Payroll
Gen Zers Think They’ll Get a Six-Figure Salary Right Out of College
Current college students expect to make $103,880 in their first job after graduation, according to a new survey.
Aug. 12, 2022
The average starting salary these days for a college graduate’s first job after getting their bachelor’s degree is $55,260, but current college students are expecting that salary to be more. Much more.
According to a recent survey from Real Estate Witch, students in college now expect to make $103,880 in their first job after graduation, which is nearly $46,000 more than they expected to make three years ago.
The report says:
Graduates may be in for a rude awakening: More than half (58%) say the average starting salary of $55,260 isn’t as high as they expected, with nearly 1 in 5 (18%) saying it’s much lower than expected.
Unrealistic salary expectations also extend to mid-career earnings. Ten years into their careers, students anticipate making $200,270 — a 93% increase from their starting salary expectations.
Data shows salaries do tend to double by mid-career in many industries, but $200,270 is more than most students can hope to earn in reality: The average mid-career salary is only $132,497.
The survey of 1,000 undergraduates who are pursuing a bachelor’s degree found that female students anticipate earning $103,550 at graduation, or 0.5% less than men. The gender pay gap widens to 4.3% within 10 years of graduation, when women expect to make $195,000—$8,740 less than men.
But nearly one in four students (24%) believe gender has no impact whatsoever on an employee’s starting salary, according to the survey.
Not surprisingly, men are 14% more likely to say gender does not impact starting salaries. Meanwhile, women—who earn 80 cents to every dollar a man makes—are 4% more likely to say it’s a legitimate problem.
Students currently majoring in journalism, psychology, and liberal arts are most likely to overestimate the value of their degrees, the survey revealed.
Journalism students, in particular, are the most delusional, expecting $107,040 just a year after they graduate—139% more than the median journalist’s starting salary.
Meanwhile, computer science majors have the most realistic expectations, overestimating their starting salary by only 27%.
Students currently majoring in finance or accounting expect to make $111,240 one year out of college—nearly 88% more than the median starting salary of $59,200 in those fields.
Only 15% of students graduating in 2022 have accepted a job offer, and most of those students possess in-demand degrees, such as finance, accounting, and education, according to the survey.