Career Pathways and Starting Salaries
Once you've identified a career field that interests you, you may wonder what specific roles are available in that industry and approximately what salary you can expect if you decide to pursue a career in that field.
Career Advancement has compiled a list of common positions in major industries and the approximate starting salary for each role. Geography and cost-of-living can vary and affect entry-level salary. Starting salaries may be higher in major metropolitan areas and at large organizations. For support in navigating the offer process, schedule an appointment with a Career Advancement adviser.
Salary data for most industries courtesy of PayScale.com.
Where You Can Go in Behavioral Science
If you’re interested in human behavior, there are many exciting directions you can take your career. Employers across many different industries hire behavioral science experts. Behavioral science specialties you can explore include mental health, market research, social service, behavior change consulting, and academic research.
Career Advancement has compiled a sample list below of career paths in behavioral science as well as the median salary for entry-level positions.
Where You Can Go in Business
Business encompasses many different industries and career paths, and there are opportunities for students of all skill sets. Whether you love crunching numbers, interacting with people, coding, doing research, or working on creative projects, you can find a rewarding career in business. Some of the major types of employers in the field include consulting firms, investment banks, financial services organizations, advertising agencies, and corporations that provide a variety of goods and services.
Below is a list of sample business careers that UChicago students commonly pursue along with representative salary ranges for each.
Where You Can Go in Computer Science
Computer Science is a dynamic and exciting field with many different opportunities and career pathways. Depending on your specific skills and interests, you can consider working as a software engineer, web designer, IT hardware specialist, data scientist, product manager, cyber security analyst, and more!
Our recruiting partners work closely with the University to help students launch successful and rewarding careers in computer science. Entry-level computer science positions typically pay a salary between $50,000 and $80,000.
Geography and cost-of-living can vary and affect entry-level salary. For example, starting salaries range as high as $100,000 - $150,000 for software engineering roles at top tier employers and in major metropolitan areas. Additionally, computer science full-time offers may include components such as stock options, signing bonuses, relocation support, and other benefits which affect the overall total compensation.
Median entry-level salaries for specific computer science roles include:
Where You Can Go in Education
Whether you’re interested in schools or analyzing how to make them better, education offers many career opportunities drawing on highly diverse skillsets. Examples of the rewarding career paths in education include teaching, education administration, research, policy, and volunteer corps programs such as Teach for America and AmeriCorps. Below is an overview of different career paths in education and median entry-level salaries for each.
Where You Can Go in Healthcare
There are many exciting career pathways in healthcare. In addition to traditional clinical careers such as medicine and nursing, the field offers many opportunities in sub-industries such as medical research, healthcare consulting, health policy, health services technology, and hospital administration.
Most medical careers require graduate education, but there are many entry-level opportunities in healthcare that are open to those with Bachelor’s degrees. Below is an overview of different career paths in healthcare with median entry-level salaries for each.
Where You Can Go in Journalism & Creative Writing
Writing and editing are highly versatile skills that you can apply to a diverse range of career paths, including journalism, publishing, fiction writing, and communications. Depending on your individual interests, you could consider working at publications such as newspapers and magazines, media production agencies, publishing houses, or even as an independent freelancer.
Below is a list of representative storytelling careers with entry-level median salaries for each.
Where You Can Go in Law
Law is a highly diverse career field with the opportunity to serve a range of clients from individuals to large corporations. You can practice law in local, state, and federal government agencies, legal nonprofits, corporations, or private law firms of any size. Or you could be a judge! You can also specialize in any number of different areas, including criminal law, corporate law, environmental law, immigration law, tax law, civil rights law and many more.
Where You Can Go in Science, Computation, Innovation, and Engineering
The number of career opportunities in STEM are as diverse as the sciences themselves. Whether you’re interested in advancing scientific knowledge or applying these findings to help solve problems, there are many exciting career paths for scientists and engineers in academia, government, and industry.
Check out the list below for sample career paths in science, computation, innovation, and engineering and median entry-level salaries for each. Geography and cost-of-living can vary and affect entry-level salary. Starting salaries may be higher in major metropolitan areas and at large organizations. For support in navigating the offer process, schedule an appointment with a Career Advancement adviser.
Where You Can Go in Arts, Culture & Entertainment
If you’re passionate about the arts, you have a highly diverse range of career paths you can explore. These include artistic practice, arts administration, cultural institutions, and both business and creative roles in the entertainment industry.
Take a look at the list below for a list of sample careers in arts, culture, and entertainment and median entry-level salaries for each.
Starting salaries in arts, culture, and entertainment can vary widely depending on the specific role and employer. The data below provides median salary information for the industry as a whole. Students working with large entertainment companies and high-profile cultural institutions can expect to earn higher salaries.