College Graduates with Highest Starting Salary

Never seen this study or the numbers. But three thoughts about what might explain this:

First, all mids are employed six months after graduation (the usual checkpoint for these studies). Like most other schools, JH has grads still searching (or not searching) six months later.

Second, all mids earn pretty much the same amount. There’s greater variance in JH earnings, given the broad array of professions pursued. Some high salaries, to be sure, and some low ones too.

Third, I wonder how the study counts the “extras” that Navy and Marine officers receive, e.g. housing allowance. That can add up.
 
There is noth9ng in the private
MidCakePa said:
Never seen this study or the numbers. But three thoughts about what might explain this:

First, all mids are employed six months after graduation (the usual checkpoint for these studies). Like most other schools, JH has grads still searching (or not searching) six months later.

Second, all mids earn pretty much the same amount. There’s greater variance in JH earnings, given the broad array of professions pursued. Some high salaries, to be sure, and some low ones too.

Third, I wonder how the study counts the “extras” that Navy and Marine officers receive, e.g. housing allowance. That can add up.
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The private sector may flash higher salaries in front of their new hires and there may be free sushi in the cafeteria, but there is nothing in the Private Sector that compares to the "extras" for a fresh O-1. Plus it's almost impossible to get fired for 4 or 5 years.
 
MidCakePa said:
Never seen this study or the numbers. But three thoughts about what might explain this:

First, all mids are employed six months after graduation (the usual checkpoint for these studies). Like most other schools, JH has grads still searching (or not searching) six months later.

Second, all mids earn pretty much the same amount. There’s greater variance in JH earnings, given the broad array of professions pursued. Some high salaries, to be sure, and some low ones too.

Third, I wonder how the study counts the “extras” that Navy and Marine officers receive, e.g. housing allowance. That can add up.
Click to expand...
Goods points. I also wonder if USNA grads start to flatten out while other grads increase pay at a greater rate. I don't have the time, but a quick look at different rank pay ranges might reveal that to be the case.
 
cb7893 said:
There is noth9ng in the private

The private sector may flash higher salaries in front of their new hires and there may be free sushi in the cafeteria, but there is nothing in the Private Sector that compares to the "extras" for a fresh O-1. Plus it's almost impossible to get fired for 4 or 5 years.
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I can attest to some of the extras. My father was career Navy. When he passed, my mother lived with us. Her Tricare benefits were extraordinary.
 
How do they account for someone like my daughter who made 15k a year the last three years after graduating? She is getting an advanced degree.

Many of the better students in my kids grades are getting advanced degrees.
 
A1Janitor said:
How do they account for someone like my daughter who made 15k a year the last three years after graduating? She is getting an advanced degree.

Many of the better students in my kids grades are getting advanced degrees.
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Not surprisingly, they don't. It's a report done by SmartAsset which bills itself as a financial technology firm. It's more of a PR/marketing effort than anything comprehensive. I just found it somewhat interesting that USNA was $10k greater than JHU for undergrads.
 
- Base pay: rank and time in service. Bumps every 2 years and at promotions.
- Flight pay, hazardous duty pay, sea pay, etc., additional pays depending on types of duty.
- Various retention, incentive and community bonuses.

All pays are taxable.

Untaxed allowances:
- Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH), pegged to zip code and with-without dependents status.
- Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS)
- Dislocation Allowance (paid after PCS moves)

Free, no co-pay or premium, at military treatment facilities, urgent/emergency care fully covered, nothing comes out of the pay for this: medical care and dental care, all pharmacy. I didn’t realize the huge value of this until I retired from AD and saw what civilian co-workers paid monthly for healthcare, and still had to pony up for co-pays, etc.


Free household goods moves, weight limit pegged to rank. Full pack-up with new materials, delivery, placement, assembly, unpacking, box takeaway. Huge benefit in untaxed in-kind dollars.
Also option for Do It Yourself (DITY) move, with compensation.

Other PCS travel reimbursements or payments between duty stations.

Shopping at military exchanges and commissaries in person and online. Tax-free. Most items lower than retail, some a lot, some not as competitive as Walmart. (I just got a Black Friday special online at a military exchange on a Harry Potter Legos wall art Gryffindor crest for $45 less than a major retailer, no tax, free shipping, for a tweener family member.).

