Things are looking better for this year's graduating class than last year's. Employers expect to hire 5.3% more college graduates in 2010 than they did in 2009, giving the job market for college grads the best hiring outlook it has seen in nearly two years.
Preliminary reports show that the strongest areas of employment will be in Accounting, Engineering, and Retail/Wholesale as the top employers extending offers to 2010 college grads. The technical fields of Accounting and Engineering, which have traditionally been the most active in hiring recent college grads over the years, continue to see high demand.
After analyzing preliminary hiring reports, recruiting trends, and multiple employer rankings, we have ranked this year's best bets for employment.
Accounting
Accounting services firms tend to look for degrees in Finance, Business, Economics, Accounting, and Logistics/Materials Management.- Deloitte
- Ernst & Young
- Pricewaterhouse Coopers
- KPMG
- Grant Thorton
- RSM McGladrey
- Moss Adams
- Plante & Moran
- BDO Seidman
- Eisner
Engineering
Engineering services firms tend to look for degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering.- GE
- Intel
- Raytheon
- Nestle USA
- Boeing
- Entergy
- Northrop Grumman
- Lockheed Martin
- Siemens
- BAE Systems
Retail/Wholesale
Retail/wholesale trade employers tend to look for degrees in Business Administration, Business Management, and Marketing.- Target
- Macy's
- Kohl's
- Walgreens
- Amazon.com
- Sears
- Abercrombie & Fitch
- Whole Foods Market
- Wegmans Food Markets
- Nordstrom
Data and Reports analyzed for this ranking:
BusinessWeek's Best Places to Launch a Career
CERI Recruiting Trends 2009-2010 [PDF]
Fortune's 100 Best Companies To Work For
Top Cities for Finding a Job After College
Vault's Top Accounting Employers
Internships: The Best Places to Start