Salary growth is showing signs of potentially booming this summer - here's why & how much:
Bottom Line: There's a significant amount of research demonstrating two important considerations for career earnings potential:
- Starting salary (in a career field)
- Negotiating the starting salary
Simply stated, the most predictive stat of how much you'll be earning ten years from now is how much you're earning now. It will also make sense that maximizing your starting salary has a significant compounding impact over the course of one's career. My research has previously demonstrated that all but 3% of the pay disparity of between men and women can be explained by life/career choices and negotiation habits (women rarely negotiate starting full-time salaries - men do most of the time). That's especially relevant because 70% of employers hiring full-time employees this summer have the opportunity to negotiate starting salaries. As for the headline of this story...Here's the breakout of starting salaries for the collegiate class of 2017 as they enter the workforce this year (according to CareerBuilder.com):
- 23%: >$30,000
- 21%: $30's
- 18%: $40's
- 39%: $50's
Should this hold and translate to real outcomes this summer - we could see a 7% to 10% increase in starting salaries for this year's college graduating class. That's obviously huge and has significantly positive potential for one's career earnings and our economy.