With employers planning to hire 7.3% more graduates from the Class of 2025 than they did from the Class of 2024, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2025’s Best & Worst Entry-Level Jobs, as well as expert commentary.

To take stock of the first-timer employment landscape, WalletHub compared more than 100 different types of entry-level positions based on 12 key metrics. The data set ranges from the average starting salary to projected job growth by 2033 to the median tenure with an employer.


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Best Entry-Level Jobs

1. Hardware Engineer  

2. Certified Nursing Assistant  

3. Engineer  

4. Software Engineer  

5. Safety Representative  

6. Electrical Engineer  

7. Safety Technician  

8. Operations Research Analyst  

9. Electronics Engineer  

10. Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant

Worst Entry-Level Jobs

99. Tool and Die Maker 

100. Benefits Administrator 

101. Telecommunications Technician 

102. Architectural Drafter 

103. Emergency Dispatcher

104. Boilermaker 

105. Automotive Mechanic 

106. Mechanical Drafter 

107. Computer Numeric Control Machine Programmer 

108. Welder 

Best vs. Worst 

  • Hardware engineers have the highest average starting salary, which is 6.1 times higher than that of a college teaching assistant, the job with the lowest.
     
  • Consumer loan officers have the highest income growth potential, which is 2.5 times higher than that of a bank teller, the job with the lowest.
     
  • Geotechnical engineers, mine engineers and drilling engineers have the longest median tenure with their employers. This is 2.1 times higher than the median tenure of industrial designers, interior designers, public relations specialists, technical writers and web writers, which are the jobs with the shortest.
     
  • Information security analysts have the highest projected job growth by 2033.
     
  • Accountant, budget analyst, credit analyst, financial analyst and consumer credit analyst are among the jobs with the lowest unemployment rate. This is 3.6 times lower than the unemployment rate of building inspector, electrician, floor assembler, plumber and sheetmetal mechanic, which are the jobs with the highest. 

For the full report, visit https://wallethub.com/edu/best-entry-level-jobs/3716