Most young adults are looking for a way to get rich and famous. College is usually not the best method for accomplishing the latter, but a new study says the former may not be such a distant dream.
Miami University was ranked 13 out of 300 Midwestern universities and 21 nationally for best post-graduation salary potential by payscale.com.
Payscale.com, a global compensation data website, posted Miami graduates with a bachelor's degree earn $45,800 as a starting salary and $91,400 mid-career.
The only Midwestern colleges above Miami in the national listing were University of Illinois and Missouri University of Science and Technology.
While he agreed with the numbers as a ballpark estimate, William Froude, associate director of Miami Career Services, was not familiar with payscale.com. He said Miami relies on information from the National Association of Colleges and Employers as well as salary.com for its internal data.
"The numbers appear to be about right, but that's subjective opinion," he said.
Froude had not come across any mid-career estimates and did not comment on them, but the high ranking did not surprise him.
"Miami is a good school," he said. "It has a great reputation with employers. In general it has a good history with the job market."
Raymond Gorman, associate provost and vice president of academic affairs, said the numbers were an accurate reflection of Miami's reputation.
"Historically, Miami graduates have done well in the job market because of its strong grounding in liberal arts and good education skills," Gorman said.
First-year Mike Flores was pleased with the rankings.
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"Sounds like you don't have to go to an Ivy League college to be a success anymore," Flores said.
Froude said the numbers can be skewed due to location because "$45,000 in Chicago is different than in Oxford."
Due to that variable and a few others, including employers or job descriptions, there is some slight fluctuation in actual earnings. As a whole, Froude said the payscle.com numbers are relatively solid.
According to the methodology page on payscale.com, the company has a stringent process for picking interviewees. They only selected graduates who had received bachelor's degrees and were working full time in the U.S. They chose from public and private colleges from across the country. There is a "90 percent confidence level on the median (income projections)," according to the website.
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