For students graduating in the spring, early indications for 2006 show the job market is improving for most college degrees.

So far this academic year, college students in most majors are seeing increases in both starting salaries and job availability, according to a survey published by the National Association of Colleges & Employers (NACE).

"Starting in 2004, we started to see salaries rise again," Andrea Koncz, employment information manager for NACE, said. "In 2002 and 2003 we saw a lot of decreases because of the economy, but it's really good news that we're continuing to see increases."

Jack Rayman, Penn State director of Career Services, said Penn State contributes to the NACE report every year. He said the national results are very close to the results Penn State students see each year.

"If anything, we might be slightly higher," he said.

Rayman said while this year's report is promising for students, it is not surprising.

"Year in and year out what you will find is that engineering and technical fields command higher starting salaries, and that's been true for almost forever," he said.

For the 2006 academic year thus far, the top three starting salaries all came from engineering degrees. Chemical engineering garnered the top salary overall, with $55,900 and a 4.2 percent increase from 2005.

Both accounting and economics degrees saw drastic increases in starting salaries from 2005, up 8.2 percent and 11 percent, respectively.

While liberal arts majors saw an increase of 6.1 percent, they still made up the lowest average starting salary with $30,828.

The study polled 83 public and private schools across the country.

Rayman said students should be careful to remember that while this study provides information on starting salaries, it does not account for salary increases over time.

"People with liberal arts majors start out on the lower end, but they can continue on to get MBAs [Masters in Business Administration] or law degrees," he said. "Salaries will always change as the degree gets higher."

For many Penn Students, the NACE study held true in their own job-hunting experiences.

Lauren Davis (senior-accounting) already has a job lined up and is starting in the summer.

She said from her own experience, accounting has been a good major when it comes to finding a job.

"I knew that it was one of the higher paid jobs for students," she said. "When I started to get job offers, it proved to be true."

Davis said the job market is especially ripe for accounting majors because of new auditing regulations put in place by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The act imposes financial reporting requirements for companies within the United States.

"They have been adding new auditing regulations, so the job market is great for students because they are hiring double the amount they used to," she said.

Nick Kristobak (senior-mechanical engineering) said his engineering degree has made his job-hunting process much easier, especially compared to his friends in other majors.

"I have friends who are going to be teachers who are starting out at 25 or 30 thousand [dollars a year]," he said.

Kristobak said he started looking for jobs and has found the market was good for most engineering majors looking for employment.

"I couldn't even tell you how many interviews I've had," he said. "I'd definitely say that it's a good place to be, at least for right now."