(NewsNation) — College students’ salary expectations are out of step with reality, a new survey suggests.

Undergraduates pursuing a bachelor’s degree expect to earn roughly $80,000 one year after graduation — about $24,000 more than the average starting salary of $56,153, according to Clever Real Estate.

Clever surveyed 769 undergraduates and found that elevated salary expectations were common across all majors, but students studying education and nursing showed a wider disconnect than others.

“Although teachers have historically been underpaid, education majors still anticipate making a starting salary of $75,186 — about 62% more than the $46,526 they will likely receive,” the report said.

Nursing majors expect a starting salary of $83,219 or 32 percent more than a “realistic salary” of $63,000 for nurses with one year of experience, according to Clever.

But even students in higher-earning degree programs overestimated their starting salaries. Engineers, for example, expect to start at $92,452 — roughly 17 percent more than the $78,731 they will likely make one year out of college, the report noted.

Starting salaries weren’t the only misjudgment — students’ mid-career expectations were off, as well. Ten years after graduation, the students surveyed expected to make around $145,000 on average, but the average mid-career salary is only $95,521, Clever said.

The gap between expectations and reality comes as millions of high school graduates weigh their college decisions.

College graduates tend to earn more and face lower unemployment than those without a degree, but the perceived value of higher education has come under pressure in recent years as student loan debt continues to climb.

The rise of artificial intelligence has added to concerns, prompting some college students to reconsider their majors as fields such as computer science face new uncertainty.

Starting salaries can vary widely by location and specialization.

A recent analysis by Redfin and Glassdoor found that college graduates earn about $80,000 early in their careers in Washington, D.C., compared with roughly $65,000 in Houston and $57,000 in New Orleans.

Meanwhile, computer engineering graduates earn about $90,000 early in their careers, compared with roughly $75,000 for general engineering majors, according to an analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

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