2014's Starting Salaries for College Tech Majors

[CommanderFrank]

Just graduate from college? Have a degree in the tech field, but don’t know what to expect as far as starting salaries go? Here’s a hint: If you have a degree in Educational Services, go back and get your Masters.

And while compensation isn't always the biggest factor in their choice for a profession, it can be a good place to start.

 

[Dekoth-E-]

These lists are such bullshit, especially in the It field. $65k for a Comp sci? What a load of crap lol. Want to know what a comp sci degree will get you? a $25k sheet of really rough toilet paper. All comp sci says is you can turn on a computer without hopefully burning the building down. You want to see 65k? You come to the table with certifications that say you actually know how to do something like CCNA, MCITP or other recognized certifications.

 

[CreepyUncleGoogle]

Industry certifications are nice, but generally people with college degrees earn more income over their lives. It's good to have both a degree and some certifications, but the degree is the most important ticket out of low income land (though I totally admit that people with degrees also tend to have more discipline, motivation, drive, and raw intellect and that helps a lot...so maybe the degree is just proof that you're a higher quality person than the average high school grad or dropout instead of it being something that imparts wisdom while you're in the process of obtaining it).

 

[ravx25]

Industry certifications are nice, but generally people with college degrees earn more income over their lives. It's good to have both a degree and some certifications, but the degree is the most important ticket out of low income land (though I totally admit that people with degrees also tend to have more discipline, motivation, drive, and raw intellect and that helps a lot...so maybe the degree is just proof that you're a higher quality person than the average high school grad or dropout instead of it being something that imparts wisdom while you're in the process of obtaining it).

Good thing you said tend to, because I work with a lot of people who have their degrees and most of them are idiots.

 

[colinstu]

These lists are such bullshit, especially in the It field. $65k for a Comp sci? What a load of crap lol. Want to know what a comp sci degree will get you? a $25k sheet of really rough toilet paper. All comp sci says is you can turn on a computer without hopefully burning the building down. You want to see 65k? You come to the table with certifications that say you actually know how to do something like CCNA, MCITP or other recognized certifications.

Comp Sci and IT degrees/certs are two ENTIRELY different fields/things.

Comp Sci = programming nerds = nothing to fucking do with CCNA/MCSE/IT.

(also, MCITP is gone, it's back to MCSE).

 

[Dekoth-E-]

Industry certifications are nice, but generally people with college degrees earn more income over their lives. It's good to have both a degree and some certifications, but the degree is the most important ticket out of low income land (though I totally admit that people with degrees also tend to have more discipline, motivation, drive, and raw intellect and that helps a lot...so maybe the degree is just proof that you're a higher quality person than the average high school grad or dropout instead of it being something that imparts wisdom while you're in the process of obtaining it).

On what planet? oh right, planet
BULLSHIT I have done enough hiring over the years to know exactly what happens to a resume that comes in with comp sci being the only listed education. Unless it is a company specifically looking for someone they have to train from ground zero it gets a trip to the paper shredder.

Comp Sci and IT degrees/certs are two ENTIRELY different fields/things.

Comp Sci = programming nerds = nothing to fucking do with CCNA/MCSE/IT.

(also, MCITP is gone, it's back to MCSE).

No, comp sci is just a generalist entry level degree. I have a comp sci degree and didn't take a single programming class. It also is the biggest waste of time I have in my entire life. I literally do not even put it on my resume anymore. I simply mentioned those certs as easily recognizable entry level ones. Pick your field and pick your entry level and you get the point.

MCITP is gone again? jesus I wish MS would quit changing their certs every 5 years. Meh I guess I don't really care, I'm full on cisco at this point..fk server admining.

 

[LOCO LAPTOP]

Good thing you said tend to, because I work with a lot of people who have their degrees and most of them are idiots.

So fucking true! Or tell you "I have a degree so I know more then you!"

I just reply with "I'm a high school drop out and make more then you!" That makes them shut up real quick.

You know, I find that most people who go to collage are just book smart. They can remember just enough information to pass a test then forget everything they "learned". My cousin is a good example of that. She book smart in school but anything real life she like deer in headlights.

 

[Thuleman]

No, comp sci is just a generalist entry level degree. I have a comp sci degree and didn't take a single programming class.

