Unlocking your future: Top-rated NSW universities for undergraduate career pathways

And remember, check whether these universities are teaching your desired field of study in their New South Wales campus.

Accounting, business and management

Contrary to popular beliefs, there is a shortage of business, human resources and marketing professionals in Australia.

In fact, according to the Australian Government's 2023 Skills Priority List, sales and marketing managers are the largest occupations rated as newly in shortage.

With the number of opportunities found on these fields alone, your options extend even further to include careers in:

• forensic accounting
• business or financial analysis
• change management
• sustainability consulting
• entreprenurship.

Below are NSW's top five universities that performed excellently in the categories of Overall Experience, Full-time Employment and Graduate Salary in The Good Universities Guide ratings 2024.

No.	Ratings
	Overall experience	Full-time employment	Graduate salary
1	CQUniversity	Charles Sturt University	University of New England
2	University of New England	University of New England	University of Sydney
3	University of Canberra	University of Sydney	Charles Sturt University
4	Victoria University	CQUniversity	UNSW
5	University of Notre Dame Australia	UNSW	University of Canberra

Architecture

Pursuing an architecture degree doesn't limit you to a single career path as an architect in Australia (once you finish the required masters degree); you will also acquire the skills required to become a:

• heritage conservationist
• set designer
• sustainable design consultant.

If you were wondering where to begin your undergraduate education journey, these education provider options (i.e. The Good Universities Guide ratings 2024's top performers) below might help:

No.	Ratings
	Overall experience	Full-time employment	Graduate salary
1	University of New England	CQUniversity	University of New England
2	CQUniversity	University of Newcastle	CQUniversity
3	University of Canberra	Victoria University	Macquarie University
4	Western Sydney University	La Trobe University	University of Newcastle
5	Torrens University Australia	Macquarie University	Western Sydney University

Education and training

Education professionals are described by the Australian Government's 2023 Skills Priority List as critical roles with a high sensitivity to understaffing; as much as 47 per cent of education professional occupations were in shortage.

In fact, it reported that two of 2023's four largest occupations in shortage were:

• primary school teacher
• secondary school teacher.

If that was confirmation for going after your aspiration, consider these NSW top universities for undergraduate education according to The Good Universities Guide ratings 2024.

No.	Ratings
	Overall experience	Full-time employment	Graduate salary
1	Avondale University	University of Technology Sydney	CQUniversity
2	University of New England	CQUniversity	University of Canberra
3	University of Notre Dame Australia	University of Wollongong	Charles Darwin University
4	CQUniversity	University of Sydney	La Trobe University
5	Victoria University	University of Canberra	Australian Catholic University

Engineering and Technology

There are jobs that are continually being born out of the engineering field. Some examples are platform engineer and site reliability engineer, which LinkedIn identifies as '2023 jobs on the rise'. Engineering also remains in skills shortage in both 2022 and 2023 Skills Priority Lists.



Your choice of education provider may go beyond the list below, but The Good Universities Guide's top performers in Overall Experience, Full-time Employment and Graduate Salary are a good place to start.

No.	Ratings
	Overall experience	Full-time employment	Graduate salary
1	University of Canberra	CQUniversity	CQUniversity
2	La Trobe University	La Trobe University	University of Canberra
3	University of Newcastle	Charles Darwin University	Charles Darwin University
4	CQUniversity	University of Tasmania	University of Technology Sydney
5	Victoria University	University of Sydney	University of Tasmania

Nursing

According to the 2023 Skills Priority List, Australia is facing a persistent shortage of health professionals. It is one of the main groups driving the rising percentage of skills shortage in professionals group oocupations in Australia from 2022 (39 per cent) to 2023 (48 per cent). Enrolled nurses and nursing support workers are two of such occupations.



The Skills Priority List report states that increasing demand for health services arising from the ageing of the population and the strains added to the sector during the COVID-19 pandemic may have resulted in demand in these sectors outpacing the supply of suitably skilled workers.

A nursing degree can open up your path to becoming not just an enrolled nurse, but also a registered nurse in the areas of:

• aged care
• child and family health
• community health
• critical care and emergency disability
• rehabilitation
• and more.

Find out which NSW universities have excelled in Overall Experience, Full-time Employment and Graduate Salary according to The Good Universities Guide ratings 2024.

No.	Ratings
	Overall experience	Full-time employment	Graduate salary
1	Avondale University	Charles Sturt University	Charles Sturt University
2	University of Sydney	University of Sydney	University of Canberra
3	University of Notre Dame Australia	Southern Cross University	University of New England
4	Australian Catholic University	Avondale University	Southern Cross University
5	University of Wollongong	University of New England	University of Technology Sydney

Psychology

Want to pursue careers such as clinical social worker, crisis intervention counsellor and substance abuse counsellor? You can realise your desire to help by studying with one of these highly rated universities below.

No.	Ratings
	Overall experience	Full-time employment	Graduate salary
1	CQUniversity	Charles Darwin University	Charles Sturt University
2	University of New England	University of New England	Australian Catholic University
3	University of Canberra	Charles Sturt University	Charles Darwin University
4	Australian Catholic University	University of Notre Dame Australia	CQUniversity
5	Southern Cross University	University of Canberra	University of New England

Computing and Information Technology

ICT professionals are the other group of occupations that are driving the higher proportion of professionals shortage in 2023. The Skills Priority List 2023 has found that seven in 10 (69 per cent) ICT professionals were in shortage.



As digitalisation continues to grow across the Australian economy, you can consider pursuing this field with the below education providers in NSW:

No.	Ratings
	Overall experience	Full-time employment	Graduate salary
1	Australian Catholic University	University of New England	Southern Cross University
2	Victoria University	University of Sydney	University of Canberra
3	Torrens University	UNSW	University of Technology Sydney
4	CQUniversity	University of Technology Sydney	Charles Darwin University
5	UNSW	Charles Sturt University	UNSW

Agriculture

Agricultural workers, together with horticultural and skilled animal workers, made up 24 per cent of occupations in shortage on the Australian Government's 2023 Skills Priority List. Agricultural and horticultural mobile plant operator were in shortage, so were labourers in the agricultural industries:

• cotton farm worker
• sugar cane farm worker
• livestock husbandry worker.

A degree in agriculture can also lead you to become an:

• agricultural consultant
• agricultural research scientist
• agritech technician.

NSW universities that have rated highly in not just Full-time Employment and Graduate Salary, but also Overall Study Experience, are listed below.

No.	Ratings
	Overall experience	Full-time employment	Graduate salary
1	University of Tasmania	Charles Sturt University	University of Canberra
2	University of Canberra	University of Tasmania	University of Wollongong
3	Macquarie University	University of New England	Charles Darwin University
4	Victoria University	La Trobe University	Australian Catholic University
5	Charles Sturt University	CQUniversity	Western Sydney University

In the ever-changing landscape of higher education and the professional world, choosing the right university and field of (undergraduate) study is pivotal. Our findings showcase the top universities of The Good Universities Guide ratings 2024, whether you're aspiring to be a forensic accountant, a sustainable design consultant, a dedicated nurse or a psychology professional.

Your path to success in these dynamic fields begins here. So, take that crucial first step on your educational and professional journey in Australia.

For the full The Good Universities Guide ratings 2024, click here.