Barely 24 hours after Harvard College’s Class of 2025 processes out of Harvard Yard for their Commencement ceremonies, they will be forced to pack up their things and vacate their dormitories, officially venturing into the world as graduates. But most aren’t going very far.
Once again, New York and Massachusetts remain the most popular postgraduate destinations for seniors, at 24 percent and 18 percent respectively, as a substantial majority — 64 percent — plan to enter the workforce directly after graduation. Finance, technology, and consulting continue to attract Harvard graduates in large numbers, and many will rake in six figures or more for their starting salaries.
About 17 percent of seniors plan to go to graduate or professional school, while 6 percent are pursuing fellowships. About 12 percent reported that they still don’t know their postgraduate plans.
Company Men
As is typical of Harvard’s graduating classes, a large swath of seniors are headed toward lucrative positions in finance, tech, and consulting — which represent, respectively, 21 percent, 18 percent, and 14 percent of seniors entering the workforce. Health and academia/research were close runners-up, at 8 percent each.
But many seniors had aspirations beyond simply making their bag. When asked what industry they hope to be working in after a decade, responses varied widely: 14 percent of respondents said health, 12 percent each said law and academia, and 10 percent said technology.
Only 8 percent of senior respondents said they hoped to work in finance after a decade, while fewer than 1 percent said consulting.
And while many respondents suggested they would be content to have a career with a sizable salary or significant social impact, some seniors have even bigger plans. Nearly 10 percent of respondents said they plan to run for public office in the future, and another 20 percent said they are at least considering it.
Homebodies and Globetrotters
As with last year, many seniors are opting to stay in Massachusetts, while roughly a quarter of respondents are relocating to the Big Apple. Another 13 percent said they were planning to move to California, and 10 percent said they were going abroad. About 13 percent of respondents said they don’t know where they’ll be living after graduation.
Students’ choice of locations was highly related to their desired industries. About 61 percent of seniors going into research or academia said they were staying in Massachusetts, while 63 percent of seniors entering finance were planning to go to New York.
Among students entering the tech sector, roughly 37 percent said they were moving to California, while many others reported that they were settling down in New York and Massachusetts.
Paying the Bills
Harvard’s graduates are also poised to enter the workforce as top earners. Just about half of respondents reported that their starting salary will exceed $90,000 a year — well over the 2022 median earnings for bachelor’s degree holders, roughly $66,600 — and 20 percent said they will earn $130,000 a year or more.
Among seniors going into consulting, the proportion of seniors making $90,000 or more a year was higher than 70 percent. For those going into finance, that figure rose to more than 90 percent.
Asked what was the biggest factor in choosing their postgraduate plans, only 20 percent of seniors said that money was the primary reason behind their decision. But 75 percent of respondents said that their family’s socioeconomic status influenced what they would do after graduation, with 33 percent saying it greatly informed their decision.
About 17 percent of respondents said they were graduating with student loans, up five points from last year. But among seniors with student loan debt, only 27 percent said that their loans have affected their postgraduate planning.
And as seniors attempt to make it in the post-college world, many won’t be doing it alone. About 42 percent of respondents said their parents were giving them minor financial support next year, and 21 percent said they expected significant financial support.
Happy and Sappy
Broadly, seniors said they were pleased with their postgraduate plans. Nearly 75 percent of respondents said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their plans, while only 10 percent described themselves as dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.
A near majority — 47 percent of respondents — said they were planning to keep in touch with 10 or more of their classmates after graduating, and another 20 percent said they would stay in touch with at least seven.
And 19 out of 20 respondents said that four (or more) years after they accepted their offer of admission to the University, they would choose it again.