Software company ranks Cal Poly grads as top earners in AI.
Median earnings for San Luis Obispo campus alumni exceed second-place spot by more than $60,000

Graduates of California Polytechnic University who work in artificial intelligence are the top earners in the field compared with other universities according to a recent study.

The software development company Vention announced the results on May 31 following a study they had conducted on post-graduate employment data from the U.S. Department of Education on all undergraduate computer science programs in the country, with Cal Poly rising to the top based on several factors.

“We were utterly astonished to discover so many universities, whether public or private, across so many different states, that produce outstanding graduates,” said Mark Karasu, chief marketing officer for Vention in their May announcement. “At this rate, they probably form the future of AI, if you will.

Karasu added that the purpose of the study was to aid students looking towards careers in artificial intelligence in deciding on the best choice for their undergraduate studies, as well as giving employers a sense of how competitive job candidates might be based on their alma mater.

“Our study aims to help AI enthusiasts make more informed choices when submitting their college applications,” Karasu said. “It also helps AI employers know that a candidate with these universities on their CV will be snapped up by a competitor soon enough. Not only that, but they would also be ready to pay them more than graduates from other degrees. Our advice to hiring managers is to think carefully before skipping any of these college grads.”

Cal Poly’s was among the 1,790 computer science programs analyzed in the study, with 294 of those programs resulting in employment at the one-year and four-year benchmarks reported to the education department. However, only 23 out of those 294 programs had data available on four-year median earnings, which Vention ranked from highest to lowest in analyzing the results.

Of the 23 universities ranked, Cal Poly was among a total of four that demonstrated 100% employability and six-figure salaries four years after graduation, with Wake Forest, Trinity, and Clarkson universities also earning that nod.

However, the reported median income of Cal Poly graduates working in AI four years after graduation far exceeded that of all of the other universities ranked, including the other three universities with 100% employability and six-figure salaries.

According to Vention’s study, the median income of Cal Poly grads four years post-graduation is $181,838, making their earnings far and above those of graduates of comparable programs. Number two on the list, Wake Forest University in North Carolina, reported a median income of $114,622, followed by Trinity University in Texas at $108,840 and Clarkson University in New York at $104,005.

Those results are all the more impressive when the cost of tuition is taken into account. Cal Poly costs $10,319 annually for in-state students and $28,229 annually for out-of-state students. Meanwhile, Wake Forest University costs $67,642 annually, with Trinity University charging $53,676 annually and Clarkson University charging $58,058 annually.

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