Here's what recent college grads are making

Career website Glassdoor Inc. assesses where grads are finding the highest- and lowest-paying positions.
MAY 19, 2017

Sales associate positions are the most common jobs for recent U.S. college graduates, a new study from the career website Glassdoor Inc. found. The jobs, which range from real estate sales to retail, have a median base salary of $38,000 a year, the study found. A variety of assistant positions in research, teaching and administration, all relatively low-paying, were also cited as common. The highest-paying job on Glassdoor's list was software engineer, at a median base salary of $90,000, followed by engineer, at $70,500, and financial analyst, at $64,453. The lowest-paying job was teaching assistant, at $20,000. Substitute teachers earned a bit more, at $25,000, with tutors bringing in $36,000. https://www.investmentnews.com/wp-content/uploads/assets/graphics src="/wp-content/uploads2017/05/CI110440519.JPG" Recent graduates hired as sales associates were most likely to have majored in business, English or political science. But major didn't necessarily dictate pay. While recent grads who took well-paying engineering jobs typically studied mechanical, electrical or civil engineering, teaching assistants were also likely to have majored in various engineering specialties in college. That's because many alumni with those majors go on to become master's and Ph.D. candidates. The data for the study came from "tens of thousands of resumes shared by employees on Glassdoor," according to a spokesman for the site, which covers 700,000 companies and has over 41 million monthly unique visitors. Glassdoor sifted through the resumes for the job titles that appeared most frequently in the five years following graduation. Median pay was determined based on salary information self-reported to the site from May 2015 to this month. The top 10 jobs were sales associate, research assistant, teaching assistant, intern, administrative assistant, account manager, social media manager, software engineer, case manager and data analyst.

Latest News

Wealth Enhancement adds $592M Chicago-area RIA
Wealth Enhancement adds $592M Chicago-area RIA

The mega-RIA with roughly $160 billion in client assets remains firmly in acquisition mode amid rumors of private equity giants vying to scoop it up.

Annuity sales hit a record as war and Fed jitters redraw fixed income
Annuity sales hit a record as war and Fed jitters redraw fixed income

Record annuity demand for principal protection collides with the most hawkish Fed dissent since 2016.

Allworth deepens tax-advisory push with $1.1B Sachetta acquisition
Allworth deepens tax-advisory push with $1.1B Sachetta acquisition

The PE-backed RIA makes its first major move since bringing in a new capital partner, adding a Massachusetts advisory firm alongside a second East Coast RIA

Hightower Signature Wealth grows by $2.5 billion with Stearns deal
Hightower Signature Wealth grows by $2.5 billion with Stearns deal

Stearns Financial Group's addition brings 30 advisors and three decades of North Carolina planning experience to the platform.

Edward Jones backs senior protection rules after $3 million account freeze
Edward Jones backs senior protection rules after $3 million account freeze

An 86-year-old from Dallas tried to withdraw funds from his account, but Edward Jones invoked a FINRA-backed temporary lockout before he eventually left for Merrill Lynch.

SPONSORED Direct indexing webinar targets tax-loss harvesting amid market swings

Northern Trust’s Ken Lassner shows advisors how to convert volatility into after-tax portfolio gains

SPONSORED Who builds the income when the pension disappears?

Dan Biagini of American Equity says the steady decline of pensions, longer lifespans and a reset in interest rates are rewriting how advisors build retirement income