Majority of Gen Z Is Making Less $100K in Their First Roles

In today’s competitive labor market, we know companies are using every tool at their disposal to attract top talent. One of those age-old tactics is to offer candidates higher salaries. But how high are the numbers going?

In March 2022, we surveyed nearly 5,000 college juniors and seniors to uncover the truth about what Gen Z is experiencing in the workforce. As part of the robust report of our findings, “The State of the Gen Z Job Search,” we included data on the salaries that internship and full-time job seekers are collecting. 

Read on for some high-level takeaways to better understand early career talent, and download the full report for more data and analysis.

Most entry-level hires make less than $100,000 & interns collect between $15-$30 an hour.

According to our data, the largest chunk of full-time job candidates are making less than $100,000 in their first roles, with 28.8% collecting between $61,000-$80,000, and 23.2% earning between $81,000-$100,000. At the same time, one in five candidates have reported they are making between $101,000-$130,000.

Turning to internship candidates, we discovered that about 62% are earning $15-$30 an hour — evenly split between those taking home $15-$20 an hour, and those earning $21-$30 an hour. Another significant portion (21.2%) reported that they would be earning $41-$50 an hour this summer. Just 3% of internship candidates said they were earning either less than $15 an hour, or more than $50 an hour. Before making an offer to a candidate, it’s helpful to know what salaries their peers are collecting to self-evaluate how competitive your offer truly is. 

Candidates in software development and product management earn on the higher end of the spectrum.

How do some of the most competitive fields today compare in terms of salary? We found that a majority of interns in the most competitive fields — such as engineering, finance, and consulting — earn between $21-$40 an hour, and that interns in software development and product management are most likely to earn more than $50 an hour. In fact, one in three interns in software development brings home that amount, as does 24% of those in product development. Note that not only will competitive salaries for interns get them in the door, but it can also inspire them to pursue full-time roles at your company.

When it comes to full-time job candidates, software development remains the top-earning industry, with 65% of hires earning more than $100,000, (42% of hires are making between $101,000-$130,000 in entry-level roles, and 23% of candidates earning more than $131,000). We also found that 53% of entry-level hires in product management make more than $101,000, followed by 25% of finance and data hires.

One in three interns didn’t receive an additional stipend

In addition to their salaries, we also asked students what other stipends or bonuses they received with their offers. We found that while a little more than one-third of internship candidates did not receive any stipend for their program this summer, 31.6% of interns were offered a full housing stipend for in-person programs, and 30% were given a company laptop. Around 13% candidates received either a partial housing stipend or reduced cost housing, a work-from-home stipend, or a stipend for food or provided meals  A small percentage of interns also wrote into our survey that they received a sign-on bonus.

Majority of full-time candidates are collecting bonuses of less than $10K.

We found that many full-time candidates today are also being offered sign-on bonuses. Our data shows that while 38.5% of candidates received $5,000 or less in a bonus, 23.5% were given a bonus between $5,001-$10,000. 14.5% collected a bonus between $10,001-$20,000, and 12.5% received a bonus between $20,001-$40,000. The smallest share (11%) received a bonus worth $40,001 or more. You may want to consider what bonuses you can add on to competitive base salaries for top talent. 

Understanding what candidates are making in this market can help you determine how competitive your salaries are, which is especially important when you are drafting an offer for that candidate you really don’t want to lose. To uncover more about today’s Gen Z candidate, download our full report. Because armed with the data from our findings, you will be ready to take on the competitive labor maker confident that you understand the expectations and behavior of Gen Z.