Survey Says: Degree From NMT Compares Well
SOCORRO, N.M. July 30, 2009 – The average salary of New Mexico Tech graduates is ranked in the top 15 percent of more than 599 universities in the nation, according to the most recent data at PayScale.com.
Tech graduates earn an average of $51,000 upon graduation and $96,500 at mid-career, ranking 75th in the nation.
Among technical universities, Tech ranks in the middle of the pack – 26th out of 48 universities categorized as “engineering schools.”
Most of the engineering schools rank in the top third in the study of salaries. The bottom third is mostly schools categorized as “liberal arts” or the catch-all “state school.”
New Mexico Tech has identified 13 “peer institutions” for comparison purposes, including the two other research universities in New Mexico and 11 engineering schools. Tech ranks very well in comparison:
Rank and School Initial Salary Mid-Career
23. Colorado School of Mines $60,000 $109,000
32. Georgia Tech $58,900 $105,000
36. New Jersey Tech $55,100 $104,000
74. New Mexico Tech $51,700 $96,300
81. Missouri S&T $57,300 $95,200
95. South Dakota School of Mines $57,800 $92,300
110. Michigan Tech $53,400 $90,100
159. Alabama-Huntsville (UAH) $44,200 $86,200
247. Tennessee Tech $44,500 $79,900
260. North Dakota State $46,200 $78,800
263. University of New Mexico $42,500 $78,500
285. New Mexico State $45,700 $77,300
NA Montana Tech
NA SUNY ESF (Syracuse)
The top 10 schools are the following:
University Initial Salary Mid-Career
1. Dartmouth University $58,200 $129,000
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology $71,100 $126,000
3. Harvard University $60,000 $126,000
4. Harvey Mudd College $71,000 $125,000
5. Stanford University $67,500 $124,000
6. Princeton University $65,000 $124,000
7. Colgate University $51,900 $122,000
8. University of Notre Dame $55,300 $121,000
9. Yale University $56,000 $120,000
10. University of Pennsylvania $62,500 $118,000
Among engineering schools, the top 10 universities:
Initial Salary Mid-Career Salary
1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology $71,100 $126,000
2. Harvey Mudd College $71,000 $125,000
3. Stanford University $67,500 $124,000
4. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute $62,500 $116,000
5. Bucknell University $56,100 $116,000
6. California Institute of Technology $69,700 $115,000
7. Polytechnic University of NY, Brooklyn $62,700 $114,000
8. Lehigh University $57,400 $114,000
9. Carnegie Mellon University $65,300 $113,000
10. University of California, Berkeley $57,100 $112,000
The highest ranked public schools are Cal-Berkeley (18) and Colorado School of Mines (23). The only other public schools to outrank New Mexico Tech are Georgia Tech (32), University of California-San Diego (41), Cal-Santa Barbara (60), Virginia Tech (66), Virginia (69) and San Jose State (73).
For those unfamiliar with New Mexico Tech, the ranking might be surprising, considering some of the schools ranked below Tech. They include St. John’s (79), Texas A&M (82), Johns Hopkins (83), New York U. (84), Colorado (87), Michigan (97), Boston University (102) and Purdue (104), to name a few.
Among schools west of the Mississippi, New Mexico Tech ranks 18th behind 13 California universities, two in Texas, one in Minnesota and Colorado School of Mines.
The PayScale.com rankings are by no means scientific or complete. The company solicits detailed information from employees about their wage and job history.
– NMT –
By Thomas Guengerich
