... a quick look at MIT & Cal Tech pretty much answers your concern. High tech is almost always going to get higher starting salaries, but in no way assures dominance in salary levels in later years.

I don't have ready access to salary levels by degree held, but it would stand to reason that tech and financial would pay more than education, music, arts, etc. just because that's the way the markets work.

Median salary is probably as good a benchmark as any to get a general idea of what impact college choices have on initial and future earnings since it represents a blend of all academic pursuits.

We all know some Harvard grads will start at $1 mil+ because they will work in dad'n'moms Wall Street firms, but this could also be true at Podunk U. It's just that Harvard will spawn more of these big-time inheritors than Podunk U, so median income is a better measure than average income.