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What is the difference in earnings 5, 7, and 10 years after college (and grad school) graduation between the expected earnings prior and those after?
Hello! Thank you for your question regarding the average earnings of college and graduate school graduates five, seven, and 10 years after graduating. The short answer is that college and grad school graduates earn significantly more than high-school graduates over a lifetime, and these earnings continue to rise each year that they continue to gain work experience. The most helpful resources I identified while researching this question were two articles from PayScale, College Data, and Best Masters Degrees. You will see a deep dive of my findings below.
POST-GRADUATE SALARIES
Ultimately, average salaries vary greatly for post-grads for both undergraduate and graduate degrees, depending on a number of factors such as gender, career, university attended, and the city or state you work in. Despite these variances though, PayScale was able to provide averages across these demographics, based on number of years spent working. Data was broken down for years of experience working after graduation, including less than one year of experience, 1-4 years of experience, 5-9 years of experience, 10-19 years of experience, and 20 or more years of experience.
For individuals with a bachelor's degree, the average salary less than one year after graduation is $44,595. This jumps to $63,235 for individuals with five to nine years of experience, and to $76,707 for individuals with 10 to 19 years of experience. This means that in their first 10 years out of college, individuals with a bachelor's degree can expect an estimated $32,112 in raises.
Alternatively, the average starting salary for an individual with a master's degree is approximately $6,000 more than that of someone with only a bachelor's degree, at $50,868 with less than one year of experience. For those graduates with between one and four years of experience, the average salary is $54,483, compared to $71,032 for those with five to nine years of experience post-graduation. Finally, those individuals with between 10 and 19 years of experience make an average of $86,388. This means that, over their first 10 years working after obtaining a master's degree, graduates can expect an estimated $35,520 in raises.
Ultimately, these salaries can vary by several thousand dollars depending on gender, race, location, career, and university attended. For example, a software engineer with a bachelor's degree can expect to make between $54,137 and $115,120; whereas a graphic designer with the same level of education earns an estimated $29,890 to $57,238. Alternatively, the average starting salary for a graduate of MIT is $110,200. Specifically, the earnings of a college graduate can vary by 40 to 50 percent depending on the degree obtained.
OTHER DATA
College Scorecard estimates that college graduates earn an average of $1 million more over the course of their lifetimes, than do high-school graduates. Specifically, on an annual basis, college graduates earn approximately 15 to 27 percent more than their high-school educated counterparts. Further, "a worker sees earnings grow five percent for every year of college completed within the first few years following college, rising to about seven to nine percent decades after college...for vocational or associate’s degrees, the earnings benefit compared to just a high school diploma is roughly three to seven percent"
Comparatively, the average cost of a bachelor's degree is between $24,610 and $49,320. This means that, less than one year after graduation, the average college graduate will be earning in one year the total cost of their college degree. Alternatively, the average cost of a master's degree ranges from $30,000 to $120,000. While these are both very high upfront costs, the average graduate begins to earn the total cost of their degree within 5 to 10 years of their graduation. Additionally, college graduates earn an estimated $1 million more than their high-school educated counterparts. Finally, individuals with a bachelor's and/or master's degree are significantly less likely than their high-school graduated counterparts to be unemployed. Specifically, 82.6 percent of college graduates are employed, compared to only 67.8 percent of high-school graduates.
SUMMARY
To summarize, college and grad school graduates earn significantly more than high-school graduates over a lifetime, and these earnings continue to rise each year that they continue to gain work experience. Specifically, the average college graduate with between 10 and 19 years of experience earns $76,707 annually.
Comparatively, the average graduate with a master's degree will earn an estimated $86,388 after working for 10 to 19 years.
Thank you for asking Wonder! Let us know if we can help with anything else.