by Thu Nguyen

Created on: August 29, 2010

Most students finishing high school will further their qualification, working toward Bachelor's level and then go out to the work force to experience working life, using what they have learned. With that, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the highest paid jobs for students with college degrees of 2010 for graduates are:

1 - Petroleum Engineering $86,220 - Jobs like these are mostly found in Texas, Louisiana, Alaska and California. An increase in employment in this field with a growth of over 18% will continue towards 2018 as energy-efficient sources become an ongoing project.

2 - Chemical Engineering $65,142 - A decrease in this field may occur as the jump this year came from pharmaceuticals, health care, energy research, biotechnology and nanotechnology which was in demand. This is the first time jobs for students with this degree has made it to the top 5.  

3 - Mining and Mineral Engineering (including Geological) $64,552 - As energy becomes more important to the country, miners are also in demand to construct pipes and wells as well as drill for extraction. It is a dangerous position but the pursuit of it nonetheless contributes to the country's addiction to finding new energy resources.

4 - Computer Science $61,205 - Increase in this field will happen due to the expansion of software publishing companies and in particular e-commerces, information security and virtual reality. With web 2.0 becoming more about networking, information sharing will have to be much faster and withstand the heavy traffic of online endeavors.

5 - Computer Engineer $60,879 - Up to 2% in growth will happen as the competition for this field grows and keep it in-house rather than being outsourced offshore. Construction of computer parts will have to be more efficient across platforms and servers to keep up with demand.

6 - Electrical / Electronics and Communications Engineer $59,074 - While the increase will happen more in the electrical than electronics field, the increase is in part due to research in conservation of power.

7 - Medical Engineering $58,392 - This field will include both pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. Each have their specialty towards developing medicines and products to cure and treat illnesses and diseases. As the concern with health care grows, so will the need for medical engineers.

8 - Industrial / Manufacturing Engineering $57,734 - There will be a decrease in these positions as the automation of factory systems come into place. However, familiarity with operations and managing those who can program and maintain the machines will be a necessity to existing factories.

9 - Aerospace/Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering $57,231 - As flying begins to become an important part in the economy again, the construction of aircraft and space vehicles are also in need of engineers who are qualified to work in this field.

10 - Information Sciences and Systems $54,038 - These positions are always in need of applicants with companies as they rely on the expertise of up-to-date technology and programs to help them move forward in their work flow. Projections in this field will be above-average in growth by 2018.

Overall, a drop from last year, with Petroleum Engineers in particular, there was a 10% decrease in salary. While the top 5 are engineers, computer science also made it as well to the top ten but not by a long stretch as their salary too have dropped.

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