Everyone knows that going to college gives you access to better career outcomes; it’s one of those pieces of information you absorb almost by osmosis in high school, repeated in dozens of meetings with college representatives, parents, and guidance counselors. It is true of course, but also woefully vague. Sure, college gives you access to great career prospects, but what are these exactly?
In this article, we’re going to do a deep comparative dive into this question by narrowly examining the career outcomes from two great programs: Carnegie Mellon University’s Computer Science department, and UT Austin’s McCombs School of Business. These are both very popular programs, and can be seen as representative of two very popular subsets of students; those interested in business, and those interested in CS. We’re going to look at career outcomes, earnings, and how successful these students are when compared to the general population. Let’s get started!
A Note on Data and Methodology
When you are looking at career statistics for college programs, there are generally two sources of information. The first is the colleges themselves, who love to show off how successful their alumni are, since this success reflects well on the colleges themselves. The second is the Department of Education’s College Scorecard, which tracks employment data by both college and major, in remarkable detail.
When evaluating success, we look at where students are four years after graduation. Some students get a job right away, while others take a gap year, and still others head directly into further education, such as law school or MBA programs. This means looking at metrics six months or a year out from graduation don’t necessarily paint the full picture of what your career prospects are.
This also explains career prospect distinctions by major. Some majors allow you to get a job in your desired field with just an undergraduate degree. Some majors simply give you a firm foundation, and then allow you to get a job in a completely unrelated field. Some majors require significantly more education before you can get a job; medical school, for instance, takes quite a while.
Finally, we want to note that common knowledge, while widespread, is not always entirely correct. There is a perception that certain majors are a guaranteed pathway to a job, while others are not. This is not always the case; many jobs simply want you to have any college degree at all, while a smaller subset care about the specific skills you picked up along the way. College is not a job training program, though it is often treated as such.
Career Outcomes of Carnegie Mellon University’s CS Department
Located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, CMU has long been regarded as one of the top programs for computer science in the country. But how does its apparent academic standing translate to career success?
First, let’s look at the Department of Education’s numbers. According to their data:
- 83% of CMU students graduate
- The median yearly earnings for CS students are $247,552 (four years after graduation)
- The median amount of debt held by these students is $21,442 (note that this only covers federal loans, not private loans)
This data only covers students who received federal financial aid, including grants, work study, and loans. However, this is the vast majority of students, and so provides a representative sample.
CMU itself collects data on the success of students, so we’ll see what their data indicates about the same pool of students, four years after graduation.
- 79% are working, 18% are pursuing higher education, 2% are seeking employment, and 1% are otherwise engaged
- Only 72 of the students surveyed reported their salary, of these the average was $121,036
- The primary industry students worked in was Internet & Software, the primary job title they hold is Software Engineer
- The top employers reported are Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon
This is more data than most schools present about their graduates, and we are quite grateful for CMU’s transparency here. This information, from both sources, paints a clear picture of what graduates can expect from a degree in computer science from CMU. There are solid career prospects and earning potential, and alumni are able to find jobs at major companies within the sector.
We will note that some of the low pay may come from students working at startups. These tend to be riskier prospects, with low pay and long hours at the beginning, but the potential to ride the bubble to the next big thing if the idea pans out (or the startup gets eaten by a bigger fish).
Career Outcomes of UT Austin’s McCombs School of Business
Located in Austin, Texas, UT Austin is the best public college in Texas, and a top choice for many students in that state. While it doesn’t have physical proximity to Wall Street, Texas has a thriving business community of its own, and graduates are well situated to find jobs within it.
To see how this translates to actual career outcomes, let’s look at the data. First is the College Scorecard from the Department of Education:
- 82% of UT Austin students graduate
- Income and debt are differentiated by major, and only reported if they have enough data to be viable. Here are the ones reported:
- Accounting has a median income of $78,482, and a median debt of $19,462
- Business Administration has a median income of $79,482, and a median debt of $20,500
- Finance has a median income of $95,994, and a median debt of $20,500
- Marketing has a median income of $74,178, and a median debt of $19,625
This data only covers students who received federal aid, including grants, work study, and loans. This is the majority of all students who attend colleges, so we believe this is a representative sample. This data covers students four years after graduation.
Next, let’s take a look at the data UT Austin itself collects and publishes about its graduates. This surveys students who graduated two years ago (2022), and so is a snapshot of a different time. That said, it also breaks down employment outcomes and salary by major, and so is a useful point of comparison to the government data. Note that all data contained in this survey is self-reported, and that not all students responded.
- The salary average for all graduates was $81,652
- The main sources of employment opportunities were recruit McCombs, personal networking, previous internships, and McCombs corporate partners
- Average salary by major:
- Accounting $72,857
- Canfield Business Honors $92,188
- Finance $85,729
- Management $73,729
- Marketing $64,841
- Management Information Systems $84,554
- Supply Chain Management $70,872
- The most common industries students entered are financial services, consulting, and technology
- 63.2% of graduates found jobs within Texas
This is a nice granularity of detail, and shows some of the disparities in expected income between different careers, though as this is so soon after graduation, these may lessen over time. While we would like to see a picture of how graduates are doing a few years later, this is a promising look at how McCombs prepares its graduates for future employment.
So What Do These Numbers Mean?
This is a lot of data, but how should you interpret it? CS seems to offer higher salaries, does this mean CS is inherently better as a career prospect? No.
These numbers are useful as a way to evaluate the value of a major or college pathway as an investment. While college has significant value outside of being a gateway to a career, we cannot discount how popular it is to view college through this lens. It also isn’t entirely wrong; many great careers are locked behind collegiate achievement.
These numbers are a good tool if you are interested in multiple careers, or are looking at the prospective salary compared to the amount of debt you need to take on for a degree. College can be viewed as an investment, and understanding the potential for return on that investment is important for some students when choosing between colleges and majors.
Final Thoughts
We did not cover every possible career, major, or college in this article, but we hope this provided a good outline for how you can look into and compare the possible career outcomes for top college programs. We chose two of the most popular for this article, but this can be done for any college and major combination. Not all colleges report this data with this level of detail, but most are eager to show off how successful and prosperous their alumni are.
This is just one consideration to make when applying to college and choosing a major, and how much it matters to you depends on your own circumstances and goals. Some industries do recruit more heavily from certain colleges, due to existing relationships. If you want advice on which colleges are best for your goals, or the best major to pursue your chosen career, schedule a free consultation today to learn how we can help you. We have a long experience helping students get into the right college for them, and are always happy to hear from you.
