11:20am | California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), already in an impressive streak of grant receptions, continues to make gains in the mid-career earnings potential of its graduates compared to other state universities across the country, according to the most recent College Salary Report released by PayScale.com.
 
With a mid-career median salary of $82,900, the Long Beach campus ranked 53rd among the 416 state universities listed in the 2011-12 salary report, placing it ahead of such notable institutions as Louisiana State University, Michigan State University, Arizona State University and Washington State University.
 
Mid-career employees are full-time employees with at least 10 years of experience in their career or field who hold a bachelor’s degree and no higher degrees. For the graduates in the 2011-12 data set, the typical mid-career employee is 42 years old and has 15 years of experience. 

The CSULB mid-career median salary of $82,900 means half of the mid-career employees who are graduates of the school earn more than this salary, while the other half earn less. CSULB has been moving up in the mid-career median salary rankings over the last couple of years. In the 2009-10 report, the campus ranked 67th among the nation’s state universities, and in the 2010-11 survey, CSULB moved up to 59th. Both years, the mid-career median salary for its graduates was $82,700.