Study shows starting and mid-career pay potential for Louisiana's college grads.
On average, graduates from 11 Louisiana universities are projected to enter the workforce with bigger salaries than grads from UL Lafayette, a recent report by PayScale.com shows.
UL grads started careers with a salary potential of $38,200, according to the 2012-13 PayScale College Salary Report.
Louisiana Tech boasted the highest starting pay potential among in-state universities at $45,900.
Taking second among in-state schools at $44,100 was LSU, followed in ranking by Tulane ($43,800), Xavier ($42,300), McNeese ($41,600), University of New Orleans ($41,600), UL Monroe ($41,100), Northwestern ($39,700) and Loyola ($39,100).
The bright side for UL Lafayette, according to PayScale, is that more experience brings more pay, especially for computer science and engineering grads.
At mid-career, UL Lafayette grads have a salary potential of $70,000 - sixth best in the state.
Petroleum engineering graduates had the highest pay potential among UL Lafayette alumni at $94,000. Software designers, web developers and computer programers who graduate from UL Lafayette are projected to have a mid-career pay potential of $80,000, while those with accounting degrees ranged between $40,000 and $36,175, figures show.
Only graduates of UNO, Xavier, La. Tech, Tulane and LSU had higher mid-career salary potentials.
As posted by the Baton Rouge Business Report, LSU's $83,500 salary potential for grads in mid-career was the state's highest.
The PayScale report also ranks the potential of universities regionally.
When compared to universities in Arkansas, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas, UL Lafayette was tied at 55th with Sewanee for overall salary potential among grads.
Click here to read the full PayScale report.
For a detailed breakdown on UL Lafayette grads, click here.