How much money do California State University Bakersfield graduates make and which majors earn the most upon graduating? Six years after enrolling, alumni who are working have average earnings of $37,100 per year. After ten years, graduates earn $48,300 on average.
In terms of specific areas of study, the following is a ranking of degree programs by the median first-year starting salaries for CSU Bakersfield graduates.
The undergraduate degree which initially pays the highest is Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing with a median starting salary of $78,300 followed by Natural Resources Management and Policy paying $50,600 and Computer Science graduates who have a median starting income of $47,600 .
Looking at post-graduate and doctorate students, those completing the Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degree) program rank first with a median initial income of $71,600 followed by Education (Master's Degree) at $65,500 and Social Work (Master's Degree) who earn $57,600 .
Note about salary data: First year earnings data are aggregated by the US Department of Education and analyzes IRS reported income for California State University Bakersfield graduates who received federal financial aid in the form of grants or loans. Not all graduates or fields of study are represented as data for some degree programs are omitted for privacy purposes.
| Major | Earnings |
|---|---|
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor’s Degree) | $78,300 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degree) | $71,600 |
| Education (Master's Degree) | $65,500 |
| Social Work (Master's Degree) | $57,600 |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Master's Degree) | $52,600 |
| Public Administration (Master's Degree) | $51,100 |
| Natural Resources Management and Policy (Bachelor’s Degree) | $50,600 |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services (Master's Degree) | $49,300 |
| Computer Science (Bachelor’s Degree) | $47,600 |
| Engineering Science (Bachelor’s Degree) | $39,100 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor’s Degree) | $34,200 |
| Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) | $32,200 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections (Bachelor’s Degree) | $30,500 |
| Sociology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $30,100 |
| Biology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $26,100 |
| Chemistry (Bachelor’s Degree) | $25,800 |
| Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other (Bachelor’s Degree) | $23,000 |
| Psychology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $22,700 |
| Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor’s Degree) | $22,300 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services (Bachelor’s Degree) | $21,600 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences Studies and Humanities (Bachelor’s Degree) | $17,000 |
Primary data source, U.S. Department of Education https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?id=110486 IPEDS survey and College Scorecard data for California State University Bakersfield.