Cathy, 26, has wanted
to be an engineer since before she can remember.
Her father, a mechanical engineer, encouraged her to attack school projects with a systematic mindset from an early age, and she eventually followed in his footsteps, studying mechanical engineering at the University of Nairobi.
The choice has paid off. After her graduation, she took a few months off before starting a job at a leading Kenyan energy company, where she was earning nearly six figures in starting salary, she said.
While degree majors may seem irrelevant to employers who mainly want to hire young people who can think
critically and communicate well, that doesn’t mean
all majors are created equal.Her father, a mechanical engineer, encouraged her to attack school projects with a systematic mindset from an early age, and she eventually followed in his footsteps, studying mechanical engineering at the University of Nairobi.
The choice has paid off. After her graduation, she took a few months off before starting a job at a leading Kenyan energy company, where she was earning nearly six figures in starting salary, she said.
While degree majors may seem irrelevant to employers who mainly want to hire young people who can think
Engineering graduates of recent years, like Cathy, will still earn far higher salaries, on average, than the typical new graduate with another degree, according to numerous salary surveys by employers.
The average starting salary for many graduates with a degree is usually around 30,000- 40,000 Kenya shillings.
Excluding the health profession, engineers took seven of the top ten spots in a survey by payscale.com, a website where employees self report their salaries to the website. Energy and Petroleum engineers earned the most, with average starting salaries of between 70,000 to 100,000 per month.
The data reflects actual starting salaries, not offers from employers.
Other than engineering majors, the list of highly paid graduates includes computer science degree holders, management information systems/business majors, and finance majors.
However, even though engineering degrees top the list, the fields which hire the most, are disproportionately business, social sciences, education, and humanities. This means that a graduate in the business and social sciences field may actually get a job quicker, but at a much lower wage, than say an engineering graduate, who may have to wait a little longer, but get a more lucrative salary offer.
According to payscale.com, here’s the list of top 7 majors in Kenya, with starting salaries per month:
1. Energy/ Petroleum Engineering: 70,000
2. Computer Engineering: 61,000
3. Computer Science: 53,000
4. Electrical/Electronics and Communications Engineering:
50,000
5. Mechanical Engineering: 45,000
6. Management Information Systems/Business Administration/ Commerce: 40,000
7. Finance: 40,000
5. Mechanical Engineering: 45,000
6. Management Information Systems/Business Administration/ Commerce: 40,000
7. Finance: 40,000
As a caveat, the
salaries on payscale.com are self reported, which means that there might be
some minor errors. Also, the starting salaries are the average within that
industry or profession, not the highest. This means that there might be huge
variations in professions with high numbers such as business and finance, as
compared to engineering majors with much less number of professionals. Health
professions are also not included.
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