by Noël Rozny
myFootpath Web Editor & Content Manager
Wouldn’t it be nice if someone sat down once in awhile, analyzed all the career opportunities out there, figured out which degrees will help you get started, and put it together in a nice report to help guide your future endeavors?
Oh wait, we’ve actually got that for your right here.
The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) just released a study about the top jobs for the 2010. The summer issue of Salary Survey, NACE’s quarterly magazine, lists the ten careers offering the best starting salaries to recent graduates.
We then looked at which college degrees are the best for helping you start working towards one of NACE’s top careers and compiled them in the guide below, along with some details about each career.
College Degrees That Lead to Top Careers
Top Career #1: Financial/Treasury Analysis
Average Salary Offer:
$53,380
Degrees for a Financial Analyst Career:
Bachelor’s degree in finance, economics, business, accounting or related field.
Career details:
Let’s say you’re the head of a multi-million dollar company. You want to know how much everything in your company – your products, your stock, your employees, your personal stock of paper clops – is worth. That’s where a financial analyst comes in. These professionals monitor a company’s net worth, and use that information to help the CEO and Board make financial decisions and investments for the future.
Get Started
To learn more, visit our financial analyst career profile, or request information from one of our featured schools.
Top Career #2: Sales
Average Salary Offer:
$42,384
Degrees for a Sales Career:
Bachelor’s degree in a range of fields, from business to liberal arts
Career details:
If you were the kid who always made a killing at your curbside lemonade stand, sales might be the right job for you. Sales representatives are needed for every field imaginable, from electronics to pharmaceuticals to Tupperware. Through their exceptional social skills and their vast interpersonal networks, salespeople are the ones that can make or break a company’s new product.
Get Started
To learn more, visit our sales representative career profile, or request information from one of our featured schools.
Top Career #3: Management Trainee (Entry-Level Mgmt.)
Average Salary Offer:
$41,829
Degrees for a Management Career:
A Bachelor’s degree in business administration, finance, economics, or related field
Career details:
If Donald Trump or Richard Branson are your idols, you can start your climb to the top of the business ladder as a management trainee. Entry-level managers may not be running the company just yet, but they get their feet wet and acquire the valuable business and people skills during the first few years of employment.
Get Started
For more information, request information from one of our featured schools.
Top Career #4: Teaching
Average Salary Offer:
$33,721
Degrees for a Teaching Career:
Bachelor’s degree in education, or the subject you wish to teach
Career details:
If you think of the 5 people who had the most impact on your life, it’s likely a high school or elementary teach was one of them. If you have a love of history, science, literature, or foreign languages, becoming a teacher is a great way to pass that knowledge on to the next generation.
Get Started
For more information, see our teacher career profile, or request information from one of our featured schools.
Top Career #5: Consulting
Average Salary Offer:
$56,813
Degrees for a Consulting Career:
Bachelor’s degree in business administration, economics, finance or related field
Career Details:
As businesses grow, they need advice on how best to do so, from how to best run their day-to-day operations to how to set up computer networks to how to improve their business processes. This is where business consultants come in. This field is rapidly growing, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects especially good opportunities for those in management, scientific, and technical consulting.
Get Started
Request information from one of our featured schools.
Top Career #6 & #8 Accounting
Average Salary Offer:
$47,039 (Private)
$49,696 (Public)
Degrees for an Accounting Career:
Bachelor’s in Accounting
Career details:
Accounting is doing so well that it takes the #6 and the #8 spot on NACE’s top ten list. Accountants, whether they work for individuals or large public companies, are responsible for making sure that their employer has their books in order and that the taxes are paid.
Get Started
To learn more, visit our accounting career profile, or request information from one of our featured schools.
Top Career #7: Registered Nurse
Average Salary Offer:
$46,864
Degrees for a Nursing Career:
Associate’s, diploma, or Bachelor’s degree in Nursing
Career details:
In operating rooms, neonatal units, and trauma centers around the country, registered nurses see patients, diagnose illnesses and prescribe treatments. A nursing career offers the opportunity to go into many different branch of medicine, and advance throughout your career.
Get Started
For more information, visit our registered nurse career profile, or request information from one of our featured schools.
Top Career #9: Software Design & Development
Average Salary Offer:
$62,505
Degrees for a Software Development Career:
Bachelor’s degree in computer science, software engineering or related field.
Career details:
The apps on your iPhone. The calculator on your computer. Your web browser. All of these things, and so much more, were built by software designers and developers. As our dependence on all things electronics grows, the need for those who build our software programs will only increase.
Get Started
For more information, see our computer software engineer profile, or request information from one of the schools listed below.
Top Career #10: Field Engineering
Average Salary Offer:
$60,920
Degrees for Field Engineering Careers:
Specialized training, sometimes a Bachelor’s degree
Career details:
If you’ve ever called someone to come out and fix your office’s electrical wiring or Xerox machine, you’ve worked with a field engineer. Field engineers are sent by their employers to assist clients at home or in their offices. Field engineers are responsible for troubleshooting problems with computer systems, electronics, construction, utilities, and much more.
