Class of 2025 engineering and business graduates at the master’s degree level are expected to see salaries climb 12.5% and 3.1%, respectively, according to results of NACE’s Winter 2025 Salary Survey.
This is welcome news as last year, both saw reduced average salary projections—engineering graduates by 3.7% and business graduates by 6.2%. (See Figure 1.)
Engineering graduates top this year’s list of average starting salaries with an overall projection of $94,086. Meanwhile, the average salary projection for business degree graduates at the master’s degree level is expected to rise to $77,632.
At $84,960, the projected average salary for computer sciences majors remains flat, ticking down less than 1% from last year. However, this group of majors remains most in-demand, as nearly one-quarter of the total respondents plan to hire them. (See Figure 2.)
The Winter 2025 Salary Survey report contains annual salary projections for Class of 2025 college graduates. The figures reported are for base salaries only and do not include bonuses, commissions, fringe benefits, or overtime rates. The report provides the detailed salary projections by academic major and degree level, along with breakouts by both industry and geographic region. Data contained in the report were obtained by surveying NACE employer members from October 7, 2024, through November 30, 2024. A total of 158 surveys were returned—a 19% response rate. NACE members can access the full report in MyNACE.
Kevin Gray is an associate editor at NACE. He can be reached at 
