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| Table 41. Employment sector and median salary of full-time employed recent graduates with bachelor's degrees in science, engineering, or health, by major field of degree: October 2010 |
| (Dollars) |
| Major field | All full-time employed | Educational institutiona | Governmentb | Private industry and businessc | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median salary | SE | Median salary | SE | Median salary | SE | Median salary | SE | |
| All fields | 42,000 | 500 | 38,000 | 500 | 45,000 | 500 | 43,000 | 2,000 |
| Science | 36,000 | 500 | 36,000 | 3,500 | 40,000 | 3,000 | 35,000 | 1,500 |
| Biological/ agricultural/ environmental life sciences | 35,000 | 500 | 35,000 | 2,500 | 34,000 | 4,000 | 35,000 | 2,000 |
| Agricultural/ food sciences | 37,000 | 4,000 | 33,000 | 9,000 | 31,000 | 12,000 | 37,000 | 5,000 |
| Biological sciences | 35,000 | 500 | 35,000 | 2,000 | 34,000 | 7,000 | 34,000 | 2,500 |
| Environmental life sciences | 33,000 | 4,000 | D | D | 33,000 | 6,500 | 32,000 | 6,500 |
| Computer/ information sciences | 50,000 | 1,500 | 49,000 | 1,000 | 49,000 | 6,500 | 52,000 | 5,500 |
| Mathematics/ statistics | 39,000 | 1,000 | 37,000 | 2,500 | 39,000 | 9,000 | 42,000 | 8,000 |
| Physical and related sciences | 38,000 | 3,500 | 36,000 | 2,000 | 40,000 | 1,000 | 39,000 | 1,000 |
| Chemistry, except biochemistry | 36,000 | 2,500 | 36,000 | 3,000 | 39,000 | 3,000 | 35,000 | 1,500 |
| Earth/ atmospheric/ ocean sciencesd | 39,000 | 4,500 | 35,000 | 2,000 | 40,000 | 12,500 | 39,000 | 5,500 |
| Physics/ astronomy | 48,000 | 2,000 | 35,000 | 9,500 | 48,000 | 500 | 51,000 | 3,500 |
| Psychology | 30,000 | 500 | 32,000 | 1,500 | 31,000 | 2,500 | 30,000 | 500 |
| Social and related sciences | 35,000 | 500 | 34,000 | 2,000 | 40,000 | 500 | 35,000 | 500 |
| Economics | 45,000 | 1,000 | D | D | 49,000 | 3,500 | 45,000 | 500 |
| Political and related sciences | 34,000 | 1,000 | 33,000 | 4,500 | 35,000 | 1,500 | 33,000 | 7,000 |
| Sociology/ anthropology | 34,000 | 2,500 | 35,000 | 1,500 | 34,000 | 1,500 | 30,000 | 4,500 |
| Other social sciences | 33,000 | 4,500 | 29,000 | 4,500 | 48,000 | 5,000 | 31,000 | 5,000 |
| Engineering | 58,000 | 500 | 30,000 | 5,500 | 57,000 | 2,000 | 59,000 | 1,000 |
| Chemical engineering | 65,000 | 1,500 | D | D | 55,000 | 500 | 65,000 | 1,500 |
| Civil/ architectural engineering | 53,000 | 1,500 | D | D | 52,000 | 3,000 | 54,000 | 500 |
| Electrical/ computer engineering | 62,000 | 1,500 | D | D | 64,000 | 2,000 | 62,000 | 4,000 |
| Industrial engineering | 58,000 | 1,500 | D | D | 57,000 | 7,500 | 58,000 | 2,000 |
| Mechanical engineering | 58,000 | 500 | D | D | 58,000 | 4,500 | 58,000 | 500 |
| Other engineering | 58,000 | 2,000 | S | S | 56,000 | 1,000 | 59,000 | 1,000 |
| Health | 49,000 | 1,500 | 44,000 | 1,000 | 51,000 | 6,500 | 50,000 | 1,000 |
| D = suppressed to avoid disclosure of confidential information. S = suppressed for reliability; coefficient of variation exceeds publication standards. SE = standard error. |
| a Educational institution includes elementary and secondary schools, 2-year and 4-year colleges and universities, medical schools, university-affiliated research organizations, and all other educational institutions. |
| b Government includes local, state, and federal government; military; and commissioned corps. However, it does not include those reported as educational institutions. |
| c Private industry and business includes all private for-profit and private not-for-profit companies, businesses, and organizations, except those reported as educational institutions. It also includes persons reporting they were self-employed. |
| d Other physical sciences is included in earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences. |
| NOTES: Salaries are rounded to the nearest $1,000. Standard errors for salaries are rounded up to the nearest $500. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. Estimates are from recent college graduates who received bachelor's or master's degrees in science, engineering, or health fields in the 2008 and 2009 academic years; estimates may differ from degree counts published elsewhere. Salary data are for principal job only. Full-time employed persons are those working at least 35 hours per week at their principal jobs. Self-employed persons and full-time students are excluded from salary data. |
| SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, National Survey of Recent College Graduates, 2010. |
| Data from survey cycle 2010, as of September 19, 2012. |
