Numbers.

Students who want the best chances at getting a job when they graduate are looking at majors that deal with ones and zeroes or majors that focus on the bottom line.

Megan Hill, associate director of career networks at the Kansas University Career Center, said computer engineering and accounting students are receiving job offers before they graduate, with significant salary offers as well. The business field — accounting, financial services and wealth management — seems to have the strongest job market, she said.

Hill said the field has a positive career outlook as a result of economic and consumer needs.

“Consumers are much more concerned about wealth management and protecting their assets,” she said.

According to recent data, accounting students have the highest percentage of jobs after graduation from business school, said Jennifer Jordan, director of the Business Career Services Center.

Hill said film and video editing was a career that would be hot in the next few years, because of the industry’s growing presence online. She also thinks interest will increase in nonprofit organizations, such as the Peace Corps, because so many students want to travel and go abroad. KU promotes jobs in public service, she added.

Dina Pannabecker Evans, director of career services at the KU School of Music, projects music therapy will be an expanding field as the nation’s population ages.

Music therapists also work with children, at-risk populations and in the health care system, Evans said.

Evans said many undergraduate music students go on to graduate school because they are having harder time finding jobs after graduation.

“We find with music education students it’s taking more time to find jobs because school districts are cutting back on their art programs,” she said. Evans recommended students not limit their geographical area during the job hunt.

Hill advises students to complete an internship during their time at KU and to visit one of the field-specific career centers — business, music, journalism and engineering — or the university-wide center.

“I would say we are greatly underutilized by students at KU,” she said. “I would love for more students to come into the Career Center to take advantage of our services because I think they would find it would help them tremendously.”

Students can meet with career coaches to develop resumes or have mock interviews.

Most employers are looking for specific skill sets rather than particular academic backgrounds, Hill added. To work for an accounting firm, a person needs a specific degree but other majors are more open.

Anna Nelson, who graduated from KU in May 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, found employment as a consultant at Cerner, a health care information technology company in Kansas City, Mo.

“As you can tell from my bachelor of science in Journalism, my college education had little to nothing in common with what I’m doing right now,” Nelson said. “Cerner taught me how to build its software solutions and troubleshoot issues.”

Like Hill, Nelson encourages students to apply for internships. She interned with Bridging the Gap, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Jennings Social Media Marketing.

“Employers were impressed with how many internships I had done and how much real-world experience I had,” she said. “It shows you take initiative and are a hard worker when you are taking classes, working part-time and interning all at the same time. Employers like that.”