Narrowing the data down to law, Protégé learnt that these graduates are earning a middle-ranged salary median, sitting behind medicine, dentistry, teacher education, engineering and nursing, which all ranged between $84,000 and $62,200 starting salaries. In comparison, law sat in the ninth spot behind veterinary science.

Depending on the university, however, law graduates could be taking home the starting salary of anywhere between $65,000 and $80,600. Using only the median data, those less lucky fell between the $40,000 and $50,000 price points.

The ATO data did specify where this could vary: “It is important to acknowledge that measurable factors identified above such as student, course and institution characteristics explain only a small part of the overall variation in incomes. Other factors not measured such as occupation and industry and personal characteristics such as motivation and resilience are likely to influence graduate incomes.”

Analysing the gender difference, the ATO data found that female graduates are more likely to be employed immediately following graduation. The more important point it made was that the gap between female and male employment among graduates has grown over time, increasing by two percentage points between 2008 and 2015.

“Gender plays a much larger role in graduate incomes over the long term, though much less so immediately following graduation,” the report found. “The different choices made by male and female graduates as they move between various labour market states highlights the role played by supply factors … over the longer term.”

Study areas and universities with a lower initial income were more likely to have graduates undertaking further study, which then delayed their entry to the labour market and lowered their starting salary. Thereafter, graduates from these study areas and universities “achieved faster growth and reduced uncertainty” in income.

Analysing the employment sector after the Great Financial Crisis and comparing it to the most recent pandemic, the report found that there is a strong chance for today’s graduates to do better in the labour market not only because of a history of university degrees being beneficial but because high-skilled individuals do better in crisis.

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“The experience of graduate cohorts following the GFC demonstrates demand-side factors play an influential role in shaping graduate outcomes,” the report found. “Tracking graduates over time suggests that graduate incomes over the longer term are the result of the rich interplay of demand and supply forces.”

Turning now to the universities offering the best chances for greater income, Protégé again narrowed down the data to focus only on law, undergraduate degrees and the median price range. It is important to note that these amounts certainly vary depending on the individual, their motivation in the legal profession, the field that they choose to practise in and many other personal and professional factors.

The universities offering the greatest income for law graduates start at Charles Sturt University, which boasts an $80,600 median starting salary, followed by the University of New South Wales at $66,900 and The College of Law with $65,100. Close behind is the University of Technology Sydney and the University of WA.

Sitting at the other end of the band is the University of the Sunshine Coast, which offers its law graduates a $38,800 initial income. From there, it’s the University of Tasmania with $43,100, RMIT with $46,200 and the University of South Australia at $47,000.

Each salary option appears below for many of Australia’s universities, excluding the University of Melbourne and Federation University Australia, which did not provide any data relevant to the median salary for undergraduate students.

Please again note that these amounts can vary. The following numbers are based on data narrowed down to: median graduate income, law, and undergraduate degrees.