Graduate engineering jobs predicted to rise in 2011

If you are a graduate looking for an engineering job, 2011 could be a good year for you. According to new figures published by the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR), the number of graduate jobs with blue chip engineering companies is predicted to rise by almost one fifth this year.
Graduate engineering jobs to rise sharply

The Association of Graduate Recruiters’ Winter Review publication predicts that the number of graduate jobs with blue-chip engineering employers will rise by 19.6 per cent for the 2010–2011 recruitment season.

Graduate engineering jobs with water, utilities and energy companies are predicted to rise by 4.1 per cent, although vacancies with fast moving consumer goods companies are expected to drop by 1.1 per cent.

Graduate engineering jobs also pay higher salaries

The report also predicts a rise in engineering graduate starting salaries in 2011. The AGR predict that graduate starting salaries in AGR-affiliated industrial and engineering companies will rise by 2.3 per cent this year.

The median graduate starting salary with such companies in 2009–2010 was £24,000, with jobs in chemical and pharmaceutical companies offering a slightly higher median wage.
However, graduates have been warned that their starting salaries in engineering jobs may well be less than this median. A report compiled by the Higher Education Careers Services Unit and the

Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services called What Do Graduates Do? found that six months after graduation, the average salaries for engineers who graduated in 2009 were £22,878 (mechanical), £22,868 (civils) and £21,846 (electrical and electronics).