What is a good starting salary directly out of college?

[scshift]

Originally Posted by solelistikn1ke1ne

um, are you already in this said "top tier/ivy league" school? if not, i would just say focus on that first.

I'm not, but I'm just trying out various scenarios. I might not even want to major in any of these paths, but these are the ones I'm interested in at the moment.

Originally Posted by E3LAL

I read that petroleum engineering paid the most out of college, but that was like 6 months old.
McCombs school of Business says their Finance majors average 55k to start.

It does. Petroleum engineering pays a dirty amount of money coming out, near 100k.

 

[malcala622]

Originally Posted by yanks7384

Originally Posted by MALCALA622

Out of the 5 career paths you posted OP i was surprised at the salary. I make nearly as much as 3 of the 5 at the moment with no college education.

Go with what you love doing.

did you make that much right out of school, or after years on the job?

after 1.5 years out of high school.

 

[malcala622]

Originally Posted by yanks7384

Originally Posted by MALCALA622

Out of the 5 career paths you posted OP i was surprised at the salary. I make nearly as much as 3 of the 5 at the moment with no college education.

Go with what you love doing.

did you make that much right out of school, or after years on the job?

after 1.5 years out of high school.

 

[impalaballa187]

The vast majority of top tier/Ivy schools don't have business undergraduate majors...

Either way, do what you enjoy. Don't base it on the $, that almost certainly follows if you're attending a school of that caliber.

 

[impalaballa187]

The vast majority of top tier/Ivy schools don't have business undergraduate majors...

Either way, do what you enjoy. Don't base it on the $, that almost certainly follows if you're attending a school of that caliber.

 

[usainboltisfast]

Originally Posted by yanks7384

I got a job in IT making 57k right out of college...but you gotta do what you like to do otherwise its gonna be a long career

You got a bachelors in IT? Im in process of finishing my degree. Do you have any certs?

 

[usainboltisfast]

Originally Posted by yanks7384

I got a job in IT making 57k right out of college...but you gotta do what you like to do otherwise its gonna be a long career

You got a bachelors in IT? Im in process of finishing my degree. Do you have any certs?

 

[docwatson]

its tough to go by averages because those are for "average" individuals, and take into account those below averages. I was a marketing major, and I currently make 60k +bonuses so roughly 67-69k a year. I came in at 55k salaried, and after a year in "training" I was vested the full salary of 60k.

Don't base your decisions on averages. If you do what you love, you'll be above average and get paid above average.

 

[docwatson]

its tough to go by averages because those are for "average" individuals, and take into account those below averages. I was a marketing major, and I currently make 60k +bonuses so roughly 67-69k a year. I came in at 55k salaried, and after a year in "training" I was vested the full salary of 60k.

Don't base your decisions on averages. If you do what you love, you'll be above average and get paid above average.

 

[23mcpizzle23]

anything $1 or higher its hard to find a job for anyone nowadays

 

[23mcpizzle23]

anything $1 or higher its hard to find a job for anyone nowadays

 

[scshift]

I like all of those majors, but I really enjoy designing, so architecture and aerospace engineering appeal to me especially. I'm not really into the programming and math aspects, so while I know all of those majors require solid math skills, programming is low on my list.

The thing is that I don't love just one of these enough to do it for a very long time if the pay isn't good. I want to try different things in life, so if I can be financially stable early on, I can dip into other fields. Still, I'm open to all of those and more, I'm sure I'd enjoy all of them so I just need to figure out which one is the most stable in terms of finding employment.

 

[scshift]

I like all of those majors, but I really enjoy designing, so architecture and aerospace engineering appeal to me especially. I'm not really into the programming and math aspects, so while I know all of those majors require solid math skills, programming is low on my list.

The thing is that I don't love just one of these enough to do it for a very long time if the pay isn't good. I want to try different things in life, so if I can be financially stable early on, I can dip into other fields. Still, I'm open to all of those and more, I'm sure I'd enjoy all of them so I just need to figure out which one is the most stable in terms of finding employment.

 

[tha shermanator]

hopefully when I finish my mechanical engineering bachelors I'll be making the same as these figures

 

[tha shermanator]

hopefully when I finish my mechanical engineering bachelors I'll be making the same as these figures

 

[getyashinebox]

just landed my first job out of school ... starting salary is $65k + 8% bonus (junior electrical engineer)

 

[getyashinebox]

just landed my first job out of school ... starting salary is $65k + 8% bonus (junior electrical engineer)

 

[ryanbbn23]

im getting this from everyone, im in my last year of college.  Do something you enjoy doing. If you work just for a nice paycheck every two weeks, life is going to be miserable.

thats just what im told, not from experience.

 

[ryanbbn23]

im getting this from everyone, im in my last year of college.  Do something you enjoy doing. If you work just for a nice paycheck every two weeks, life is going to be miserable.

thats just what im told, not from experience.

 

[jookz]

Originally Posted by scshift

I like all of those majors, but I really enjoy designing, so architecture and aerospace engineering appeal to me especially. I'm not really into the programming and math aspects, so while I know all of those majors require solid math skills, programming is low on my list.

The thing is that I don't love just one of these enough to do it for a very long time if the pay isn't good. I want to try different things in life, so if I can be financially stable early on, I can dip into other fields. Still, I'm open to all of those and more, I'm sure I'd enjoy all of them so I just need to figure out which one is the most stable in terms of finding employment.

