Job Market for Recent College Graduates: A Tale of Two Cities

The job market for recent college graduates is increasingly looking like A Tale of Two Cities – one where a select group of grads thrive even as large numbers of their peers flounder.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, an estimated 1.7 million students will graduate with bachelor's degrees in the 2011 winter-spring graduation season.

And on the one hand, the 2011 job outlook is far brighter than it was a year ago, with companies planning to hire more people and pay on the upswing.

On the other hand, hiring is still tremendously competitive, more graduates than ever are struggling financially, and the best-paying jobs are highly concentrated among a handful college majors.