All Business Majors are Not Created Equal — How Much California State University Undergrads Really Earn After Graduation
All Business Majors are Not Created Equal — How Much California State University Undergrads Really Earn After Graduation
You’ll be surprised which major earns the least!
Every time I meet with a student for advisement, I think about their business major related to their future income.
“What’s your major?” I ask.
Pre-law? Hmmmm, that will be a longer and more difficult road for you financially.
Systems and operational management with an internship? Ding ding ding! You win and will do well after graduation.
This week I decided to look at the actual data around earnings from graduates from my employer, California State University, Northridge. Located near Los Angeles, CSUN is part of the California State University (CSU) system, where almost a half-million students will enroll in one of the 23 CSU’s this fall. With a total enrollment of 39,285 students (as of Fall 2020), it has the second-largest undergraduate population as well as the third-largest total student body of the 23-campus CSU system, making it one of the largest comprehensive universities in the United States in terms of enrollment size.
Business administration is the second most popular major at the University (behind social and behavioral science), and tuition is a very good value at $7k annually for residents of California and around $11k for non-residents. Considering other local options, such as the University of Southern California, which will set you back more than $60k a year, this state school is considered very inexpensive. But what about the outcomes? How much will you earn majoring in business at a California state university?And which majors earn the highest income?
The results may surprise you. I would have never guessed the lowest paying business major.
How Much Does a Business Undergrad Really Make?
One of the best ways to determine the value of a degree is to consider the outcomes. The graph below shows the actual salaries of CSUN graduates two, five, and ten years after graduation. The data in this article comes from a project conducted by the CSU system, and earnings are adjusted to 2021 dollars.
The average salary for a CSUN graduate two years after they completed a bachelor’s degree in business earned just under $58k*. Looking at the longer-term results, median CSUN graduates earned just over $70k five years after graduation and almost $86k ten years after graduation. These numbers look pretty good and are a great return on investment given the affordable tuition cost. But what about the different business majors? The graph below details the earnings by major two years after graduation from CSUN.
Median Salaries two years after graduation range from $48k to $64k per year, depending on major.
Highest (& Lowest) Earning Business Majors
You might be surprised to learn that finance majors made, on average, 33% less than accounting majors. Finance has a reputation of being a high-earning profession in industry, but the actual earnings show that finance is the lowest-earning major at CSUN.
If you’re looking to maximize your salary post-graduation, two majors stick out as the highest earning potential; CSUN graduates with an accounting degree and management information systems (MIS) degree graduates made the highest earnings at $63k-$64k per year. Other high-earning majors are management and systems and operations management, both reporting earnings around $55k two years after graduation.
Finance and business law majors ranked the lowest earnings, around $48k per year. Below is a ranking of the highest to lowest earnings by business major:
Accounting
Management information systems
Management
Systems and operations management
Economics
Marketing
Business law
Finance
Takeaway
Your major can make a big difference in your earning potential. Based on real data from CSUN graduates, you can expect to make significantly less with a finance degree compared to an accounting or management information systems degree. For students looking for a less quantitative degree, the data shows that management majors make, on average, 9.1% more than marketing majors two years after graduation.
No matter what business major you take, a business degree at a CSU is still a very good value. For a 4-year cost of around $28,000 for California residents and $47,000 for non-residents, the CSU system offers students excellent value and return on investment (ROI). Business students can expect to make, on average, $57,669 two years after they graduate. As college tuition costs continue to rise, the CSU offers its undergraduate business students an affordable education option with proven outcomes.
*Annual salaries have been converted to 2021 dollars.
Source: CSUN Institutional Research
Joy Griffin is an award-winning entrepreneur educator dedicated to helping Gen Y and Z Succeed.
