When it came to choosing her major, Urvi Purohit wasn’t thinking about her future income.

But according to the Job Outlook 2005 survey released Friday by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the McCormick sophomore should fare well after graduation. With a double degree in biomedical engineering and economics, Purohit ranks among the job market’s top commodities when it comes to finding employment.

“I didn’t know (biomedical engineering) grads made so much money,” said Purohit, who learned of some starting salaries for graduating engineers after she was accepted into the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. “I thought, ‘Oh, that’s a good major that I picked.'”

The survey lists 10 top majors that 254 surveyed employers across the nation said they were likely to hire. Lucrative degrees included fields in engineering, business and computer sciences.

When it comes to starting salary, engineering majors lead the ranks with an average of about $53,000 out of college, according to an NACE salary survey released last September.

Those numbers give students such as Purohit an extra boost of confidence when it comes to approaching the job market.

“Everybody is freaking out about getting jobs when you graduate,” said Purohit. “Going out with one of the most highly demanded fields, you have a one-up on everybody else around you.”

Engineering’s lure of ample salary and job security also can be a distraction for engineering majors with other career ambitions.

McCormick sophomore Neel Naik plans to pursue medical school after he graduates with a degree in biomedical engineering. He doesn’t deny the temptation to launch into the workforce, though, especially with the prospect of a comfortable lifestyle.

“While you’re in medical school spending $50,000 to work extremely hard, all your friends are going to be making $50,000 and having the time of their lives,” Naik said.

But Naik’s passion for becoming a doctor — a career which, he said, suits his interests perfectly — keeps him focused.

Some other students agreed with Naik about the importance of letting their interests guide their career paths.

Though senior Erika Warren decided to pick up a communication studies major and business institutions minor to prepare herself for a job in sports management, she didn’t let her career goal stop her pursuit of a second major in art.

A business institutions minor will give her some sense of security in the job search, but she said art will also be an asset.

“There’s a million business majors here and a million communication majors here,” said Warren. “Having art will set me apart.”

Lonnie Dunlap, University Career Services director, supports that notion.

Dunlap said a student’s major doesn’t determine occupation. Students can go a variety of directions with the same degree and having a degree from NU is a selling-point for many employers, she said.

That’s good news for Weinberg sophomore Nayna Gupta. This year, she changed her major from economics — one of the most lucrative — to history, a field in which starting salaries decreased by 4.8 percent in 2004.

Gupta grappled with parental and societal pressures when making her decision.

But she chose to pursue what interested her, and hasn’t regretted it. After being a history major for a quarter, Gupta said she is “10 times happier” with history than she was with economics last year.

“Definitely if you do econ here you’ll have people lined up to give you jobs,” Gupta said. “But that doesn’t mean being any other major closes off opportunities.”

Students such as Gupta, who pursue their interests, are well on the path to success, Dunlap said. Salary should be only one of many factors to consider when choosing a career.

“NU is unique because all of our fields are so strong,” Dunlap said. “Students are smart here and they don’t choose fields based on highest salary.”

Weinberg sophomore Bill Godley is one of those students. Godley, who has not yet selected a major, said salary won’t affect his choice of degree.

“It’s only money,” he said.

Reach Francesca Jarosz at [email protected].

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Hot jobs, salaries don’t dictate major selection

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QUICK FACT:

 The Job Outlook 2005 survey revealed that degrees in engineering, business and computer sciences leading to lucrative jobs.