STEM careers offer highest college grad salaries in the U.S. and globally, according to a new analysis of of entry-level professional salaries by the Hay Group division of Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY).
In every nation analyzed, science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers were among the highest paid of the surveyed careers. For example, an entry-level engineer in the United States can expect to make 19 percent above the U.S. national average at $59,213, and an entry-level software developer in Australia can make 14 percent above that country’s national average at $56,079.
Bob Wesselkamper, Korn Ferry Hay Group said, “Graduates who choose certain career paths where talent is in high demand, like engineering or technology, can expect to make more than their peers, regardless of the country in which they reside.”
The study analyzed salaries for 5.6 million entry-level positions at 20,000 companies. The analysis focused on 25 entry-level professional job titles in 15 countries. It shows that based on the countries and career titles included, The United States offers the highest average new graduate salary at $49,785 annually.
Following are the top five average graduate salaries from the list of 15 analyzed countries: (All salaries are in U.S. dollars for consistency. Currency fluctuations have not been factored in.)
United States: $49,785
Germany: $49,635
Australia: $48,987
Netherlands: $43,515
France: $35,424
At $9,600, the Russian Federation had the lowest average salary of any country in the survey.