A cost-avoidance benny - the ability to not pay state income tax by establishing a legal residence in a no-state-income-tax state or military income not taxed for residents serving out of state. I paid full state income tax to GA the first few years of my career, then was able to change residencies to FL. Then it was 20+ years ago of not paying any state income tax until I retired.

Above was all top of head. No doubt I left some things out.

We won’t even get into retiree benefits - for those who stay for the long haul, there is some compensation. Because of DH’s disability status, we pay no Maryland state property tax, 4-figure cost avoidance. And we can’t complain about the military retiree healthcare plan. DH had reverse shoulder replacement this past summer with the top “shoulder guy” at Hopkins. I saw the EOB, $44k just for the surgery, not including PT, pre-surgery exams, imaging, tests, etc. Zip out of pocket, except for the monthly Medicare payment out of his Social Security pay. TRICARE for Life picked up anything not covered by Medicare.

To be fair, military people who rise to high rank get nowhere near what civilian executives with the same responsibility or scope of role get paid. But if you stay in that long, the money isn’t what matters, it’s the service, the life, the community. I wouldn’t trade the experiences I had for any amount of money. Money couldn’t buy what I got to do, see and experience. My background laid the foundation for being able to cross deck into civilian roles with much higher base salary. DH and I are very blessed with what we have. Some sound financial management practice over the span of years has helped.

It all depends what you are looking for USMMA is a great launching pad, as are the state maritime academies. There is still the opportunity to serve as a USNR officer. Retired Reserve officers have access to TRICARE retiree medical carE at age 60, and to TRICARE for Life when eligible for Medicare.

All good.
 
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Capt MJ said:
- Base pay: rank and time in service. Bumps every 2 years and at promotions.
- Flight pay, hazardous duty pay, sea pay, etc., additional pays depending on types of duty.
- Various retention, incentive and community bonuses.

All pays are taxable.

Untaxed allowances:
- Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH), pegged to zip code and with-without dependents status.
- Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS)
- Dislocation Allowance (paid after PCS moves)

Free, no co-pay or premium, at military treatment facilities, urgent/emergency care fully covered, nothing comes out of the pay for this: medical care and dental care, all pharmacy. I didn’t realize the huge value of this until I retired from AD and saw what civilian co-workers paid monthly for healthcare, and still had to pony up for co-pays, etc.


Free household goods moves, weight limit pegged to rank. Full pack-up with new materials, delivery, placement, assembly, unpacking, box takeaway. Huge benefit in untaxed in-kind dollars.
Also option for Do It Yourself (DITY) move, with compensation.

Other PCS travel reimbursements or payments between duty stations.

Shopping at military exchanges and commissaries in person and online. Tax-free. Most items lower than retail, some a lot, some not as competitive as Walmart. (I just got a Black Friday special online at a military exchange on a Harry Potter Legos wall art Gryffindor crest for $45 less than a major retailer, no tax, free shipping, for a tweener family member.).

A cost-avoidance benny - the ability to not pay state income tax by establishing a legal residence in a no-state-income-tax state or military income not taxed for residents serving out of state. I paid full state income tax to GA the first few years of my career, then was able to change residencies to FL. Then it was 20+ years ago of not paying any state income tax until I retired.

Above was all top of head. No doubt I left some things out.

We won’t even get into retiree benefits - for those who stay for the long haul, there is some compensation. Because of DH’s disability status, we pay no Maryland state property tax, 4-figure cost avoidance. And we can’t complain about the military retiree healthcare plan. DH had reverse shoulder replacement this past summer with the top “shoulder guy” at Hopkins. I saw the EOB, $44k just for the surgery, not including PT, pre-surgery exams, imaging, tests, etc. Zip out of pocket, except for the monthly Medicare payment out of his Social Security pay. TRICARE for Life picked up anything not covered by Medicare.

To be fair, military people who rise to high rank get nowhere near what civilian executives with the same responsibility or scope of role get paid. But if you stay in that long, the money isn’t what matters, it’s the service, the life, the community. I wouldn’t trade the experiences I had for any amount of money. Money couldn’t buy what I got to do, see and experience. My background laid the foundation for being able to cross deck into civilian roles with much higher base salary. DH and I are very blessed with what we have. Some sound financial management practice over the span of years has helped.

