As of the 2023/24 academic year, graduates from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) had a starting salary of 110,200 U.S. dollars, and a mid-career salary of 196,900 U.S. dollars. Top universities in the United States One of the top universities in the United States, Harvey Mudd College, is located in Claremont, California. Not only do graduates earn a high salaries after graduation, they also pay the most. In the academic year of 2020-2021, Harvey Mudd College was one of the most expensive school by total annual cost. The best university in the United States in 2021 belonged to the University of California, Berkeley. The Ivy League The Ivy League is a group of eight private universities in the Northeastern United States. It is not only a collegiate athletic conference, but also a group of highly respected academic institutions. They are usually regarded as the best eight universities in the United States and the world. They are extremely selective with their admissions process. However, these universities are extremely expensive to attend. Despite the high price tag, students who graduate from Princeton University have the highest early career salary out of all Ivy League attendees in 2021. This is compared to the overall expected starting salaries of recent college graduates across the United States, which was less than 35,000 U.S. dollars.

In 2023, recent male university graduates in the United States expected to have an average salary of 70,625 U.S. dollars at their first job after graduation while female university graduates expected an average salary of 64,926. In comparison, the expected average starting salary was 66,467 U.S. dollars for all recent college graduates in that year.

German law graduates holding a doctorate degree can currently expect the ******* average gross starting salary in the country when they enter the job market. Other degrees with good earning prospects include medicine, computer science (also with a doctorate degree), and industrial engineering. In comparison, those who studied graphics/design, humanities and social sciences are at the ****** of the starting salary food chain. Law courses among most attended Law, economics and social sciences were the subject groups seeing the ******* student numbers in German universities, totaling over *** million in 2023/2024. Engineering and mathematics rounded up the top three. German universities offer a variety of internationally recognized degrees, the Bachelor being the most frequently taken type of final exam. Slow yearly salary increase Among selected countries in the European Union, Germany ranks ***** in terms of average annual wages. All the same, when studying the change in average annual pay specifically in Germany during the last decade, a slow, but steady increase is visible year after year, until the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic hit in 2020. Since then, the average wage has been decreasing and in 2023 was around the same level as in 2017.

Estimated gross annual earnings quartiles for postsecondary graduates working full time at the time of the interview are presented by the province of study, the level of study and gender. Estimates are available at five-year intervals.

In 2022, the average annual income of a college graduate with a Bachelor's degree in the United States was ****** U.S. dollars. This is a decrease from the previous year, when the median income for college grads was around ****** U.S. dollars.

The National Survey of College Graduates is a repeated cross-sectional biennial survey that provides data on the nation's college graduates, with a focus on those in the science and engineering workforce. This survey is a unique source for examining the relationship of degree field and occupation in addition to other characteristics of college-educated individuals, including work activities, salary, and demographic information.

Graph and download economic data for Wage and Salary Workers Paid Hourly Rates: 16 Years and Over: College Graduates: Bachelor's Degree and Higher (BDAHC5) from 2002 to 2024 about paid, tertiary schooling, salaries, workers, hours, 16 years +, education, wages, rate, and USA.

Statistics on average annual salaries of graduates of full-time UGC-funded programmes who were in Full-time Employment

Graph and download economic data for Employed full time: Wage and salary workers: High School graduates, no college: 25 years and over: Men (LEU0252921000Q) from Q1 2000 to Q1 2025 about no college, secondary schooling, secondary, full-time, males, 25 years +, salaries, workers, education, wages, employment, and USA.

In 2024, the average salary of a Washington University EMBA graduate three years after graduation was over ******* U.S. dollars. CEIBS graduates could expect the second-highest salary, reaching ******* U.S. dollars the same year. EMBAThe Executive MBA (EMBA) program is a graduate-level business degree program and is primarily designed for executives, managers, and similar business leaders. These programs are usually targeted towards working professionals, often in the middle stages of their career, and are often flexible to allow for part-time attendance while the student still works. An EMBA program allows a student to increase career options and update or add to their existing skill set. The best universities worldwide In the United States, Princeton University was considered one of the best colleges, with graduates earning a median of ******* U.S. dollars after 10 years. According to the Times Higher Education ranking of the best universities worldwide, the University of Oxford in the UK was considered the best.

