ANU Graduate Outcomes · Employment, Salaries, and Career Paths

ANU graduates consistently record strong employment outcomes, with Canberra’s concentration of government, research, and policy employers providing distinctive career pathways. This article analyses data from the QILT Graduate Outcomes Survey and ANU’s own destination data.

Employment Rates

Undergraduate full-time employment rate (4 months post-graduation):

  • ANU: 78–82% (varies by year and discipline)
  • National average: 72–75%
  • Group of Eight average (excluding ANU): 75–80%

ANU’s employment rates are solidly above average, though not dramatically above other elite universities. However, the type of employment differs — ANU graduates are disproportionately employed in the public sector, policy, and research roles.

Median Salaries by Discipline (2025)

  • Medicine: $80,000+
  • Computer Science / IT: $68,000–75,000
  • Engineering: $66,000–72,000
  • Law (practising): $62,000–70,000
  • Commerce / Economics: $60,000–68,000
  • Science: $55,000–62,000
  • Arts / Social Sciences: $52,000–60,000

The gap between top and bottom is driven by the public sector salary structure: APS (Australian Public Service) graduate programme starting salaries typically fall in the $65,000–$72,000 range, which pulls up arts/science graduate salaries relative to other universities.

The Canberra Effect

ANU graduates benefit from Canberra’s unique labour market:

  • Australian Public Service (APS): The APS Graduate Programme is a major employer of ANU graduates — approximately 20–25% of ANU graduates enter the public sector within 12 months
  • Parliament House roles: Ministerial staffers, electorate officers, committee secretariats
  • Think tanks and policy institutes: Lowy Institute, ASPI, ANU’s own Crawford School
  • Diplomatic corps: DFAT (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) graduate intake disproportionately sources from ANU
  • Scientific agencies: CSIRO, Geoscience Australia, Bureau of Meteorology, Defence Science and Technology

This creates a two-track employment pattern: ANU graduates enter the APS and related policy roles at higher rates, while University of Melbourne and Sydney graduates enter private sector professional services (consulting, finance, law firms) at higher rates.

ANU-Specific Career Resources

  • ANU Careers: Career counselling, job board (CareerHub)
  • ANU College-specific career services: Each academic college has a dedicated careers consultant
  • Australian National Internships Program (ANIP): Places ANU students in placements with MPs, government departments, NGOs, and international organisations
  • ANU alumni network: 100,000+ alumni worldwide; strong alumni chapters in Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, London, and Washington DC