Twenty-one-year-old Ryan DeJesus’ dream job is to design unmanned aerial vehicles.
“Some engineers can go to Wall Street and become investment bankers,” said the UF computer engineering junior. “The opportunities that are open to me are so vast.”
Engineers had the highest starting salaries, making $61,913, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers survey for 2012 college graduates starting salaries.
Computer science graduates were the next highest, followed by business and health science alumni.
Paul Rocha, an undergraduate academic adviser for computer engineering students, said a rebounding economy has raised the demand for computer engineers.
From mobile banking to apps that let consumers check weekly supermarket ads, computer engineers are getting a leg up in the technology industry.
Last semester, UF computer engineering seniors received about two job offers each, Rocha said.
Humanities and social sciences earn an average salary of $36,988, according to the survey.
Stephanie Smith, a UF undergraduate coordinator and associate chair for the English department, said an engineering degree doesn’t equal a successful job.
English majors are increasingly being hired to translate the jargon prose of engineers into simpler terms, Smith said.
“You can’t do any of the STEMs without being able to think and speak clearly,” she said. “Every big corporation has internal modes of communications that have to be accessible.”
Daniella Alonso, an 18-year-old UF exploratory freshman, plans on using her visual arts and sciences electives to enhance her future career as a psychiatrist.
“Once you have art, it’s a tool,” Alonso said. “Everything coming out through your drawing is subconscious, whether you know it or not.”
