College Degrees With the Highest Starting Salaries

A new salary survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) has some good news for 2013 college graduates. The average starting salary for 2013 grads earning bachelor’s degrees has risen to $45,000, up 5.3% from the average starting salary for the class of 2012. (I’ve rounded NACE’s numbers to the nearest $1,000).

“The sizable gains in several disciplines—particularly in health sciences and business—have helped to drive up the average starting salary for the class of 2013,” said NACE Executive Director Marilyn Mackes in a statement.

Health sciences grads are enjoying the biggest increase, 9.4%, over 2012, with a starting salary of $50,000.The gain for business majors is 7.1%, bringing the average salary for the discipline to $54,000. Salaries are also increasing for education and computer science grads. Education majors are making $40,000, 5.1% more than in 2012, and computer science grads are earning $60,000, a 4.3% hike from 2012.

Though salaries for engineers didn’t increase as much as salaries for other specialties, engineering is still the top-earning degree, with an average 2013 starting salary of $63,000. That’s up 4% from 2012. Computer science majors come in second. Business majors make the third-highest salaries at $54,000.

As they did last year, humanities and social science majors make the least, with average 2013 starting salaries of $37,000. The major also has the smallest increase from 2012, just 1.9%.

Here is a list of average starting salaries by discipline:

Engineering                                        $63,000
Computer Science                             $60,000
Business                                              $54,000
Communications                               $43,000
Math & Sciences                               $42,700
Education                                          $40,000
Humanities & Social Sciences         $37,000

20 Real Tips for College Freshmen

Entering College can be nerve-wracking. What you need is the "Freshmen Survival Guide." The following important tips can help to make your year successful.

1. You don't have as much free time as you think you do! If you find you have time to burn; something is wrong. There is something you should be doing and you probably need to get help figuring out how to manage your time.

2. Keep in mind that you write your resume every day, with every action and every choice you make. If you haven't done it; it can't end up in your resume when you get ready to apply for internships, jobs, scholarships or grad schools.

3. Begin good career habits early! Seek out major organizations or your own student council for relevant career, major, job search and internship information.

4. Do some personal exploration to learn more about who you are. Don't leave college without knowing your V.I.S.A. (Values, Interests, Skills and Abilities)

5. Plan to participate in at least one Internship, Study Abroad, .Volunteer or Campus Leadership experience the summer after freshman year.

6. No matter how big the class will be; a professor can still know you by name, if you participate in class, ask questions or go to office hours.

7. Find them and use these study-resources on campus - Academic Advising office, First-Year Experience Program and/or Academic Library.

8. College freshman year is FULL of decision-making points. Take responsibility for your own actions and learn how to make decisions.

9. Find wise people to have conversations with and ask questions.

10. Keep connected with your off-campus support group. All those people who helped get you to college are still available for you. Don't keep challenges to yourself.

11. Don't be worried if you change your major. Most college students do. However, the smart thing to do is to get advice on how to do it.

12. Don't jump into career decisions. Think more about what you want to DO when you graduate, instead of what you want to BE. The career direction you ultimately choose might not even exist now.

13. Watch your social media habits. Keep your reputation online positive. Like never before, YOU are responsible for your own brand. A good name is a good thing to have, easy thing to lose and the hardest thing to get back.

14. Do all you can to develop your teamwork skills, your communication skills and your ability to analyze situations.

15. Expect to feel overwhelmed sometimes. Whether you are living on campus or living at home; The college freshman year will bring a lot of changes.

16. Make good choices about how to spend your money.

17. Make good choices about the food you eat. Being sick at school is no joke.

18. Read your syllabus and know when things are due. Mid-terms will come before you know it.

19. Time management MUST become a priority. Use tools like day-planner, stop watch on your telephone or alarm to keep you focused on priorities.

20. "Show me your friends and I will tell you who you are." Keep this as one of the mantras you try to live by as you discover your way through college.

Mang Inasal's Edgar Sia, Philippine's youngest billionaire

Architect-turned-entrepreneur Edgar Sia, the businessman behind now-popular Mang Inasal, is Philippines' youngest in the list of top billionaires, according to the latest in Forbes' "The Philippines 40 richest."

The 35-year-old Sia, whose net worth grew to $140 million (P5.8 billion) after Mang Inasal was acquired by huge fast-food chain Jollibee, is at the list's 40th place.

Business tycoon Henry Sy and his family meanwhile are still the richest in the Philippines, topping the Forbes list of Philippine billionaires with a net worth of $9.1 billion or some P385 billion.

The Sys control SM Prime, the largest mall developer in the Philippines, with Henry Sy Jr.'s stake in the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines adding to the family's fortune, Forbes said. The Sys are 116th in a list of the world's billionaires topped by Mexican telecoms magnate Carlos Slim, who has $69 billion.

Strike Gold with Puregold

Lucio and Susan Co, a husband-and-wife team, have struck gold with their Puregold Price Club, a chain of over 150 hypermarkets, supermarkets and discount stores. Starting with one store in 1998, the Cos have expanded at a rapid pace, lately through acquisitions, to build Puregold into the country’s second-largest retailer, after Henry Sy’s SM group.

Contrary to what its name suggests, a typical Puregold outlet stocks not fancy goods but a range of cheap merchandise aimed at a rising population of middle-class shoppers and owners of neighborhood convenience stores, known as sari-sari stores. (It claims to have over 230,000 of them as its customers.) Since 2010 the retailer’s revenues have doubled to $1.3 billion with net profits increasing fivefold to $65 million.

Lucio’s retailing background is linked to running duty-free airport shops, including at Clark International Airport, a former American air force base northwest of Manila. With Puregold the Cos have earned both respectability and fabulous riches. Since 2011, when they took the company public, its shares have soared threefold. “Puregold is the country’s only pure play retail company, and it’s on an aggressive growth trajectory. Investors like that,” says Lauro Baja, country head of UBS Philippines, which was a lead manager in its IPO.

Puregold’s meteoric rise is linked to a domestic consumption boom that has been the mainstay of the Philippines’ growth story. If consumer confidence remains upbeat, the retail market is expected to grow to $75 billion by 2017.

Other tycoons are lining up to cash in on the middle-class shopping spree. Recently, Ayala Land, Jaime Zobel de Ayala’s (No. 6) property unit, announced it was partnering with Puregold in a new joint venture to operate “midmarket” supermarkets. The Ayala firm last year teamed up with Bienvenido Tantoco Sr. (No. 40) to bring Japanese convenience store chain FamilyMart to the Philippines. John Gokongwei Jr. (No. 5) is preparing to list his Robinsons Retail Holdings, a franchisee of Toys “R” Us, among much else. The IPO is expected to be the country’s largest ever.