Certain College Degrees and More in Demand than Others for Employers

Which college degrees do employers want most?

Let's look to the National Association of Colleges and Employers' (NACE) "Job Outlook 2012" survey for clues. The annual survey is a forecast of employers' intentions to hire new college graduates.

According to a report from Yahoo! Education, "In some cases companies are looking for a specific skill set unique to a position," says Andrea Koncz, employment information manager at NACE. "Computer science, for example, requires a specific technical knowledge."

1.Business Administration - If you're interested in earning an in-demand degree that can help you learn about business policy and strategy, a bachelor's degree in business administration could be a great option. NACE's Job Outlook 2012 survey found that 48.5 percent of employers who responded to the survey plan to hire business majors, many of whom might study topics like accounting, marketing, human resources, and law.

2.Engineering - Do you like to figure out how things are built and what makes certain things run? Consider pursuing an engineering bachelor's degree, which is a hot hiring field, according to NACE's Job Outlook survey. Of the surveyed employers, 51.5 percent plan to hire electrical engineering grads; 50 percent anticipate hiring mechanical engineering grads; and 43.3 percent have plans to hire computer engineering grads.

3.Computer & Information Sciences - Computer science bachelor's degree graduates are in luck. Their tech-savvy skills are appealing to many employers, according to the Job Outlook survey. Computer science majors, who usually study technical subjects like computer programming, operating systems, and database or software engineering, are expected to have a great hiring year, with 59.3 percent of surveyed employers planning to hire them.

4.Accounting - Do you want to pursue an in-demand degree that can help hone your all-about-numbers talents? If so, consider earning a bachelor's degree in accounting. Accounting majors, who usually study topics like accounting basics, computer skills, and document processing, have a bright 2012 outlook, with 59.3 percent of surveyed employers planning to take on these graduates this year.
 5.Economics - Want to figure out why the economy is in such a rut? A bachelor's degree in economics might help you form some hypotheses. And to top it off, it's also a popular degree among employers.