!!!  what do you mean designing?  this is a huge misconception.  engineer =/= designer.  look into industrial design, then at engineering.  i'm pretty sure you're thinking of industrial design, when you're saying engineering.  aerospace engineering would require taking courses in things like thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, structural stresses, manufacturing procedures for various materials, etc.
architecture is to civil engineering, as industrial design is to mechanical engineering.  i made this mistake when applying to college.  and if you do want to get into architecture/ID, start a portfolio asap.  i really hope this clears up any misconception between engineering and design for anyone reading this.

 

[jookz]

Originally Posted by scshift

I like all of those majors, but I really enjoy designing, so architecture and aerospace engineering appeal to me especially. I'm not really into the programming and math aspects, so while I know all of those majors require solid math skills, programming is low on my list.

The thing is that I don't love just one of these enough to do it for a very long time if the pay isn't good. I want to try different things in life, so if I can be financially stable early on, I can dip into other fields. Still, I'm open to all of those and more, I'm sure I'd enjoy all of them so I just need to figure out which one is the most stable in terms of finding employment.

!!!  what do you mean designing?  this is a huge misconception.  engineer =/= designer.  look into industrial design, then at engineering.  i'm pretty sure you're thinking of industrial design, when you're saying engineering.  aerospace engineering would require taking courses in things like thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, structural stresses, manufacturing procedures for various materials, etc.
architecture is to civil engineering, as industrial design is to mechanical engineering.  i made this mistake when applying to college.  and if you do want to get into architecture/ID, start a portfolio asap.  i really hope this clears up any misconception between engineering and design for anyone reading this.

 

[acidicality]

I'm a mechanical engineer....average starting salary is 50K but it obviously depends on the company and where you are, etc. My dad's company hires electricals starting at 67K. But once you enter mid-career, for most engineers, you can easily crack 100K.

Mechanical engineering in my experience interning and working on projects in school, has more to do with experimental procedures, like designing and conducting experiments to test a product. You'll be doing some design work probably, but to design your part/product/whatever it is, you definitely need to know math and use that as logic to your design, not the aesthetics. It's all about functionality, and it doesn't involve drawing and drafting as much as you would think. Maybe you would create your part in a CAD software then run a simulation on it to do some sort of stress analysis.

 

[acidicality]

I'm a mechanical engineer....average starting salary is 50K but it obviously depends on the company and where you are, etc. My dad's company hires electricals starting at 67K. But once you enter mid-career, for most engineers, you can easily crack 100K.

Mechanical engineering in my experience interning and working on projects in school, has more to do with experimental procedures, like designing and conducting experiments to test a product. You'll be doing some design work probably, but to design your part/product/whatever it is, you definitely need to know math and use that as logic to your design, not the aesthetics. It's all about functionality, and it doesn't involve drawing and drafting as much as you would think. Maybe you would create your part in a CAD software then run a simulation on it to do some sort of stress analysis.

 

[scshift]

Originally Posted by jookz

Originally Posted by scshift

I like all of those majors, but I really enjoy designing, so architecture and aerospace engineering appeal to me especially. I'm not really into the programming and math aspects, so while I know all of those majors require solid math skills, programming is low on my list.

The thing is that I don't love just one of these enough to do it for a very long time if the pay isn't good. I want to try different things in life, so if I can be financially stable early on, I can dip into other fields. Still, I'm open to all of those and more, I'm sure I'd enjoy all of them so I just need to figure out which one is the most stable in terms of finding employment.

!!!  what do you mean designing?  this is a huge misconception.  engineer =/= designer.  look into industrial design, then at engineering.  i'm pretty sure you're thinking of industrial design, when you're saying engineering.  aerospace engineering would require taking courses in things like thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, structural stresses, manufacturing procedures for various materials, etc.
architecture is to civil engineering, as industrial design is to mechanical engineering.  i made this mistake when applying to college.  and if you do want to get into architecture/ID, start a portfolio asap.  i really hope this clears up any misconception between engineering and design for anyone reading this.

True, but engineering does include aspects of design. For example, parts of aerospace engineering would have people designing the craft, keeping into account the aerodynamics, structural rigidity and durability - all things you listed.

In theory, couldn't engineering and design go hand in hand?

 

[scshift]

Originally Posted by jookz

Originally Posted by scshift

I like all of those majors, but I really enjoy designing, so architecture and aerospace engineering appeal to me especially. I'm not really into the programming and math aspects, so while I know all of those majors require solid math skills, programming is low on my list.

The thing is that I don't love just one of these enough to do it for a very long time if the pay isn't good. I want to try different things in life, so if I can be financially stable early on, I can dip into other fields. Still, I'm open to all of those and more, I'm sure I'd enjoy all of them so I just need to figure out which one is the most stable in terms of finding employment.

!!!  what do you mean designing?  this is a huge misconception.  engineer =/= designer.  look into industrial design, then at engineering.  i'm pretty sure you're thinking of industrial design, when you're saying engineering.  aerospace engineering would require taking courses in things like thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, structural stresses, manufacturing procedures for various materials, etc.
architecture is to civil engineering, as industrial design is to mechanical engineering.  i made this mistake when applying to college.  and if you do want to get into architecture/ID, start a portfolio asap.  i really hope this clears up any misconception between engineering and design for anyone reading this.

True, but engineering does include aspects of design. For example, parts of aerospace engineering would have people designing the craft, keeping into account the aerodynamics, structural rigidity and durability - all things you listed.

In theory, couldn't engineering and design go hand in hand?