# Starting Salaries For Those With Degrees



## Cerberus (Feb 13, 2005)

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## person86 (Aug 10, 2006)

You can't just look at salaries, though. Some of the "top jobs" have average starting salaries only a few thousand dollars apart, while one job market is a lot tougher to find jobs in than others. For example, chemical engineering versus computer science... from what I've heard, I'd take ChemE any day. It's not impossible to find a good CS job, but the ChemE market is certainly nicer.

I'm lucky enough to be in an electrical engineering program that has a fairly extensive mandatory paid co-op thing... very few people end up graduating without either getting job offers from comparies they've co-oped for, or from other companies on account of all the experience they've gained while in school.

But yeah. Engineering pays, if you can hack your way through it.


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## Drella (Dec 4, 2004)

They have psychology listed as being around $28,000, but how many people really major in psychology looking to get a job with a bachelor's degree? 

The job that I want pays a sh*tload, but it's an extremely competitive position, so I doubt I'll get it. I will most likely end up as the lettuce girl at Burger King.


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## Gerard (Feb 3, 2004)

What about passion reasons to major in a certain field or subject?

I plan to work with a non-governmental organization advocating human rights, health and/or education. Some people doing such work with non-international ones, only get paid survival money. It's more like a volunteer job but I wouldn't mind really because its humanitarian in function, which is my goal in life.

The only high expenses that worry me in a decent salary, are a house, a car, bikes, and a piano and monthly bills and to travel. so salary doesn't matter much to me. As long as I enjoy and like and have passion for my career, money doesn't matter much to me; just enough for my basic needs and wants.


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## Blue Oval (Oct 18, 2006)

pharmacy: $80,000 


2.5 years down, 3.5 more years of school to go :banana


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## mayblue (Oct 1, 2005)

It doesn't sound like much, but a person with no kids can live very comfortably on $30,000 a year.


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## mismac (Oct 27, 2005)

Engineering: $50,000+
Psychology: $28,000

I dropped out of engineering to complete my psych degree. Don't tell my parents about this list :lol


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## mserychic (Oct 2, 2004)

Wow so this list is accurate? I'm going to get a nice CS job with only an AA degree so will start a lil lower than what's listed but wow. I can't imagine making that much money


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## UnseenShadow (Sep 26, 2004)

Cerberus said:


> I always thought Biology was a more practical major, and would result in a higher paying job than something like Political Science. I was way off, it would appear. It almost appears that if you want a practical degree, you major in engineering or something that applies a lot of math. Otherwise, you end up in the $30,000-ish income bracket.


Maybe a simple bachelors in biology won't get you far, but you do know most M.D.'s are biology majors?


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## nubly (Nov 2, 2006)

mayblue said:


> It doesn't sound like much, but a person with no kids can live very comfortably on $30,000 a year.


depens on where you live at. im a few hundred dollars off $30k and its tough to live here making that amount of money. even worse off if you lived in NYC, CA or HI. and yes, you get paid higher if you work in those areas but it does not even out.


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## mismac (Oct 27, 2005)

Cerberus said:


> Apparently those who major in philosophy tend to score the highest on some law school entrance exam.


I'm not surprise. Philosophy teaches you to think critically and logically, and how to construct a good argument. It also makes you more open-minded about the world. I see a lot of philosophical thinking in judges when they give their explanation on a sentence. I think it's the perfect major for anyone going into law.


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## Gerard (Feb 3, 2004)

mayblue said:


> It doesn't sound like much, but a person with no kids can live very comfortably on $30,000 a year.


I think so. Thats for me is just enough.


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## nubly (Nov 2, 2006)

Cerberus said:


> What do you mean by "but it does not even out?"


i mean that if you compare the pay and cost of living to another city, it'll still be more expensive in those places


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## itsmemaggi (Sep 26, 2005)

Gumaro said:


> Cerberus said:
> 
> 
> > What do you mean by "but it does not even out?"
> ...


I agree, but teachers make a considerable amount of money in NYC (though I most-likely won't be here once I graduate, anyway). With a master's degree and extra credits, starting salary for teachers in the NYC public school system is upwards of $50,000. It's possible to live off that, I guess, but still difficult.

I'm not sure what the point was, of posting all that I just did. I guess I just felt like typing... :hide

xoxo
Maggi


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## Christian (Oct 5, 2006)

Go Philosophy! TOO-LOW-TO-SHOW :lol


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## beckjcream (Feb 20, 2005)

mech eng major here. that salary looks nice but with my crappy gpa and stupidity i just hope i can graduate on time.


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## Strength (Aug 12, 2006)

unsure said:


> As long as I enjoy and like and have passion for my career, money doesn't matter much to me.


I really agree with that. Money in itself honestly doesn't make me that happy. I think you have to be a very materialistic person to want only money your main goal.

I can vouch for philosophy classes. Of all the classes I took in college, philosophy made me think the most both in terms of logic and being open-minded. That being said, I think that a person needs to be more balanced than just philosophy because it's all theoretical, and very little real-world thinking.


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

I never understood that, to be honest.....
I am in computer science and am lucky to have a job (considering how screwed up - yep, the first time I have used this phrase!) in this industry. With all of the outsourcing, they are not willing to pay that salary!


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## nubly (Nov 2, 2006)

Strength said:


> unsure said:
> 
> 
> > As long as I enjoy and like and have passion for my career, money doesn't matter much to me.
> ...


i dunno. i think money can make happiness. you can have fun traveling and buying things you want. besides, being poor or barely scrapping buy isnt fun either especially when you have to start saving for retirement at an early age.


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## onlylordknows (Apr 27, 2004)

sweet, mine's 44K


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## Jim (Nov 11, 2003)

Starting salaries for lawyers in major law firms is around $135,000 with a bonus that can be as much as $20,000 or more. Partners (senior lawyers) in such firms earn over $500,000; some earn over a million.


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## RX2000 (Jan 25, 2004)

$32k for someone with a polysci degree?

Exactly what kind of jobs are they getting? I thought a polysci degree was kind of like a psych degree, basically worthless.


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## pickedlastingym (Sep 22, 2006)

English is that high? Reaaaaaally?
::dances the happy dance::


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