Career outcomes brief
San Jose State University Career Outcomes & Earnings
How much do SJSU graduates earn?
San Jose State University reports median earnings of $89,614 four years after completion. Its lower and higher planning estimates are $48,911 and $93,790.
The lower and higher estimates reflect different mixes of program earnings. They are not observed salary percentiles, the pay of the lowest- and highest-paid quarters of graduates, or probabilities for an individual student.
- Lower estimate
- $48,911
- Median · reported
- $89,614
- Higher estimate
- $93,790
Earnings sources and definitions
The lower estimate lets you examine a plan with less income than the school-wide median. Compare it with costs and with the fields you are considering, while keeping the modeled estimates separate from reported earnings.
Azimuth ranks San Jose State University in the 94th percentile for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $35,910 more than expects for similar students, a figure in the 99th percentile nationally.
The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $11,268. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $24,642.
The STEM component adds $2,262 within the measured factors. Four years after completion, federally aided completers at the public university who are working and not enrolled post median earnings of $89,614, in the 94th percentile.
That figure runs above the peer median of $65,610 by $24,004, measured against comparable institutions (same type and size).
The median four-year earnings of $89,614 masks considerable variation by field. Earnings scenarios, anchored on the university's program mix, show a downside of $48,911 and an upside of $93,790.
Program-level data two years after completion illustrates the range. Business Administration and Management, the largest program with 1,710 degrees awarded, shows median earnings of $48,432 two years after completion.
In contrast, Computer Engineering graduates earn $78,074 two years after completion, and Nursing completers reach $92,277 two years after completion.
An estimated 26.8% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure derived from the university's program mix rather than observed enrollment. Because four-year earnings figures capture only those working and not enrolled, this estimate indicates that a sizable portion of completers may be building additional human capital outside the earnings snapshot.
Earnings by field
The supplied San Jose State University program records do not report four-year earnings values. Older earnings fields are present, but they cannot stand in for the missing four-year measure.
Program size can still be compared using the reported award counts. A missing earnings value does not establish that a program has low earnings or poor outcomes.
San Jose State University awards bachelor's degrees across 34 fields with published two-year earnings. The highest-earning program, Nursing, shows a median of $92,277 two years after completion, alongside 167 degrees awarded.
Computer Engineering follows at $78,074 two years after completion with 248 degrees awarded, and Computer Science reaches $74,953 two years after completion on 288 degrees awarded. Business Administration and Management, the university's biggest program at 1,710 degrees awarded, reports a median of $48,432 two years after completion.
Psychology awards 582 degrees and shows a median of $33,604 two years after completion, while Communication and Media Studies reaches $41,286 two years after completion on 309 degrees awarded.
San Jose State University awarded bachelor's degrees across 34 fields with published earnings data. The largest field, Business Administration and Management, accounted for 1,710 degrees awarded and showed median earnings of $48,432 two years after completion.
Psychology followed with 582 degrees awarded and median earnings of $33,604 two years after completion. The highest-earning fields were led by Nursing, where graduates earned a median of $92,277 two years after completion, alongside 167 degrees awarded.
Computer Engineering and Computer Science followed at $78,074 and $74,953, respectively, two years after completion, with 248 and 288 degrees awarded each.
Do SJSU graduates earn more than expected?
San Jose State University reports median earnings of $89,614 four years after completion. The reported value is $35,910 above Azimuth’s statistical expectation for the institution.
The difference compares the reported outcome with a model estimate. It does not compare matched students who attended different colleges, and it does not establish how much the institution caused earnings to change.
Read this measure alongside completion and individual program outcomes. It describes an institution-level result; it does not predict what a particular student will earn.
Read the original article: A value-added approach to college outcomes
- Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
- +$11,268
- Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
- +$24,642
- Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
- +$35,910
These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.
Further analysis
At San Jose State University, Nursing records a median of $92,277 two years after completion, the highest among fields, whereas Psychology, one of the largest programs, shows $33,604 two years after completion. The distance between those medians illustrates how earnings vary by program.
Graduates of San Jose State University earn about $35,910 more than the model expects for similar students. That gap sits at the 99th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.
The median earnings four years after completion are $89,614, measured among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. That median lands in the 94th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.
It is $24,004 above the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). The earnings cohort includes 207 completers.
Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix range from a downside of $48,911 to an upside of $93,790, with the typical scenario at $89,614. An estimated 26.8% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.
Data & methodology
Sources and reporting periods: methodology.
Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.
Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.
Figure notes link to sources and limitations. About College Azimuth.
Four-year earnings are measured after completion for the covered federally aided cohort of people working and not enrolled. Measures taken six, eight or ten years after entry use a different starting point and should not be treated as one graduating class followed over time.
Program award counts describe credentials awarded, not current enrollment, unique graduates or earnings-sample size. Reporting periods differ across measures; the shared field definitions do not establish the exact vintage of every school-level value.
College Scorecard data and documentation · Model methodology