Undergraduate Career Outcomes
Curious about your potential for job placement and earnings from an undergraduate degree from the School of Hotel Administration? Explore the salaries and bonuses, industries, jobs, locations, and employers of our most recent SHA graduates.
Class of 2020: Full-time employment
The School of Hotel Administration’s undergraduate Class of 2020 included 239 graduates. Of these graduates, 197 were seeking full-time employment and 87% accepted job offers by September 30, 2020.
Class of 2020: Base salary and bonus data
The figures below represent base salaries and combined signing and relocation bonuses for SHA graduates who accepted full-time job offers
The average base salary for graduates was $69,394 – a 6% increase over the average base salary of the Class of 2019. US work-authorized graduates earned a slightly higher average base salary of $69,605. Graduates who were not US work-authorized earned a slightly lower average base salary of $67,857.
The average combined bonus for graduates was $14,958 – a 103% increase over the average bonus of the Class of 2019 – and includes bonus and relocation compensation.
Average Base Salary by Industry
Hospitality is represented across a variety of industries from finance to real estate. SHA prepares undergraduates for leadership roles that require the application of business principles in a hospitality context, allowing SHA graduates to enter into a variety of industries with hospitality connections.
The highest number of placements for SHA’s Class of 2020 was in the financial services industry. The real estate industry employed the second highest percentage of graduates and traditional hospitality operations employed the third highest percentage at 22% and 19%, respectively.
These placements include full-time roles that are related to hospitality companies, products, or services either in the traditionally defined hospitality industry or a broader industry, such as real estate or consulting.
| Industry | Average Base Salary | Percent Employed |
| Financial Services | $79,950 | 29% |
| Real Estate | $74,490 | 22% |
| Commercial | $75,688 | 13% |
| Hospitality | $70,000 | 5% |
| Residential | $73,125 | 4% |
| Hospitality Operations | $55,350 | 19% |
| Property | $63,000 | 8% |
| Restaurant/Food & Beverage | $51,025 | 6% |
| Corporate | $48,333 | 2% |
| Sports/Leisure & Other | $57,543 | 2% |
| Technology | $69,007 | 11% |
| Consulting | $74,955 | 9% |
| Other* | $53,750 | 7% |
| Retail | $53,893 | 2% |
| Consumer Packaged Goods | N/A | 1% |
*Other includes advertising/PR/media, agribusiness energy/utilities, healthcare/pharma, HR, manufacturing, non-profit, and transportation services
Average Base Salary by Job Function
SHA Class of 2020 graduates found positions in a variety of industries, with the highest number of placements in the financial services industry. The real estate industry employed the second highest percentage of graduates at 22%, and traditional hospitality operations employed the third highest percentage at 19%.
| Function | Average Base Salary | Percent Employed |
| Finance | $73,381 | 50% |
| General Management | $57,557 | 19% |
| Consulting | $76,194 | 12% |
| Marketing/Sales | $56,679 | 11% |
| Operations/Logistics | $59,750 | 4% |
| Other* | $63,833 | 4% |
*Other includes data/analytics and HR
Average Base Salary by Region
Ninety-five percent of SHA graduates remain in the US after graduation, with over half of the class remaining in the Northeast.
| Region | Average Base Salary | Percent Employed |
| United States | $70,784 | 95% |
| Northeast | $73,149 | 55% |
| West | $71,614 | 12% |
| Mid-Atlantic | $75,792 | 9% |
| South | $58,778 | 9% |
| Southwest | $55,200 | 7% |
| Midwest | $71,200 | 5% |
| International | N/A | 5% |
Top Full-Time Employers
The following companies and organizations were the top employers for 2020 SHA graduates seeking full-time jobs.
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