Colleges with the highest-paid grads

Cadets train at the U.S. Military Academy's campus in West Point, N.Y.

Rank: 7
Mid-career salary: $120,000
Starting salary: $74,000
% of grads who think their job is meaningful: 66%

Some of the military's finest are trained at West Point, where leadership skills -- as well as coursework in a range of subjects -- prepare cadets for work both on and off the battlefield. After fulfilling a five-year service commitment post-graduation, many grads go on to work at large civil engineering firms, defense contractors and other industries that require top management abilities.

First published October 23, 2013: 12:50 PM ET

Source: PayScale.com. Data used in the College Salary Report came from surveys completed by roughly 1.4 million college graduates of 1,016 colleges and universities, which represent 75% of all bachelor's degree recipients in the U.S. Graduates with advanced degrees were excluded from the results. Only full-time, civilian workers based in the 50 states and District of Columbia were counted. Mid-career results were based on median salaries of graduates with 10 years of work experience. Whether a job is meaningful is based on the percentage of graduates who answered "Very much so" and "Yes" to the question: "Does your work make the world a better place?"

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