The average college graduate leaves school with almost $24,000 in debt, and given the weak job market of recent years, that's a lot to manage.
But college graduates fear not. According to the 2010-2011 Michigan State University Recruiting Trends study,hiring for college graduates is expected to rebound in the 2010-2011 academic year.
The study found that overall hiring will increase 3 percent. Hiring for those with a bachelor’s degree is expected to rise for the first time in two years—and at a healthy almost 10 percent.
What's more 32 percent of the 4,600 employers surveyed said they had “definite plans to hire college graduates—up from the 27 percent of a year ago. .
“It’s a little bit more than I thought we would get at this time,” says the study’s author Dr. Phil Gardner.
The majors with the top employment prospects are economics (22 percent), marketing (20 percent), computer science (18 percent), accounting (17 percent) and finance (15 percent).
Those with a law degree, however, are likely to struggle.
“We haven’t cut back in enrolment of them, yet there are not going to be a lot of jobs," says Gardner. "Law schools have to keep those seats filled. Those law students come out of school and only a hand full of them are getting into law firms."
Although the hiring outlook may be the best in years, there may yet be disappointment.
“I think there are a lot of companies that want to hire, that have plans to hire but are waiting to get the word that the economy is moving in their favor,” Gardner tells CNBC.
Watch "Price of Admission: America's College Debt Crisis" on Tuesday, Dec. 21 at 9PM ET