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Among Class of 2019 graduates earning advanced degrees, computer and information sciences majors have the highest average starting salary at the master’s-degree level, while business grads are the top-paid at the doctoral level, according to results of NACE’s Summer 2020 Salary Survey.
NACE’s Summer 2020 Salary Survey provides actual starting salaries for the college Class of 2019 and serves as the final salary report for this class.
Among Class of 2019 master’s graduates, computer and information sciences majors earn salaries that average $95,711. Also exceeding $80,000 are transportation and materials moving ($88,913) and engineering ($85,938) majors. (See Figure 1.)
Computer and information sciences ($121,041) and engineering ($95,961) graduates also are among the top paid graduates at the doctoral-degree level, however, their average salaries are exceeded by that of business majors ($131,129). (See Figure 2.)
Data were gathered from Class of 2019 graduates through December 31, 2019, and reported to NACE through June 30, 2020. The salary data presented here were reported to NACE through its national Class of 2019 First-Destination Survey by approximately 356 colleges and universities nationwide and represent data for almost 729,756 graduates at the associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree levels. The analysis provided here focuses on the data provided for more than 94,740 bachelor’s degree graduates. The Summer 2020 Salary Survey report will be available in MyNACE.
Figure 1: Starting Salaries by Discipline for Class of 2019 Master’s Degree Graduates
| Broad Category |
Average Salary |
| Computer and information sciences |
$95,711 |
| Transportation and materials moving |
$88,913 |
| Engineering |
$85,938 |
| Engineering technologies |
$78,921 |
| Mathematics and statistics |
$77,405 |
Business, management, marketing,
and related support services |
$76,759 |
Source: Summer 2020 Salary Survey, National Association of Colleges and Employers
Figure 2: Starting Salaries by Discipline for Class of 2019 Doctoral Degree Graduates
| Broad Category |
Average Salary |
Business, management, marketing,
and related support services |
$131,129 |
| Computer and information sciences |
$121,041 |
| Engineering |
$95,961 |
| Legal studies |
$88,582 |
| Mathematics and statistics |
$83,528 |
Source: Summer 2020 Salary Survey, National Association of Colleges and Employers