Top unis ‘don’t help salary’
The prestige of your university has no bearing on your earnings over a lifetime but your choice of qualification does, a new report has revealed.
The Grattan Institute’s Mapping Australian Higher Education report found there was no difference in starting salaries between graduates of leading Group of Eight universities and other universities.
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This is despite Group of Eight universities having higher international rankings and requiring higher entrance scores.
The research says what profession you choose, such as science or law, affects your earnings over a lifetime rather than the reputation of the institution you studied at.
“The salary results are consistent with previous Australian research, which finds that university attended has no or little impact on graduates’ starting salaries,” says the report.
“An engineering graduate earns about 11 per cent more than a science graduate with otherwise similar personal characteristics.”
Despite the findings, graduates of prestigious universities were more likely to get first jobs matching their qualifications.
