Hot IT Jobs for New College Grads

With June just around the corner, those preparing to graduate from college face the looming challenge of getting a job. After four years of studying, it's time to join the workforce and embark on a career. For those looking at a career in IT, a survey released this week provides insight into the types IT jobs that offer greatest opportunity.

IT services firm TEKsystems polled more than 250 IT hiring managers across the US last month and found that developer roles offer the best opportunities for recent college graduates. Sixty percent of those polled said applications developer was the top IT job for new grads.

Those with a computer science degree can get experience in common development environments such as Windows, .NET, Linux, and SQL, which provides "a foundation for future growth in a more specialized area of software development," according to TEKsystems.

Here are the other IT jobs IT hiring managers ranked highly for recent grads:

The TEKsystems survey also sheds light on what IT hiring managers are looking for in new college graduate job candidates. An overwhelming majority (83%) prefer generalized or traditional technology degrees like CIS, computer science, and software engineering. Only 17% prefer specialized degrees such as data analysis, human-computer interaction, artificial intelligence, or game development.

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Hiring managers often prefer several years of experience when filling specialized roles, and some companies develop skills in-house for roles requiring special skills, TEKsystems said.

Employers put more stock in a job candidate's work-related internships and experience than GPA or school, according to the survey.  Eighty-six percent said they consider experience the most important factor when considering new grads, far outpacing referrals and references (50%).

"Newly graduated job seekers may be surprised that it’s not about the name recognition of an expensive school or a cutting-edge degree that gets you in the door," Jason Hayman, TEKsystems research manager, said in a prepared statement. "It's getting your hands dirty prior to graduation and making yourself a valuable member of whatever team or project you get the opportunity to work on."