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Business administration, engineering, marketing, management and information systems top the list as the most popular majors held by recent college graduates being hired for entry-level jobs, according to CollegeGrad.com's June 2011 top entry-level employers survey (www.collegegrad.com, 2011).  (CollegeGrad.com is owned by Schools.com's parent site, QuinStreet.)
 
The study found that entry-level job placement at the companies polled is up by 22 percent, with Enterprise Rent-A-Car hiring the most grads (8,500), up from 8,000 the year before. Second is Teach for America (4,925), followed by Verizon Wireless (4,250), Hertz (4,000) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (3,938).  
 
Employers were asked to report the most popular majors of the entry-level candidates they hire, and the findings reveal that the areas of study lean heavily toward business and the sciences.

The results show that the most popular undergraduate majors across all industries are as follows:

1. Business Administration – 14.7%

2. Engineering – 13.0%

3. Marketing – 11.0%

4. Management – 8.7%

5. Information Systems/MIS – 7.8%

6. Banking/Finance – 7.5%

7. Communication – 6.9%

8. Computer Science – 6.6%

9. Accounting – 5.8%

10. Mathematics – 3.5%

11. Other – 14.5%

For the top five employers, the most popular majors of entry-level employees, according to the CollegeGrad survey, and estimated salaries for associated positions, from job site Glassdoor.com, are below. Hiring numbers are for 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively.

1. Enterprise Rent-A-Car  

Hires: 8,000; 8,000; 8,500

Majors:  Marketing, Management, Hospitality/Hotel/Rest. Mgmt., Business Administration, Communications

Average salary for management trainee, $31,635; for management assistant, $32,351; assistant store manager, $36,405; manager assistant, $31,965; staff accountant, $38,812

 2.Teach For America

Hires: 4,000; 4,500; 4,925

Majors: History, Psychology, Communications, Biology/Biological Science, Sociology/Social Work

Average salary for teachers, $42,451; average salary for marketing associate, $42,792

3.Verizon Wireless

Hires: 13,198; 10,500; 4,250

Majors: Marketing, Liberal Arts/Art/Music, Management, Business Administration, Information Systems/MIS

Average salary for software engineer, $87,712; retail sales rep, $31,568; customer service rep, $30,536; engineer systems, $80,680; business account exec, $48,717; account exec, $42,731; analyst, $50,681

4.Hertz

Hires: 3,000; 3,500; 4,000

Majors: Business Administration, Management, Information Systems/MIS, Hospitality/Hotel/Rest. Mgmt., Accounting

Average salary for accountant, $42,158; management trainee, $26,673; programmer analyst, $61,275; business analyst, $48,000; internal auditor, $40,026

5.PricewaterhouseCoopers

Hires: 1,464; 1,440; 3,938

Majors:  Accounting, Finance/Banking, Information Systems/MIS, Math/Actuarial/Statistics, Computer Science

Average salary for tax associate, $59,807; audit associate, $54,004; accountant, $51,000; business analyst, $69,040; staff accountant, $49,750; transaction services associate, $59,000

 For related news and other coverage from Schools.com, see:

• CollegeGrad.com Survey: Entry-level hires jump 22% from 2010 to 2011
• CollegeGrad.com Survey: Top 5 employers for college-level grads
• Twelve jobs that pay well and don't require a four-year degree 
• Degree decisions: How to choose a college major (infographic)