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2023’s Best & Worst Entry-Level Jobs – WalletHub Study

Staff Report

Wednesday, May 17th, 2023

With employers planning to hire 14.7% more graduates from the Class of 2023 than they did from the Class of 2022, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2023’s Best & Worst Entry-Level Jobs, as well as expert commentary.

To take stock of the first-timer employment landscape, WalletHub compared more than 100 different types of entry-level positions based on 12 key metrics. The data set ranges from average starting salary to projected job growth by 2031 to median tenure with an employer.

Best Entry-Level Jobs

Worst Entry-Level Jobs

1. Engineer I

99. Building Inspector

 

2. Env., Health, and Safety Engineer I

100. Aircraft Painter I

 

3. Safety Technician I

101. Policy Processing Clerk

 

4. Landscape Architect I

102. Architectural Drafter I

 

5. Hardware Engineer I

103. Floor Assembler I

 

6. Certified Nursing Assistant - Nursing Home Salaries

104. Mechanical Drafter I

 

7. Operations Research Analyst I

105. Emergency Dispatcher

 

8. Electronics Engineer I

106. Automotive Mechanic I

 

9. Web Applications Developer I

107. Boilermaker I

 

10. Software Engineer I

108. Welder I

 

Best vs. Worst 

  • Tax attorneys have the highest average starting salary, $104,395, which is 5.9 times higher than that of a college teaching assistant, the job with the lowest at $17,733.

  • Financial analysts have the highest income growth potential, 4.18, which is 2.6 times higher than that of a bank teller, the job with the lowest at 1.62.

  • Aircraft painters, electronics assemblers, geotechnical engineers, mine engineers, drilling engineers, tool and die makers, machinists and refinery operators have the longest median tenure with their employers, 5.20 years. This is two times higher than the median tenure of tellers, secretaries, budget analysts, accounting clerks, claims processing clerks and consumer loan servicing clerks, which are among the jobs with the shortest at 2.60 years. 

  • Information security analysts have the highest projected job growth by 2031, 34.70 percent.  

  • Accountant, budget analyst, credit analyst, financial analyst and consumer credit analyst are among the jobs with the lowest unemployment rate, 1.8 percent. This is 3.6 times lower than the unemployment rate of refinery operators and drilling engineers, which are the jobs with the highest at 6.5 percent. 

For the full report, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-entry-level-jobs/3716