DOLE: Top-paying jobs not those that most students train for

Published May 27, 2011 12:43pm

Starting salaries have become a major factor for students when choosing a college course that will lead to eventual careers, but a study by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) showed that the top-earning professions are not among the top 10 courses that students commonly choose. This page requires a higher version browser
A report on News To Go on Friday said data from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) showed that a Nursing course is still the number one choice among college entrants, while Hotel and Restaurant Management (HRM) and Information Technology (IT) are second and third, respectively. Other popular college courses are:

Business Administration

Elementary Education

Computer Science

Criminology

Accountancy

Industrial Technology

Marine Transportation However, labor and employment statistics from DOLE show that nurses and cooks are not among those who can fetch a high average monthly occupational wage rate. A DOLE study shows that nurses on average earn P9,800 a month, while cooks earn P9,600 a month. Meanwhile, aircraft pilots and flight engineers are among the highest-paid professionals, getting a monthly basic pay of almost P80,000. Teaching professionals, accountants and auditors, and systems analysts and designers get paid about P24,000 a month, while engineers, computer programmers, and medical doctors get an entry-level salary of about P20,000. Earlier this month, Health Secretary Dr. Enrique Ona advised students not to take up nursing, saying that there are currently over 200,000 jobless nurses nationwide. Instead, he encouraged students to try courses related to mathematics, science and technology, and engineering. â€” Candice Montenegro/LBG, GMA News

Tags: dole