As part of its 2013 global student survey, Universum asked 432, 099 undergrads in 24 countries: What is your expected monthly salary (before tax) in your first job after graduation (excluding commission and bonus)?

“For most companies, salary is what we call a ‘threshold’ attribute, meaning that people have minimum expectations around salary and as long as an offer comes in around those expectations, it is not a differentiator when someone is choosing between more than one employer. In order to make sure a company’s salary isn’t outside of that range (unless that is a deliberate decision) it is necessary to understand what expectations are, ” says Melissa Murray Bailey, Universum’s president of Americas.

She adds: “It is essential for employers to understand their target group so that they can build an attractive message. Recruiters need to prepare for interviews and discussions with students in the same way that sales people prepare for their meetings – you need to know what possible stumbling blocks can be in advance and be prepared to address them. Understanding what students will expect with regards to salary is an important input.”

For a second consecutive year, Swiss students have the highest salary expectations coming out of school. According to Universum, they expect to earn $7, 062 (USD) per month, on average (before tax; excluding commission and bonus), in their first post-graduation gig. That’s about $84, 730 per year—which, according to Nelly Riggenbach Hasler, vice president of EMEA employer branding and talent attraction at Universum, is a realistic entry level salary. “These expectations are not too farfetched, ” she says.

Why does Switzerland top the list?

“The cost of living in Switzerland is extremely high, ” she says, “But also given that the unemployment rate is 3%, the talent pool is rather dry. Switzerland is very much dependent on being an attractive market for talent outside the country, and I would clearly state that [Switzerland] faces a talent centric labor market. Furthermore; the difference between the entry salary and what you earn five years into your career is not as dramatic as in other countries.”

Female students in Switzerland say they expect to earn around $6, 468 per month after school; while male undergrads hope to rake in $7, 454. The difference between these two numbers ($986 per month) makes Switzerland the country with the largest salary expectation gap between genders.

“This is not a new phenomenon and there have been lots of studies done about the lower expectations of women, ” Bailey says. “The more interesting question is: Why do women continue to earn less? Women tend to be more modest about their worth and trust that they will be fairly compensated based on their contributions.”

The Universum survey found that Norwegian students have the second-highest salary expectations. Undergraduates in Norway expect to make $6, 556 per month, on average–or $78, 672 per year, before tax, commission and bonuses.

“With its very low unemployment rate, being almost untouched by the finance crisis and high activity in the oil and gas industry, Norway has the second highest salary expectations in the world after Switzerland, ” says Carlo Duraturo, Universum’s global account director. “The country has one of the world’s best – and most expensive – social welfare systems, and with a population of only about five million, the talent pool is limited, especially among engineering and IT professionals.”

Female students in Norway hope to earn $6, 312 per month, while male students say they expect a monthly paycheck of $6, 843—a difference of $531 per month, or $6, 372 per year.

Rounding out the top three is Denmark, where students expect to make $5, 427 per month, on average (or $65, 124 annually). Female undergrads hope to earn $5, 287; male students want $5, 708 per month.

Jesper Dansholm, Universum’s Denmark country manager, says because Denmark has the world’s highest income tax, these salary expectations “aren’t really exorbitant.”

Elsewhere on the list, the United States ranked seventh overall. U.S. undergraduates say they hope to make $4, 337 per month in their first job after graduation. That’s about $52, 032 per year, on average.

“There is a lot of variability in the U.S. among the student’s expectations, largely depending on their major and the industries in which they would like to work, ” Bailey says. “Many students in the U.S. that study liberal arts are having difficulties finding a job post-graduation. Given this has been the case for several years now; students are starting to settle for and expect less coming out of school.”

The difference between what female and male U.S. students expect, in terms of salary, is $642 per month (or $7, 704 a year).

”On a global level we anticipate that the expected salaries will continue to increase due to inflation and the movement of workers to the larger cities, as well the fact that the students are becoming more aware of their own worth, ” says Jonas Barck, global head of commercial partnerships at Universum. “Although the gender pay gap has been a topic of discussion for years, there has not been any positive movement to close the gap. More work needs to be done to understand the root cause of the problem and then the education of hiring managers and employers needs to take place. Until everyone believes and understands the problem, I fear we will continue to talk about it for many years to come, ” he concludes.