Insights into graduate pay

THE university you attend can influence your starting salary by as much as $ 10,000, according to a new Federal Government report to be released today.

The 2018 Graduate Outcomes Survey — Longitudinal reveals nine in 10 university leavers are working full- time and earning an average salary of $ 70,000 within three years of graduating.

But the career and salary prospects of graduates vary widely depending on the course students study and the university they attend.

Despite the massive push to get school leavers enrolling in STEM ( science, technology, engineering and maths) degrees, the report reveals sci- ence and mathematics graduates have some of the weakest employment rates.

Less than half of the students who graduated from science and maths degrees in 2014 were found to be working full- time within four months of graduating, and 14 per cent were still not in full- time work this year.

In contrast, 96 per cent of pharmacy graduates were employed full- time by 2015, while 93 per cent of medical students secured full- time jobs almost immediately after graduation.

Across Queensland, employment rates and starting salaries varied considerably, with Central Queensland University delivering its graduates some of the largest pay packets.

In 2018, three years after graduating, Central Queensland University alumni from 2014 who were working full time were earning on average $ 77,200, compared with graduates from Bond University and Australian Catholic University who had average full- time wages of $ 67,000.

While full- time employment rates across all study disciplines narrowed over the three years between 2015 and 2018, the study revealed the gap between the highest salaries and lowest salaries widened from $ 44,200 in 2015 to $ 53,100 in 2018.

Graduate teachers experienced the slowest wage growth across the years to 2018.

The report also revealed the continuation of a gender pay gap. After three years in the workforce, females were earning less than male graduates in all study areas other than engineering and agriculture.