Fresh University of Southern California graduates are walking into six-figure tech and consulting roles while their peers in other majors face a brutal reality check, according to a recent survey highlighting the growing salary divide across professional fields.<\/p>\n
Entrepreneur and personal finance educator Charlie Chang interviewed<\/a> recent graduates of the university about their first job offers in June, revealing stark compensation gaps that reflect broader shifts in the post-pandemic labor market. While engineering and tech roles are commanding starting packages north of $100,000, other degree holders are confronting salaries barely above $55,000 despite similar educational investments.<\/p>\n Don’t Miss:<\/p>\n The highest-earning graduates clustered in predictable sectors. One graduate told Chang that AI engineer and sales engineering positions offer compensation “north of $100,000.” Similarly, a mechanical design role in building science pays between $80,000 and $100,000, while a tech consulting position at PwC<\/a> delivers approximately $95,000 to $96,000, including bonuses, according to another graduate.<\/p>\n Computer science and business administration graduates from USC entering consulting reported base salaries of around $86,000\u2013$87,000, with bonuses ranging from $7,000 to $8,000. Biomedical engineering roles in cardiac rhythm management also offered salaries in the $80,000\u2013$100,000 range.<\/p>\n But landing these positions<\/a> required significant effort. Multiple graduates described the job market as demanding \u201ca lot of effort and a lot of applications,\u201d suggesting intense competition despite strong compensation for those who succeed.<\/p>\n The compensation picture turns sharply negative for architecture graduates. Despite completing a five-year degree program plus subsequent licensing exams, starting salaries land between $55,000 and $65,000, according to the graduates.<\/p>\n Trending: Missed Tesla? EnergyX<\/a> Is Tackling the Next $200 Billion Opportunity \u2014 Lithium<\/p>\n One architecture graduate described the job market as \u201cpretty rough because of the economy\u201d and relocated to London seeking better prospects. The disparity highlights how degree length and difficulty don\u2019t necessarily correlate with early-career earnings.<\/p>\n Arts majors face similar challenges. Dance and other creative fields follow \u201cnot a linear path,\u201d with graduates advised to prioritize passion over immediate pay while finding stable income sources to support artistic pursuits.<\/p>\n Across all majors, graduates emphasized that classroom performance matters less than strategic networking. USC alumni repeatedly stressed being \u201cfriendly,\u201d \u201copen to everything,\u201d and actively leveraging university resources including the alumni association network.<\/p>\n Joining major-specific clubs proved \u201csuper helpful\u201d for recruitment, particularly organizations like the Women\u2019s Consulting Practice, a student-run group that prepares women for careers in consulting through workshops, mentorship, and networking. Faculty relationships and internships also created direct pipelines to full-time offers\u2014one engineering student said they \u201cnever quite knew what engineering was\u201d until an internship that converted into a job offer.<\/p>\n See Also: Forget Flipping Houses\u2014This Fund Lets You Invest in Home Equity Like Wall Street Does<\/a><\/p>\n Interview tactics matter too. Graduates recommended sending follow-up emails one week after interviews highlighting specific conversation details and asking targeted questions like \u201chow do you define success in this job.\u201d<\/p>\n Multiple graduates avoided debt entirely through aggressive scholarship applications and financial aid maximization. This approach proves critical given USC\u2019s high tuition costs and the reality that starting salaries vary by $45,000 or more depending on major selection.<\/p>\n The pressure creates difficult decisions. Several students said ignoring family pressure\u2014particularly from immigrant parents pushing computer science\u2014to pursue genuine interests, arguing they\u2019ll live the \u201c8-to-5 lifestyle\u201d regardless of parental preferences.<\/p>\n For those facing tough job markets, graduate school offers an extension. Some pursue master\u2019s degrees because they\u2019re \u201clifelong learners,\u201d while others\u2014particularly international students\u2014use additional degrees to remain in the U.S. job market longer.<\/p>\n The message: in 2025\u2019s employment landscape, your major and network matter far more than your university\u2019s name alone.<\/p>\n Read Next: From Moxy Hotels to $12B in Real Estate \u2014 The Firm Behind NYC’s Trendiest Properties Is Letting Individual Investors In.<\/a><\/p>\n Image: Shutterstock<\/p>\n UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily<\/a>, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets.<\/p>\n Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga:<\/p>\n This article New University of Southern California Grads Reveal Their Starting Salaries\u2014And the $45K Gap Between Majors Is Brutal<\/a> originally appeared on Benzinga.com<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a9 2025 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fresh University of Southern California graduates are walking into six-figure tech and consulting roles while their peers in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":75955,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[44021,7,9,8,44017,15530,5693,44022,24229,44020,44019,44018,3581],"class_list":["post-75954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-biomedical-engineering","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-charlie-chang","tag-charlie-munger","tag-compensation","tag-consulting-roles","tag-labor-market","tag-sales-engineering","tag-starting-salaries","tag-tech-consulting","tag-university-of-southern-california"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}