For those going to College: Engineering, Computer-Science Pay More Than Liberal Arts

Wall Street Journal ^ | 10/25/2010 | Joe Light

[WebFocus]

The starting pay of certain liberal arts majors generally clocks in well below that of graduates in engineering fields, according to a Wall Street Journal study.

Graduates with engineering degrees earned average starting pay of $56,000 in their first full-time jobs out of college, topping other majors. Communications and English majors only earned $34,000 in their first jobs.

The survey, which was conducted by PayScale.com between April and June of this year, was answered by about 11,000 people who graduated between 1999 and 2010. The reported starting pay was adjusted for inflation to make the salaries of graduates from different years comparable.

The clear career path of engineering and computer science degrees means students often feel pressure to move into those fields, said Katharine Brooks, director of liberal arts career services at The University of Texas at Austin and author of "You Majored In What?

The pay advantage of graduates with technical degrees often persists throughout their careers, said Fort Collins, Colo.-based career counselor Katy Piotrowski. Although liberal arts majors have a wide range of salaries, Ms. Piotrowski said that mid-career liberal arts majors she works with in northern Colorado make between $60,000 and $70,000. Those with technical degrees make at least $10,000 more.

[Borges]

There’s a ton of legacy code written in C isn’t there?

[WebFocus]

RE: There’s a ton of legacy code written in C isn’t there?

---

Yes, just as there were in the 20th century with COBOL.

Most of these code are being migrated away from C to more “modern” languages.

[xsmommy]

My undergrad major was Political Science, I am a lawyer. Our oldest daughter is a senior at the U of Dallas who will graduate in May with a degree in Political Science. She wants to go to law school but has a job offer from a non-profit. our advice to her is to take the job and hold off on law school for the foreseeable future.

[AF_Blue]

Anyone wanting to go into radio, don't waste your time with a broadcasting degree. Start out as a part-time board operator, learn the biz, and move up the ladder. But don't expect to ever earn much more than a living wage, if even that.

Agree. I got a part-time (second) job in commercial radio many years ago, just to get a feel for it. I started with driving the station vans around and setting up at remote broadcast sites (car dealerships, clubs, etc), moved on to programming the weekend shows in the computer, then got a weekend DJ spot. Overall, had a blast working there, but wouldn't want to make a living at it. I didn't have a problem making minimum wage for what I was doing, but I was making more as a USAF E-5 than the station managers of several years were.

The REAL money is in marketing advertising spots. The sales manager drove a VERY nice BMW convertible.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I have made more money than some of these working as a non-code welder fitup man in a steel shop!

And made almost as much as the top working as an operator in a coal fired power plant!

[WebFocus]

RE: I have made more money than some of these working as a non-code welder fitup man in a steel shop!

And made almost as much as the top working as an operator in a coal fired power plant!

---

Congratulations. I have been told that jobs like yours are the ones this country is crying out for and people are hard to find.

Question -— Did you have to go to trade school to learn these skills, or did you just learn on the job.

If so, how did you get your foot in the first time?

[Ditto]

Guess you havent heard. Youre elite tech jobs are gone. Outsourced.

If you have a EE or CS degree, I'll get you a job in about 10 minutes. We're hiring right now, and the only problem is finding enough people with the education and skills.

[Ditto]

Civil Engineering is still engineering, so they must have separated it from the others because the pay disparity is so great. From what I’ve seen it always has a substantially lower starting salary than Electrical or Mechanical.

And ironically, the Civil Engineer is the only one who can go to jail if he screws up. ;~((

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

Question -— Did you have to go to trade school to learn these skills, or did you just learn on the job.

***If so, how did you get your foot in the first time?***

For the first, I simply applied for a basic job in a steel shop and was hired. They put me in as a machine helper, and I learned everything I could, including welding which I needed in that job.

The second, I applied at a new power plant being built, and was hired. They trained me in everything Ineeded to know.

Now there are trade schools that train people for powerplant work. You have a better chance if you have gone to one of these trade schools.

I have always kept up my welding and fitup skills incase I lost my power plant job. So far I have been lucky.

A real trade is what will bring in more money than a degree in some off the wall “studies” at some university.

[The Comedian]

Unbelievable. It's almost as if one course of study has value, and the other is some sort of mental masturbation.

Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.

[The Comedian]

What job would you seek with an Economics, Biology or Political Science degree?

Escort or Exotic Dancer.

Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.

[WebFocus]

Just curious as to what state/city you live in...

[Blue Ink]

I was an English major. I’m a TV writer.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***Just curious as to what state/city you live in...***

I made the best money in Oklahoma, New Mexico and believe it or not, Arkansas.

[Tijeras_Slim]

I’m doing OK with my philosophy degree.

[Drrdot]

My son, a very personable young man of 21, has recently earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering, and passed his state exam.

Can anyone here help him get a job interview?

At present it seems that there are no entry level mechanical engineering jobs at any salary level (not even volunteer work paying zero$!).

If your son is willing to move - the nuclear industry pays quite well in general and has a very high average employee age. They are constantly looking for young engineers - even entry level.

[bd476]

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