Then you really do not have a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science.
Whatever degree you have is not a CS degree if it doesn't have some 30 credits in actual programming. Either that or you got it from some non-accredited school. Feel free to prove me wrong by linking to the program you completed.

Other than that; yes, the lists are BS, income is relative to location, and degrees don't mean shit in the real world, those with degrees tend to have zero real world applicable skills when they graduate, although those with degrees do end up making more money in the long run.

 

[Thuleman]

So fucking true! Or tell you "I have a degree so I know more then you!"

I just reply with "I'm a high school drop out and make more then you!" That makes them shut up real quick.

Well, as long as you *tell* them and don't write it out it's all good. Once you write it out you are going to be ridiculed for not knowing the difference between 'then' and 'than', but then again, you did drop out of high school ....

My cousin is a good example of that. She book smart in school but anything real life she like deer in headlights.

Is she hot?

 

[Comixbooks]

The never ending supply of people who are trained on a computer =)
Meanwhile at Walmart.....

 

[LOCO LAPTOP]

Well, as long as you *tell* them and don't write it out it's all good. Once you write it out you are going to be ridiculed for not knowing the difference between 'then' and 'than', but then again, you did drop out of high school ....



Is she hot?

English isn't my first language.

I would say she is a 8/10

 

[jimmyb]

No, comp sci is just a generalist entry level degree. I have a comp sci degree and didn't take a single programming class.

Sounds like you didn't go to an accredited school. Computer science is not IT.

 

[Warstopper]

The fact government employees make as much as or more in nearly every chart this article describes is depressing. You should not, on principle, have the job security and benefits a government job entitles AND have the pay someone in the private sector gets. This along with the feeling of entitlement to an annual raise, regardless of performance.

Hopefully this becomes more balanced in the future, but the fact is people are going to school in order to get a government job now rather than going to school to get a job with a good company.

We should start with removing the entire budget for aides that congress has, lower every elected member of congress, the president and vice president to minimum wage and remove the lobbyist industry.

 

[gglenn]

How can this be? We are constantly told by industry and political leaders that there is a severe shortage of qualified applicants entering STEM disciplines, and we need to dramitically increase the number of H-1B visas issued to satisfy demand. And yet, starting salaries in these fields aren't even keeping pace with the general rate of inflation. Something fishy about that.

 

[okashira]

These lists are such bullshit, especially in the It field. $65k for a Comp sci? What a load of crap lol. Want to know what a comp sci degree will get you? a $25k sheet of really rough toilet paper. All comp sci says is you can turn on a computer without hopefully burning the building down. You want to see 65k? You come to the table with certifications that say you actually know how to do something like CCNA, MCITP or other recognized certifications.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you don't have a comp sci degree, or any degree at all.

 

[Grahamkracka]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you don't have a comp sci degree, or any degree at all.

Considering he claims he has a CS degree but never took a programming class (which is complete and utter bullshit for so many reasons), I think this is fairly obvious. Like has been said before, computer science is NOT IT. Two completely different fucking things. Do a lot of people with CS degrees go into IT? Sure, but that's like saying my mechanical engineering degree is useless in the field of engineering because a lot of ME graduates go into law or technical sales (or any other non-engineering job for that matter).

 

[Grahamkracka]

How can this be? We are constantly told by industry and political leaders that there is a severe shortage of qualified applicants entering STEM disciplines, and we need to dramitically increase the number of H-1B visas issued to satisfy demand. And yet, starting salaries in these fields aren't even keeping pace with the general rate of inflation. Something fishy about that.

Salaries in general aren't keeping up with inflation.

 

[Grahamkracka]

The fact government employees make as much as or more in nearly every chart this article describes is depressing. You should not, on principle, have the job security and benefits a government job entitles AND have the pay someone in the private sector gets. This along with the feeling of entitlement to an annual raise, regardless of performance.

Hopefully this becomes more balanced in the future, but the fact is people are going to school in order to get a government job now rather than going to school to get a job with a good company.

We should start with removing the entire budget for aides that congress has, lower every elected member of congress, the president and vice president to minimum wage and remove the lobbyist industry.