Characteristics and median employment income of postsecondary graduates five years after graduation, by educational qualification (Classification of programs and credentials - professional degree variant), field of study (Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) Canada 2016 - STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics and computer sciences) and BHASE (business, humanities, health, arts, social science and education) groupings), gender, age group and status of student in Canada (cross-sectional analysis).

Explore the progression of average salaries for graduates in University Of Connecticut from 2020 to 2023 through this detailed chart. It compares these figures against the national average for all graduates, offering a comprehensive look at the earning potential of University Of Connecticut relative to other fields. This data is essential for students assessing the return on investment of their education in University Of Connecticut, providing a clear picture of financial prospects post-graduation.

Graph and download economic data for Employed full time: Median usual weekly nominal earnings (second quartile): Wage and salary workers: High School graduates, no college: 25 years and over: White: Men (LEU0252930300A) from 2000 to 2024 about no college, second quartile, secondary schooling, secondary, full-time, males, 25 years +, salaries, workers, earnings, white, education, wages, median, employment, and USA.

In 2024, graduates of Princeton University and Harvard University had an average early career salary of 95,600 U.S. dollars, which was the highest early career salary of any Ivy League university. In comparison, graduates of Brown University had an average early career salary of 88,000 U.S. dollars.

See notice below about this dataset

This dataset provides the average earnings by student group per district.  Wage records are obtained from the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) using a secure, anonymized matching process with limitations. For details on the process and suppression rules, please visit the Employment and Earnings of High School Graduates dashboard.

This dataset is one of three containing the same data that is also published in the Employment and Earnings of High School Graduates dashboard: Average Earnings by Student Group Average Earnings by Industry College and Career Outcomes

2025 Update on DESE Data on Employment and Earnings 

The data link between high school graduates and future earnings makes it possible to follow students beyond high school and college into the workforce, enabling long-term evaluation of educational programs using workforce outcomes.

While DESE has published these data in the past, as of June 2025 we are temporarily pausing updates due to an issue conducting the link that was brought to our attention in 2023 by a team of researchers. The issue impacts the earnings information for students who never attended a postsecondary institution or who only attended private or out-of-state colleges or universities, beginning with the 2017 high school graduation cohort, with growing impact in each successive high school graduation cohort.

The issue does not impact the earnings information for students who attended a Massachusetts public institution of higher education, and earnings data for those students will continue to be updated.

Once a solution is found, the past cohorts of data with low match rates will be updated. DESE and partner agencies are exploring linking strategies to maximize the utility of the information.

More detailed information can be found in the attached memo provided by the research team from the Annenberg Institute. We thank them for calling this issue to our attention.

The Recent College Graduates (RCG) survey estimates the potential supply of newly qualified teachers in the United States and explores the immediate post-degree employment and education experiences of individuals obtaining bachelor's or master's degrees from American colleges and universities. The RCG survey, which focuses heavily, but not exclusively, on those graduates qualified to teach at the elementary and secondary levels, is designed to meet the following objectives: (1) to determine how many graduates become eligible or qualified to teach for the first time and how many are employed as teachers in the year following graduation, by teaching field, (2) to examine the relationship between courses taken, student achievement, and occupational outcomes, and (3) to monitor unemployment rates and average salaries of graduates by field of study. The RCG survey collects information on education and employment of all graduates (date of graduation, field of study, whether newly qualified to teach, further enrollment, financial aid, employment status, and teacher employment characteristics) as well as standard demographic characteristics such as earnings, age, marital status, sex, and race/ethnicity. The 1989-1990 survey (called RCG-91 because the data were collected in 1991) contains four data files. Part 1 contains variables from the main questionnaire and includes information on type of degree received, teaching eligibility, certification, salary, and whether the respondent was unemployed. Also included are transcripts for sampled bachelor degree recipients. Part 2 contains verbatim comments from graduates regarding fields of study, occupation, and parents' occupations. Replicate weights are contained in Part 3, and imputation flags are found in Part 4.

