Computer Science – The best thing to study for a high starting salary in South Africa
by Bradley PriorResearch by Analytico found that Computer Science graduates received the best starting salaries in South Africa.
For the research, Analytico surveyed 25,604 bachelor degree graduates and compared their starting salaries. The goal of the study is to help high school students who are deciding on which degree to pursue at university.
“Although completing of a degree makes an individual more desirable in the open labour market, often the wrong selection of major subjects in university could lead to long periods of unemployment and lower starting salaries,” said Analytico.
However, it cautioned that high school learners should not simply choose the field that pays the most.
“Students should also leverage their competency and interest upon selecting a study field,” said Analytico.
Computer Science ranked first in the study with graduates taking home a median starting salary of R31,290 per month.
Other lucrative fields included Engineering, with graduates receiving a median starting salary of R30,550, and Health, at R25,380.
Humanities and Religious Studies was the lowest-earning field of study, with graduates earning a median starting salary of R12,760.
Upper end
Analytico also detailed the lower and upper starting salary bounds for graduates within the 12 analysed fields.
Law provided the highest upper bound starting salary – coming in at R57,770 per month.
Both Computer Science and Engineering also showed an upper bound salary of over R50,000 per month.
Interestingly, while the upper bound salary of Law graduates is the highest, Law graduates also have a much smaller lower bound salary than both Computer Science and Engineering.
In contrast, the lower bound salary of those who studied Humanities and Religious Studies was R5,400.
The salary data provided by Analytico is below.
Income bands
| Income Bands – Monthly | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Field | Lower bound | Upper bound | Median |
| Computer Science | R15,970 | R50,810 | R31,290 |
| Engineering | R16,650 | R50,980 | R30,550 |
| Health | R14,390 | R41,690 | R25,380 |
| Natural, Physical, Mathematical Sciences | R10,060 | R46,240 | R22,890 |
| Business, Commerce, Finance and Accounting | R11,650 | R33,990 | R20,340 |
| Law | R10,260 | R57,770 | R18,510 |
| Architecture | R10,930 | R24,110 | R17,710 |
| Arts, Languages and Culture | R9,200 | R26,790 | R17,430 |
| Social Sciences | R9,060 | R24,870 | R15,630 |
| Education and Training | R9,710 | R23,480 | R15,160 |
| Agriculture | R8,940 | R22,900 | R14,840 |
| Humanities and Religious Studies | R5,400 | R22,510 | R12,760 |
Good news for software developers
Not only do Computer Science jobs provide the best starting salaries, it is a field which is still hiring during South Africa’s lockdown.
CareerJunction told MyBroadband that while most sectors have experienced a significant decrease in hiring activity, a few sectors – including ICT – seem less affected.
In particular, software development and data analysis skills have not seen much decline in recruitment activity.
“ICT skills remain high in demand in the South African labour market. At CareerJunction, we foresee this trend to continue and evolve in the next few years.”