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Survey shows college grads overestimating starting salaries

Virus Outbreak College Graduations
Posted at 6:59 PM, May 05, 2022
and last updated 2022-05-05 20:59:50-04

A recent survey showed that recently graduated college students believe they will make six figures in their first job.

But the reality is that they'll make about $50,000, according to a survey conducted by Real Estate Witch.

Although wages have increased 4.5% since December 2020 — the most significant rise since 1983 and starting salaries have increased 8% in the last five years, the soon-to-be graduates across all majors are overstating their starting salaries by 88%, the survey showed.

According to the survey, journalism graduates believe they'll make more than $107,000 when they're going to make below $45,000.

However, those who majored in computer science overestimated their starting salary by 27%. They projected they'd make more than $95,000 when paid more than $75,000.

USA Today reported that the National Association of Colleges and Employers conducted a salary projections survey in February, which showed salaries for math, sciences, agriculture, and natural resources majors increased 5.4%. Still, the salaries for humanities majors decreased 14.8%.