Computer Scienceat Hofstra University

While Hofstra is just a train ride from Manhattan's tech scene, the earnings data suggests many graduates aren't landing those top-tier software engineering roles right away. Instead, a significant number of alumni likely take on IT support, quality assurance, or tech jobs at smaller, non-tech companies on Long Island itself. The local economy is dominated by healthcare, education, and local government—sectors that hire tech talent but don't compete with the salaries offered by Wall Street or Silicon Alley. This creates a different career trajectory than you'd see from a program with deep recruiting pipelines into big tech.

To break into the higher earnings bracket, your key action will be aggressive networking and interning in New York City. You'll need to proactively build connections beyond campus to access the opportunities that drive up those national salary averages.