Dentistry was the top of the list, while pharmacy ranked the lowest for median full-time salaries. (Source: Getty)
The best-paying jobs that Aussie graduates can nab straight out of university have been revealed. University degrees have become a lot more expensive, and while salary isn’t everything, it can be an important factor when deciding which path to take.
The latest Graduate Outcomes Survey by the Australian government delved into the highest and lowest salaries on offer for graduate roles. Dentistry topped the list, with full-time employed graduates raking in $103,300 a year on average.
Pharmacy ranked the lowest, with graduates earning $59,200 on average, despite pharmacy having one of the highest full-time employment rates at 91.4 per cent.
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The survey found there was a drop off in full-time employment rates broadly, ranging from a high of 94.9 per cent for rehabilitation graduates down to 48.4 per cent for creative arts graduates.
Of course, you don’t have to go to university to secure a high-paying job.
ATO data revealed drillers, miners and shot firers were earning an average salary of $133,873 per year.
This was based on tax return data from the 2022-23 financial year. The average Australian income for the income year was $74,240, while the median was $55,868.
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Dentistry $103,300
Medicine $86,800
Social work $82,000
Engineering $80,000
Teacher education $78,800
Law and paralegal studies $76,000
Computing and information systems $75,300
Psychology $75,100
Rehabilitation $75,000
Architecture and built environment $75,000
Pharmacy $59,500
Creative arts $62,600
Tourism, hospitality, personal services, sport and recreation $63,900
Communications $65,200
Veterinary science $70,000
Agriculture and environmental studies $71,500
Business and management $72,000
Nursing $72,000
Science and mathematics $72,400
Humanities, culture and social sciences $73,100
The survey, which was based on responses from more than 117,000 recent graduates in 2024, found that the gender pay gap persisted across all study areas.
Female median salaries were only reported to be higher than those of males in pharmacy and communications, with a gap of $600 and $3,100, respectively.
Areas where female salaries lagged the most were tourism, hospitality, personal services, sport and recreation ($10,200 gap), architecture and built environment ($9,300 gap), law and paralegal studies ($5,000 gap), and science and mathematics ($5,000 gap).
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“This is sometimes attributed to females being more likely to graduate from study areas that attract lower remuneration,” the report said.
“However, analysis of undergraduate median salaries in the 2024 GOS suggests that there may be other factors at play, such as the breadth of skillset, occupation level, industry of employment, supply and demand in the labour market, duration in the workforce, and personal factors.”
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