I have no problem with government employees getting equivalent pay as those in private sector. Though I do believe hiring practices should become a little tighter as to what talent they bring in. It's gotta be that way unless you want only idiots working in all levels of government, rather than just the politicians being retarded.

 

[Cheetoz]

That wasn't my salary as an entry electrical engineer

Maybe because I don't work in california/somewhere expensive?

 

[Thuleman]

The fact government employees make as much as or more in nearly every chart this article describes is depressing. You should not, on principle, have the job security and benefits a government job entitles AND have the pay someone in the private sector gets.

I highly recommend Huff's How to Lie With Statistics, it's perfectly applicable in this case.

Even if government types make more than private industry employee's out of college, the roles become quickly reversed. As soon as you have even a moderate amount of job experience the private industry pays much much more than a government job, especially in IT.

 

[Deleted whining member 223597]

I highly recommend Huff's How to Lie With Statistics, it's perfectly applicable in this case.

Even if government types make more than private industry employee's out of college, the roles become quickly reversed. As soon as you have even a moderate amount of job experience the private industry pays much much more than a government job, especially in IT.

I honestly thought that was common knowledge.

 

[tetris42]

Industry certifications are nice, but generally people with college degrees earn more income over their lives. It's good to have both a degree and some certifications, but the degree is the most important ticket out of low income land (though I totally admit that people with degrees also tend to have more discipline, motivation, drive, and raw intellect and that helps a lot...so maybe the degree is just proof that you're a higher quality person than the average high school grad or dropout instead of it being something that imparts wisdom while you're in the process of obtaining it).

A lot of it depends on the type of work (I wouldn't want medical doctors or nuclear engineers without degrees), but I can't say I agree with this. What you're saying was more true in the past, where degrees were a definite step towards achieving higher income, but now, I bet if you pit the average bachelor's straddled with debt against someone who went to a trade school or community college and got work experience sooner, the latter is going to be winning out on average. Again, this is just generalizing, some fields really need enormous amounts of background education before going anywhere, for others, the degree is just paper.

Also saying someone with a degree is a "higher quality person" compared to one who doesn't sounds elitist as hell. Assuming they haven't cheated, a degree means you have good test-taking skills and probably aren't a complete fuckup.

 

[GearChoices]

The claims being made in this thread are too black and white. I will set the record straight with the TRUE black-and-white statements

1) The vast majority of graduates with a GPA of 3.0+ from nationally-reputable top schools and/or degree programs have higher discipline, intelligence, motivation, etc... than the vast majority of IT professionals who did not complete a four-year degree at all and people who did complete one but went to a bottom-of-the-barrel school.

2) The vast majority of companies, tech companies and tech departments included, do not hire based on the applicant's discipline, motivation, or intelligence - and certainly not on his/her professional integrity/ethics.

 

[tetris42]

The claims being made in this thread are too black and white. I will set the record straight with the TRUE black-and-white statements

1) The vast majority of graduates with a GPA of 3.0+ from nationally-reputable top schools and/or degree programs have higher discipline, intelligence, motivation, etc... than the vast majority of IT professionals who did not complete a four-year degree at all and people who did complete one but went to a bottom-of-the-barrel school.

2) The vast majority of companies, tech companies and tech departments included, do not hire based on the applicant's discipline, motivation, or intelligence - and certainly not on his/her professional integrity/ethics.

Good point, I was getting ahead of myself thinking of degrees in general as opposed to tech focused ones (which is what the article is about).

 

[Grahamkracka]

Also saying someone with a degree is a "higher quality person" compared to one who doesn't sounds elitist as hell. Assuming they haven't cheated, a degree means you have good test-taking skills and probably aren't a complete fuckup.

Show me a CS (or really any engineering program as well) where it is advantageous to cheat. Trust me, it's not. It WILL catch up with you before you graduate.

 

[4saken]

I am directly involved in interview/hiring process at a very large company's IT dept. If i see a resume roll through with zero experience and just a CS degree of any kind, they are going to be lucky to get on as a junior anything, unelss we are specifically looking for hire someone on for a mentorship. We want to see some entry-level experience before even considering a person. Of course there are always exceptions if said candidates can include examples of their skills to us. Id rather see someone come through with no degree and 3-5 yrs min experience in what we are hiring for. Especially with kids these days. Starting to find in IT that the 25-40 yr old crowd are still far superior in motivation and all around know how when it comes to having a base in technology. Again, there are always exceptions.

