Comp Sci graduate prospects improve, but still below average

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 12 December 2006 18:29

IT Industry - Market

Employment levels for graduates in IT-related subjects is improving, according to the 2006 Australian Graduates' Survey. That said, the 78.8 per cent employment figure for computer scientists is still below the national average (82.4 percent) despite a 5.1 percentage point improvement on last year.

Early analysis by Graduate Careers Australia shows that if Computer Science students do manage to get a job, they'll likely be paid a little more than most - their average of $42,000 compares favourably with the $40,000 average for all graduates aged under 25 and in their first full-time jobs.

But when it comes to earning power, a degree isn't what it was. That average salary is just 79.7 per cent of average weekly earnings, the second lowest since the series started in 1977. The lowest, in case you're wondering, was 79.6 percent in 1995.

Predictably, the highest starting salaries are still to be found in dentistry ($68,000), optometry ($51,200) and medicine ($48,000).