It all depends what you are looking for USMMA is a great launching pad, as are the state maritime academies. There is still the opportunity to serve as a USNR officer. Retired Reserve officers have access to TRICARE retiree medical carE at age 60, and to TRICARE for Life when eligible for Medicare.

All good.
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All legal … thank you @Capt MJ … archiving your post 🥸
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Like all of these rankings....its important to read the details of what is being evaluated and what the source of information is. Personally, I give very little weight or meaning to most public rankings ..is USNA really the top ranked Liberal Arts School ? (Answer, yes, because our Science majors fall within Liberal Arts).

In the Highest Starting Salary -- having (virtually ) 100% employment is a big jump over many schools where a 4 year college grad can get a job as a barrista. That said, even though an 0-1 gets paid well, and reliably (don't ever discount the stability of your employer), I'd hate to see it broken down into a hourly wage, particularly when deployed ! As CAPT MJ said, no one should do it for the money. It's the opportunity to do cool things and work with some of the best people that make it worthwhile. (I can tell you, there are plenty of times when I've sat in my nice office, making good money, and wishing I was back flying on deployment--even out of Iceland !)
 
"I can imagine a no more rewarding career. And any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worth while, I think can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction: 'I served in the United States Navy.’”
~ John F. Kennedy
 
As always, the devil is in the details. How they calculate what is meant by "starting salary?" Just pay? Pay and benefits? Also, is it just for those who are employed or all graduates? What about civilian graduates who go on to graduate school and are actually paying -- not earning?

As a military officer (based on military pay and retirement alone not post military career), you will always live comfortably but never be rich. For most, that's more than ok.
 
Couldn't read the article since it is behind a paywall. However, the title seems to imply they are drawing conclusions about attending college in Maryland. Somewhat like those other efforts by various media outlets to 'rank' colleges, it depends on what criteria you are using, what you count, what you exclude, etc. If you start out trying to prove some predetermined conclusion, likely your criteria will be skewed to support your view of things. If you have no interest/aptitude to attend USNA, it really doesn't matter how the starting salaries rank. Using that as a criteria on where to attend college would be a mistake.
 
Old Navy BGO said:
That said, even though an 0-1 gets paid well, and reliably (don't ever discount the stability of your employer), I'd hate to see it broken down into a hourly wage, particularly when deployed !
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One exception to this where the hourly wage is quite spectacular: SNAs in A-Pool waiting to start flight school. O-1 pay and BAH with the only responsibilities being a daily muster and to stay out of trouble. Enjoying it while it lasts, though I’d rather just get started!
 
Kierkegaard said:
One exception to this where the hourly wage is quite spectacular: SNAs in A-Pool waiting to start flight school. O-1 pay and BAH with the only responsibilities being a daily muster and to stay out of trouble. Enjoying it while it lasts, though I’d rather just get started!
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Especially if doing a side job….
 
Highest starting salary out of college is a meaningless statistic. Comparing engineers to English majors? How about Chem E’s to civils? Even different parts of a state will have regional variations. And how long do you stay at your starting salary? What about non-monetary factors like ease of mobility, stress at the work place etc? And where does one sit compared to like peers? Comparing a DoD “job” for an active-duty officer to a civilian counterpart is assuming the jobs and work places are comparable. If dollars is how one keeps score, a better look would be 10 or 15 years out of school. Income is really important- to a point-no argument there. But it is only one metric and a very shallow one in the big scheme of things. Money and income are ways of keeping score in a game that you eventually learn is not really on the score board.
 
ders_dad said:
Highest starting salary out of college is a meaningless statistic. Comparing engineers to English majors? How about Chem E’s to civils? Even different parts of a state will have regional variations. And how long do you stay at your starting salary? What about non-monetary factors like ease of mobility, stress at the work place etc? And where does one sit compared to like peers? Comparing a DoD “job” for an active-duty officer to a civilian counterpart is assuming the jobs and work places are comparable. If dollars is how one keeps score, a better look would be 10 or 15 years out of school. Income is really important- to a point-no argument there. But it is only one metric and a very shallow one in the big scheme of things. Money and income are ways of keeping score in a game that you eventually learn is not really on the score board.
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And as my grandfather used to say, “It’s not how much you MAKE, it’s how much you SAVE.” Officers probably have another advantage here I would think. Not much you can spend money on while underway.
 
The experience and sound foundation is worth more than the money out of college. The money will come in life, but serving your country is a great way to enter the work force.
 
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