 

[Staples]

In the 10+ years I have been here, people who have no degrees saying that they them self did not get one because they don't see the use. They know more than most degree holders etc.

It may be true but employers look for degrees and that is a fact.

Whether degrees makes anyone more qualified is another argument.

 

[Grahamkracka]

I think more of the conflict in this thread is that people confuse CS degrees as she be somehow geared towards IT. Sure some with CS try to go the IT route, but it's not the same thing and you are generally going to need to demonstrate some IT skills to succeed if that's the way you want to go. It's no better than getting a psychology degree before going into IT.

Big ass internet companies like Google and Facebook don't have their programmers and CS guys do IT...the GET IT PROFESSIONALS TO DO THEIR IT FOR THEM. Why? Because CS =/= IT.

 

[Grahamkracka]

^I see the grammar error, move along.

 

[4saken]

In the 10+ years I have been here, people who have no degrees saying that they them self did not get one because they don't see the use. They know more than most degree holders etc.

It may be true but employers look for degrees and that is a fact.

Whether degrees makes anyone more qualified is another argument.

I find that true in any industry EXCEPT information tech. Putting aside the very uber smart folks who work engineering at companies like Intel, AMD, nvidia, ibm, etc etc, most Tech or internal IT depts dont give 2 craps about a degree. If you have a proven track record and fit in, you will be just fine. I honestly dont even think its worth going to college if you plan to land a job working IT. Get in at a help desk and start soaking up everything.

 

[GearChoices]

I find that true in any industry EXCEPT information tech. Putting aside the very uber smart folks who work engineering at companies like Intel, AMD, nvidia, ibm, etc etc, most Tech or internal IT depts dont give 2 craps about a degree. If you have a proven track record and fit in, you will be just fine. I honestly dont even think its worth going to college if you plan to land a job working IT. Get in at a help desk and start soaking up everything.

Unfortunately this seems to not be due to non-degreed employees being equivalent to degreed in IT, but rather due to overall low standards and overall low quality employees in the IT workforce. There is no better demonstrated than the massive offshoring of IT and "insourcing" of cheap H1Bs, both of which are as low quality employees as you can get, the vast majority of the time. At one time the field was full of professionals like any other field, but over time unprofessional slacker-geeks (and no, i'm not talking about all geeks) have come to dominate the field, only wishing to employ others of their own kind. However even they are more and more being replaced by offshore companies and H1-Bs.

 

[Snowdog]

These lists are such bullshit, especially in the It field. $65k for a Comp sci? What a load of crap lol. Want to know what a comp sci degree will get you? a $25k sheet of really rough toilet paper. All comp sci says is you can turn on a computer without hopefully burning the building down. You want to see 65k? You come to the table with certifications that say you actually know how to do something like CCNA, MCITP or other recognized certifications.

Most people who get CS degrees are heading into software development, not Network Admin/Support. If I was going to do network admin/support I wouldn't waste my time on a CS degree either.

But doing large scale SW development is mainly done by CS/Engineering grads and it is rare for someone to get in with less. Certifications are basically useless here.

Horses for courses.

 

[Grahamkracka]

Most people who get CS degrees are heading into software development, not Network Admin/Support. If I was going to do network admin/support I wouldn't waste my time on a CS degree either.

But doing large scale SW development is mainly done by CS/Engineering grads and it is rare for someone to get in with less. Certifications are basically useless here.

Horses for courses.

Careful, he has a "Computer Science" degree without taking any programming courses. He obviously knows what he's talking about.

 

[oROEchimaru]

Whats crazy is out of four major wisconsin orgs maybe 400+ employees I have interacted with most of them do not even have a bachelors. At places where bachelors was required there are alot of band majors lol.

Most of it has been certs, what you do with your free time and experience. I see more folks with hands on experience from associates degrees than people with jobs with bachelors.

 

[hofan41]

$65k for a Comp sci? What a load of crap lol.

I speak from experience, and your statement is wrong. In fact, $65k is a bit low for northern california.

 

[TFchris]

I hear the argument of picking an experienced person in x field with no degree over a person with a degree in x field but no experience yet far too often. It almost sounds like cries of jealously.

