New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology is featured prominently in two recent national rankings highlighting both job placement after graduation and career earnings. Dr. Stephen G. Wells, President of New Mexico Tech, discussed more on their recent honor and how students can get involved.

CNBC’s ranking pegs NMT as the No. 21 public university in the nation in its “The top 50 U.S. colleges that pay off the most in 2020.” CNBC spotlights the top 50 schools–25 public and 25 private–that provide students the highest average salaries for their tuition dollars. The rankings were published July 28, 2020, using data from Payscale’s College Salary Report.

Of the over 1,500 universities ranked by College Salary Report, New Mexico Tech landed at No. 56 nationally and is the only university in New Mexico ranked in the top 300. According to CNBC, the median salary for New Mexico Tech alumni with 10-plus years of experience is $120,400.

Zippia.com named NMT the top school in New Mexico for launching a career. That article, titled “Best colleges in each state for getting a job in 2020,” identifies the universities that have the best employment statistics for recent graduates.

CNBC’s Abigail Hess writes, “Today, college graduates on average earn 80% more than those with just a high school diploma. College is more expensive — and important — than ever before, and this dichotomy puts students in a difficult situation. The coronavirus pandemic has considerably changed the on-campus experience, and this year more than ever, students have to ask, ‘Is this college worth the cost?’”

CNBC ranked NMT among many high-profile public universities, such as No. 3 University of Washington, No. 4 Purdue, No. 5 University of Michigan, No. 8 Cal-Berkeley, and No. 10 UCLA. At No. 21, NMT falls between the University of West Virginia at No. 20, and UC-Santa Barbara at No. 22.

The Zippia ranking placed high importance on salary information and used a similar methodology as CNBC, but weighted employment statistics over salary data. Zippia stated, “We’re here to tell you that the most important reason to go to college is to find a great job. And while you may know that in the back of your mind, you may not know what are the best colleges to get a job after graduation.”