Only an estimated 27% of recent college graduates are in jobs that correspond to their major, according to 2013 research compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In addition, 38% of college graduates in the US work in jobs that do not even require a college education. The probability of US college graduates finding jobs related to their majors increases by close to 10% if they live in major metropolitan areas. Having a college degree has been found to significantly improve the likelihood of having a job--the unemployment rate for recent college graduates in 2013 was 3.3%, compared to 12% for those with just high school diplomas.
More about recent college graduates:
- Engineering majors and computer science majors make the highest average starting annual salaries, at nearly $70,000 US Dollars (USD), while education majors bring in closer to $30,000 USD on average.
- Healthcare related majors typically have the lowest unemployment rate for recent graduates, at an estimated 2% in 2012.
- Less than half of freshman who enrolled in college in 2006 had graduated by 2012.