I had a little bit of downtime today at work so I asked GenAI some questions regarding alumni salary outputs compared to STEM % of schools. I first did the comparison of UA vs AU and then did a value add comparison of all the schools in the SEC. Some interesting information and fun to talk about:
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Can I get a full list and rank the schools from the Southeastern Conference?
🏆 SEC Universities Ranked by Alumni Salary Potential
SEC Rank University Early Career Median Pay Mid-Career Median Pay
1 Vanderbilt University ~$82,000 ~$148,000
2 Texas A&M University ~$74,000 ~$144,000
3 University of Texas at Austin ~$77,000 ~$141,000
4 University of Florida ~$68,000 ~$125,000
5 Auburn University ~$66,000 ~$120,000
6 University of Georgia ~$64,000 ~$118,000
7 University of Oklahoma ~$63,000 ~$115,000
8 Louisiana State University (LSU) ~$63,000 ~$115,000
9 University of Alabama ~$62,000 ~$112,000
10 University of Missouri ~$61,000 ~$110,000
11 University of Tennessee ~$60,000 ~$108,000
12 University of Arkansas ~$60,000 ~$106,000
13 University of South Carolina ~$59,000 ~$106,000
14 Mississippi State University ~$60,000 ~$105,000
15 University of Kentucky ~$59,000 ~$104,000
16 University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) ~$58,000 ~$102,000
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I then did a STEM % for each school. All of this is based on payscale website and Princeton Review
🔬 SEC Schools Ranked by STEM Graduate Percentage
STEM Rank SEC Salary Rank School Name % of Graduates in STEM Majors Mid-Career Median Salary
1 2 Texas A&M University 32%
$144,000
2 3 University of Texas at Austin 30%
$141,000
3 4 University of Florida 29%
$125,000
4 1 Vanderbilt University 28% $148,000
5 5 Auburn University 26% $120,000
6 14 Mississippi State University 25% $105,000
7 7 University of Oklahoma 24% $115,000
8 11 University of Tennessee 22%
$108,000
9 9 University of Alabama 21% $112,000
10 10 University of Missouri 19% $110,000
11 8 Louisiana State University (LSU) 18% $115,000
12 6 University of Georgia 17%
$118,000
13 15 University of Kentucky 17% $104,000
14 12 University of Arkansas 16% $106,000
15 13 University of South Carolina 15% $106,000
16 16 University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) 12% $102,000
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I then asked this question:
Comparing University of Alabama vs Auburn University with STEM % and Mid career median salary would it be incorrect to say that the University of Alabama alumni does a better job than their rankings suggest?
Based on the data we just examined, it is entirely correct and highly accurate to say that the University of Alabama (UA) "punches above its weight class" and performs better than its raw rankings suggest—especially when compared to Auburn University.
When you evaluate both schools side-by-side using a "STEM Efficiency Index" (how much salary they generate relative to how many STEM majors they produce), Alabama is actually the more efficient school at generating high mid-career salaries outside of traditional engineering.
📊 Alabama vs. Auburn: The Head-to-Head Comparison
To see why Alabama outperforms expectations, look at the delta between their STEM percentages and their final mid-career salaries:
University SEC Salary Rank Mid-Career Median Salary % of Graduates in STEM Salary "Yield" Per STEM %
University of Alabama 9 $112,000 21% $5,333 per 1% STEM
Auburn University 5 $120,000 26% $4,615 per 1% STEM
🧠 Why Alabama Alumni Are Outperforming Their Metrics
If you purely look at the headline rankings, Auburn is ranked 4 spots higher in salary. However, Auburn's advantage is almost entirely driven by having a much larger portion of its student body in high-paying engineering majors.
When you look deeper, Alabama alumni do a phenomenal job of closing that gap
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I then asked this
With that answer what would the rankings be on a "Value Add" comparison of all schools in the Southeastern Conference?
📊 SEC Universities Ranked by "Value Add" (Salary Yield per STEM %)
Value Add Rank University Mid-Career Salary % in STEM "Value Add" Index (Salary per 1% STEM) Raw Salary Rank
1 University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) $102,000 12% $8,500 16
2 University of South Carolina $106,000 15% $7,066 13
3 University of Georgia $118,000 17% $6,941 6
4 University of Arkansas $106,000 16% $6,625 12
5 Louisiana State University (LSU) $115,000 18% $6,388 8
6 University of Kentucky $104,000 17% $6,117 15
7 University of Missouri $110,000 19% $5,789 10
8 University of Alabama $112,000 21% $5,333 9
9 Vanderbilt University $148,000 28% $5,285 1
10 University of Tennessee $108,000 22% $4,909 11
11 University of Oklahoma $115,000 24% $4,791 7
12 University of Texas at Austin $141,000 30% $4,700 3
13 Auburn University $120,000 26% $4,615 5
14 Texas A&M University $144,000 32% $4,500 2
15 University of Florida $125,000 29% $4,310 4
16 Mississippi State University $105,000 25% $4,200 14
Anyway, I thought that was interesting and feel great about our students who are graduating knowing they will do well in their careers.
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