Top State Universities by Salary Potential

[ucsd_ucla_dad]

A lot of people ask about what can be expected for salaries upon graduation. I came across the following info at the UCSD website that's from a study based on grads with bachelors degrees. The colleges at the top all have a fairly heavy engineering program so I wonder if that's a key factor in the ranking. The UCs fare pretty well.

UC San Diego Alums Average 3rd Highest Salaries Among Public University Graduates

The rank was based on a new study by PayScale.com that looked at earnings of alumni at colleges around the country. The survey covered graduates with 10-20 years experience in the work place.

UC San Diego tied for third with UCLA and Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. UC Berkeley and the University of Virginia were first and second, respectively, in the rankings of public American colleges.

According to the study, UC San Diego alumni earned a median salary of $51,000 with 0-5 years experience, and $101,000 with 10 to 20 years experience.

- UC Berkeley
- UVA
- CalPoly SLO
- UCLA
- UCSD
- UC Davis
- U Colorado Boulder
- UC Irvine
- UIUC
- Texas A&M

[madbean]

Another factor might be geography. California and its high cost of living/salaries might account for relatively high salaries to UC grads (who may tend to stay in-state after graduation). Looking at other states repped, it makes some sense. Any thoughts?

[barrons]

They had more people lie when they did the survey, maybe? There was no study. It's a self-reporting site I had never heard of until this came out. They did not do a random survey of actual grads. People who claimed to be grads and an income are recorded on the site. I filled out a fictitious survey and it was accepted without question. Kind of like Students Review where 35% would not go to XXX college again when actual NSSE surveys show maybe 5%. Pure crap.

[ucsd_ucla_dad]

Yes - I think the geo probably plays into it as well but there are some colleges from less expensive (than Cal) areas on the list, like Colorado, Illinois, and Texas, and some colleges from other expensive areas not on the list. It might be further skewed by more people attending privates vs top publics in the Northeast.

[ucsd_ucla_dad]

barrons:

I didn't check out their methodology so I don't vouch for their conclusions at all.

[starbright]

Does it take into account how many go to professional programs or graduate school afterwards, or is this limited to salary based on an undergrad only? Seems you'd want to account for that as well.

[RacinReaver]

I think this survey was posted about a month ago, and it only included students that didn't get any further degree after their BS.