According to CollegeGrad.com, positions in the accounting require a defined skill set. Combine that with the sheer number and size of companies in the accounting industry, and there will be a glut of technical openings.

For instance, in 2008, the Big Four accounting firms will hire nearly 13,000 college grads, most of whom are accounting majors, said CollegeGrad.com. That number is further boosted by midsize and smaller accounting firms, banking firms, financial firms and even non-accounting firms who hire accounting majors for in-house positions.

In contrast, the required skill sets for general business openings are typically more diversified soft skills and more easily filled by a variety of majors. Plenty of firms outside of the accounting and engineering fields also hire thousands of college grads, but those numbers will be split among a variety of majors.

To prepare for entry into the work world, Tony Gibert, recruiting director for NAVSEA Warfare Center, reminds college students that even in technical fields, major specific skill sets do not stand alone.

"New college hires need to understand that the academic knowledge they acquire, the global understanding of social, economic and political factors, their leadership and communication skills and their professionalism are all important elements of their success and essential to our jobs."

The survey found that behind accounting, the other majors being hired for entry-level positions are engineering (13 percent), marketing (11 percent), computer science (10 percent) and business administration (9 percent).

The American Institute of CPAs recently announced that more than 64,000 students graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees in accounting in the 2006-07 school year, a 19 percent increase since the 2003-04 school year, when the AICPA last surveyed this data.