A recent report on salaries of graduates by PayScale, a provider of on-demand compensation data and software has surprised many. The annual College Salary Report for 2018-19 named California-based liberal arts Harvey Mudd College as the higher education institution with the highest paying bachelor’s degrees.
Graduates of the Harvey Mudd College, which is a member of the Claremont Colleges, get an average mid-career pay of $157,400.
“Among Harvey Mudd alumni, those working as Senior Software Engineers report the highest median pay of approximately $121K, followed by Senior Systems Engineers ($120K), and Data Scientists (around $115K). Sliding in near the bottom are Mechanical Engineers, who report earnings of $77K,” the report, which was released last week, said.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, whose graduates earn an average earlier-career pay of $83,400 and mid-career pay of $150,400, ranked second. The United States Naval Academy, Stanford University and California Institute of Technology ranked 3rd, 4th, and 5th respectively.
Harvard and Princeton were the only two Ivy League colleges to make it to the top ten of highest paying bachelor’s degree colleges raking placing 7th and 9threspectively.
In associate degree category, the report ranked Helene Fuld College of Nursing as the top school with the highest mid-career pay of $90,500. It was followed by Pacific Union College, Cochran School of Nursing, ranking 2nd and 3rd respectively.
“Our annual report provides data to inform decisions about which school may make the most sense to attend, and even which major to choose based on a variety of factors. Students and parents want to make informed decisions about future career and income opportunities associated with their college education investment,” PayScale Vice President Lydia Frank said.
“While earning potential should not be the only consideration, it is an important factor, especially when evaluating the cost of education today.”
The website analyzed 2,646 bachelor’s and associate degree-granting institutions across the nation to determine which college graduates earn the most.