997, engineering majors reported very favorable outcomes and were generally very satisfied with their employment. For example, engineering was the only field in which graduates were more likely than all graduates to report that their job both required a degree and had definite career potential (54 vs. 38 percent). Engineering majors also were more likely than all graduates to report that their jobs provided health insurance, paid vacations, retirement benefits, family leave, and outside job training (table D). Computer science majors also fared well with respect to job benefits: they were more likely than all graduates to report receiving health insurance benefits, paid sick leave, paid vacation, retirement, and family leave benefits. In contrast, humanities and arts majors were less likely than all graduates to report receiving any of the benefits reported in the survey, while education majors were less likely to report working in jobs that provided paid vacations.

Table D.—Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who had not enrolled in graduate education by 1997, percentage reporting various job benefits offered at their April 1997 job, by major field of study

Few differences were found across fields of study with respect to measures of job satisfaction in April 1997 (table E). Engineering majors and health (other than nursing) majors were more likely than all graduates to report being very satisfied with pay. Conversely, education and humanities and arts majors were less likely to be very satisfied with pay. Engineering was the only field in which majors were more likely than all graduates to report high satisfaction with coworkers, while computer science was the only field in which majors reported high satisfaction with working conditions more often than all graduates. Finally, education was the only field in which majors were more likely than all graduates to report being very satisfied with the challenge the job offered.

Table E.—Among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who had not enrolled in graduate education by 1997, percentage reporting being very satisfied with various aspects of their April 1997 job, by major field of study

The findings of the study illustrated substantial gender differences in earnings among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who did not enroll in graduate school by 1997. These differences were more apparent in 1997, 4 years after most graduates had earned their bachelor’s degree, than when graduates first entered the labor market. Looking at individual fields of study, in 1994 men with majors in business, computer science, communications/journalism, and social sciences earned higher salaries than women majoring in these fields. By 1997, men earned more than women in all fields of study except engineering, health (other than nursing), and humanities and arts (figure B).

Figure B.—Average full-time salaries for men and women in 1997 among 1992–93 bachelor’s degree recipients who had not enrolled in graduate education by 1997, by major field of study

In a multivariate analysis conducted separately for men and women, several factors, including age, race/ethnicity, and work experience, were associated with women’s 1997 salaries, but not with men’s salaries. Specifically, after controlling for related variables, including major field of study, women age 30 or older when they received their bachelor’s degree earned higher salaries than women age 22 or younger at graduation, as did Asian/Pacific Islander women compared with white women, and women who did not work in any overlapping jobs compared with those who did. For men, on the other hand, only major field of study and institution attended (those attending doctoral-granting private not-for-profit institutions earned more than men in comparable public institutions) predicted their 1997 salaries. These results suggest that women may be subjected to greater scrutiny in entering and advancing in the labor market.

Finally, when asked why they took their 1997 jobs, women were more likely to report that they chose their job because it provided interesting work. In contrast, men were more likely to do so for the job’s advancement opportunities or income potential.