Employers Target Finance Grads Over Engineering in 2026

Finance tops employers’ 2026 hiring plans for bachelor’s graduates, edging out engineering majors, according to the latest Winter 2026 Salary Survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

Released February 12, 2026, the survey showed that 61.3% of responding employers plan to hire finance majors at the highest rate among listed bachelor’s degrees in 2026. 

Mechanical engineering matches finance at 61.3%, placing both majors at the top of the list.

Computer science follows at 60%. Accounting and business administration or management each register 58.7%, according to the same survey data.

Further down the ranking are electrical engineering at 51.3%, information sciences and systems at 48%, logistics and supply chain at 44.7%, marketing at 44%, and human resources at 40%.

These are the top 10 most in-demand bachelor’s degrees based on the mentioned career survey:

Higher starting pay, except for Social Sciences

The same NACE report also projected higher starting pay for several bachelor’s disciplines in 2026. Computer sciences had the highest projected average starting salary among broad categories at $81,535, up 6.9% from the prior year projection. 

Engineering averaged $81,198, up 3.1%, while business averaged $68,873, up 5.5%. 

Social sciences was the only broad category in the executive summary showing a projected decline, down 1.7% to $66,155.

Within engineering, petroleum engineering had the highest projected average starting salary at $100,750, according to the report.

By position

The NACE survey report also broke out projected pay by job position. Among bachelor’s level roles, physical scientists led at $82,766, followed by computer occupations at $82,194 and engineering positions at $80,167. Office and administrative support was projected at $64,289.

For BPOs and offshore delivery leaders, this mix of demand and projected pay points to continued competition for finance, accounting, and technology talent that also supports global shared services work.