Of course a degree from any university does not guarantee your success, but do note that the majority of major companies are filled with employees with college and graduate degrees.

Without a degree (or in process), chances are you won't even get an interview if you're not already well connected with someone.

Face it, if you were to hire two people for a job and person A has a degree in the field, and person B has no degree and both of which have no experience, I believe the obvious choice would be person A, correct?

Now if person A has a degree but no experience, and person B has no degree but is "experienced" it may be a tough call with a possible edge to person B.

Now keep in mind, person B once had no experience or degree and so yourself, what company would hire a person with no experience or degree over those that do? I would have to say tiny companies that most likely do not pay too well and do not require much from their employees and usually end up failing in a few years.

Of the three possible scenarios, two would most likely be in favor of the person with a degree but has no experience. There are actually four scenarios but anyone who doesn't hire a person with both experience and a fancy degree would be crazy and would just make the argument of those with a degree edging out those that do not, three out of four times.

So if you're not a complete moron, I hope you find it obvious that choosing the road with more opportunity is probably better than less. Because simple math tells us 3/4 (75%) > 1/4 (25%).

Of course this is a very black and white description, but there are kernels of truth in there.

 

[GearChoices]

I speak from experience, and your statement is wrong. In fact, $65k is a bit low for northern california.

65k is probably accurate if you graduate from at least an average school, have a decent (3.0+) GPA, have some relevant internship/work experience, and are going to work in an area with high cost of living (for example, a big metro in northern california). But 65k is definitely not the true national average or median for entry-level CS grads.

 

[TFchris]

65k is probably accurate if you graduate from at least an average school, have a decent (3.0+) GPA, have some relevant internship/work experience, and are going to work in an area with high cost of living (for example, a big metro in northern california). But 65k is definitely not the true national average or median for entry-level CS grads.

Many credible schools do not allow students to graduate without completing one or two internships anyway. I had to intern at BNL and NOAA and then present my findings before I got my bachelor of science degree as an undergrad, so no experience was not an option.

So either these people have no idea what they're talking about or they graduated from some no name bottom tier college, community college, or religious/art college.

 

[MrCrispy]

Truth about getting a job in any comp sci/eng field - they'll look at your school, and if it happens to be a top school with really good grade, that's a bonus.

But 90% of the interview is going to be algorithms, solving programming problems, coding on a whiteboard, and that's after you pass a phone screen. They want to know how good you are (aka how many months you have slaved memorizing and practicing interview skills).

 

[GearChoices]

Many credible schools do not allow students to graduate without completing one or two internships anyway. I had to intern at BNL and NOAA and then present my findings before I got my bachelor of science degree as an undergrad, so no experience was not an option.

So either these people have no idea what they're talking about or they graduated from some no name bottom tier college, community college, or religious/art college.

There are over 2,000 non-profit four-year colleges/universities in the United States. There are hundreds of bottom-of-the-barrel schools among non-profits alone. And then there are the hundreds of for-profits which need no discussion...

That is a whole lot of CS grads (in fact, the vast majority) outside of schools that do not require internships to graduate, even though not all of those 2,000 schools have CS programs. Now, most good schools encourage internships, but not many require them just to graduate. This 65k number is not the average. Among schools with a certain high level of quality (relative to other schools), sure. But a national average as they are claiming? I don't think so. It is propaganda attempting to make the job market and higher education look better than they currently are. Both are in bad shape overall.

Truth about getting a job in any comp sci/eng field - they'll look at your school, and if it happens to be a top school with really good grade, that's a bonus.

But 90% of the interview is going to be algorithms, solving programming problems, coding on a whiteboard, and that's after you pass a phone screen. They want to know how good you are (aka how many months you have slaved memorizing and practicing interview skills).

I am not a CS graduate, though I considered it at one point. The key point is, yes once you are in the interview, and the hiring managers have not already decided to hire you because they went to the same school (which definitely happens sometimes), your interview performance is what counts. But with the flood of applicants, including experienced ones, they get for an entry-level job, it is going to be hard to even be called in for an interview unless you come from a good school. And if you come from not just a good school, but a top one, it is a BIG help in getting invited for that interview.