College Graduates Expectations Differ According to Gender

Males who are graduating from college have expectations of making more money than women do according to a survey done by Duquesne University researchers.

In the third year of the 2010 Collegiate Seniors’ Economic Expectation Research (SEER) Survey and Index the gap in expected earnings has widened more than in previous years.

Nearly 800 students from 49 states were surveyed. Sixty percent of the females surveyed expected to earn $30,000 or less in their first year after graduation from college, compared with only 27 percent of the males polled.

A likely reason for the different expectations may be the academic majors of the students. Females tend to study liberal arts, social sciences and nursing. Men tend to study economics, computer science, mathematics and engineering. Those are generally more financially lucrative fields.