See notice below about this dataset

This dataset provides the average annual earnings by industry per district.

Wage records are obtained from the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) using a secure, anonymized matching process with limitations. For details on the process and suppression rules, please visit the Employment and Earnings of High School Graduates dashboard.

This dataset is one of three containing the same data that is also published in the Employment and Earnings of High School Graduates dashboard: Average Earnings by Student Group Average Earnings by Industry College and Career Outcomes

List of Industries

• 00 - All Students
• 11 - Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting
• 21 - Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction
• 22 - Utilities
• 23 - Construction
• 31 - Manufacturing
• 42 - Wholesale Trade
• 44 - Retail Trade
• 48 - Transportation and Warehousing
• 51 - Information
• 52 - Finance and Insurance
• 53 - Real Estate and Rental and Leasing
• 54 - Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
• 55 - Management of Companies and Enterprises
• 56 - Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services
• 61 - Educational Services
• 62 - Health Care and Social Assistance
• 71 - Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
• 72 - Accommodation and Food Services
• 81 - Other Services (except Public Administration)
• 92 - Public Administration
• 0 - No Industry Reported

The data link between high school graduates and future earnings makes it possible to follow students beyond high school and college into the workforce, enabling long-term evaluation of educational programs using workforce outcomes.

While DESE has published these data in the past, as of June 2025 we are temporarily pausing updates due to an issue conducting the link that was brought to our attention in 2023 by a team of researchers. The issue impacts the earnings information for students who never attended a postsecondary institution or who only attended private or out-of-state colleges or universities, beginning with the 2017 high school graduation cohort, with growing impact in each successive high school graduation cohort.

The issue does not impact the earnings information for students who attended a Massachusetts public institution of higher education, and earnings data for those students will continue to be updated.

Once a solution is found, the past cohorts of data with low match rates will be updated. DESE and partner agencies are exploring linking strategies to maximize the utility of the information.

More detailed information can be found in the attached memo provided by the research team from the Annenberg Institute. We thank them for calling this issue to our attention.

Analysis of ‘Where it Pays to Attend College’ provided by Analyst-2 (analyst-2.ai), based on source dataset retrieved from https://www.kaggle.com/wsj/college-salaries on 20 November 2021.

--- Dataset description provided by original source is as follows ---

Salary Increase By Type of College

Party school? Liberal Arts college? State School? You already know your starting salary will be different depending on what type of school you attend. But, increased earning power shows less disparity. Ten years out, graduates of Ivy League schools earned 99% more than they did at graduation. Party school graduates saw an 85% increase. Engineering school graduates fared worst, earning 76% more 10 years out of school. See where your school ranks.

Salaries By Region

Attending college in the Midwest leads to the lowest salary both at graduation and at mid-career, according to the PayScale Inc. survey. Graduates of schools in the Northeast and California fared best.

Salary Increase By Major

Your parents might have worried when you chose Philosophy or International Relations as a major. But a year-long survey of 1.2 million people with only a bachelor's degree by PayScale Inc. shows that graduates in these subjects earned 103.5% and 97.8% more, respectively, about 10 years post-commencement. Majors that didn't show as much salary growth include Nursing and Information Technology.

All data was obtained from the Wall Street Journal based on data from Payscale, Inc:

• Salaries for Colleges by Type
• Salaries for Colleges by Region
• Degrees that Pay you Back

--- Original source retains full ownership of the source dataset ---

Explore the progression of average salaries for graduates in University Of Massachusetts from 2020 to 2023 through this detailed chart. It compares these figures against the national average for all graduates, offering a comprehensive look at the earning potential of University Of Massachusetts relative to other fields. This data is essential for students assessing the return on investment of their education in University Of Massachusetts, providing a clear picture of financial prospects post-graduation.

Explore the progression of average salaries for graduates in University Of Miami from 2020 to 2023 through this detailed chart. It compares these figures against the national average for all graduates, offering a comprehensive look at the earning potential of University Of Miami relative to other fields. This data is essential for students assessing the return on investment of their education in University Of Miami, providing a clear picture of financial prospects post-graduation.