How much do you expect to earn after college?
A comparison between student’s expected salaries and the facts
Last month, The Tab Hunter’s Boris Litvin revealed how Hunter graduates can expect to earn an average $44,800 as a starting salary.
There are about 16,000 undergrads at Hunter, with many different majors chosen for passion and/or financial reasons.
The Tab went around asking Hunterites what they aspire to become after graduating and their expected average salary.
Although not all Hunterites are aware of the average salary in their field, the accumulated expected average salary is $61,714. This is close to $17,000 over the reported average starting salary by the Department of Education for Hunter students.
Merita, Freshman, Pre-Nursing
“A registered nurse usually makes around $65,000 to $79,000 per year. But then I want to become a nurse anesthetist, which can make anywhere between $150,000 and $200,000 per year.”
The Tab’s research:
A registered nurse’s average salary was $66, 220 in 2013.
A certified nurse anesthetist average salary is $166,853. The salary ranges from $153,897 to $181,308.
Anthony, Freshman, Psychology & Economics
“Hopefully after medical school I start off with a residency, and you make around $60,000 to $70,000 a year if you get a good residency. The most you can make is $90,000. Then from there I hope to go into pediatric surgery where the average salary is $300,000.”
The Tab’s research:
The average salary of a resident is $55,300.
A pediatric surgeon’s average salary is $399,066. It can range from $322,833 to $499,645 a year.
Kimberly, Junior, English
“My concentration is adolescent education. Usually when I search up what a teacher makes it’s $44 an hour, but also depending on if it’s a charter school or a public school. I haven’t really checked the difference between them.”
The Tab’s research:
A public middle school teacher’s average salary is $43,273 .
A charter middle school teacher’s average salary is $41,629.
Jacob, Sophomore, Theater
“I’m hoping to go into the voice acting field. It’s not an easy field to get into, so I have to start small and hopefully one day make it big. I have no clue what the average salary is. It obviously varies very much. It’s not as much as people think.”
The Tab’s research:
Voice actors are paid per job.
There isn’t a definite average salary but rough estimates say it ranges from $25,000 to $50,000.
Mina, Junior, Sociology
“I’m not sure in what I want to major, but possibly education in a college setting. I plan to go get my master’s. The salary I think might be $35,000 per year. It’s not too bad but I’m also not sure. I might change my major.”
The Tab’s research:
A sociology professor’s average salary is $73,080 per year.
Elesa, Junior, Film and Estrella, Junior, Psychology
Elesa: “I want to go either into production or directing. I think it depends on what you’re doing. It’s about $48,000 a year. In terms of getting by I think that’s good.”
Estrella: “I plan to get my master’s in Social Work after I finish my bachelor’s. I’m not sure how much the salary is but helping people is my main point.”
The Tab’s research:
The average salary of producers and directors is $71,350.
A social worker’s average salary is $46,060.
Syed, Junior, Computer Science
“I’m going to make a lot of money and since I can make a lot of money hopefully by the time I’m like middle age and I retire, I’ll become a philanthropist. Starting out after you graduate is $70,000 and upwards to $100,000. I mean depending on where you want to work and how good you are at programming.”
Ira, Junior, Computer Science
“I play a lot of games so I went into Computer Science because of that. The starting salary ranges a lot but you could say $60,000, you won’t get any lower than that, but it quickly builds up once you’re in the field for five to 10 years you get boasted to $100,000 or over. But what can you do with all that money?”
The Tab’s research:
A computer programmer’s average salary is $80,930. It can increase to $90,000 after 10 years.
Stephanie, Junior, Psychology
“I want to go on and get my PhD and I want my own practice. After college I’m going straight into grad school for my master’s and then my PhD. I’m aiming to be a child psychologist. It depends because I want my own practice so that varies. The last time I checked it was $75 thousand and up. I checked six months ago.”
The Tab’s research:
A child psychologist’s average salary is $68,640. Beginners in the field can earn from $55,000 to $80,000. After ten years of experience it can increase to $100,000.