Unbelievable. That would be about $23,500/year in 1989, when I graduated college. That was not as much as the starting salary for engineers with top companies, but it was more than most with bachelor's degrees in business or liberal arts.
I will grant Boston is a much higher cost of living area, but that is why 20-somethings used to share apartments with roommates.
But get this. Scott Nicholson wants to work for a large company, like his father, and in financial services, like his grandfather and brother. So did Scott major in Accounting, where he could get his CPA as a fallback if needed? No. Did Scott major in Economics? No. Did Scott major in Finance? No. Did Scott even major in General Business? No. Did Scott co-op while in college? No.
Scott majored in Political Science with a minor in History.
Yes, working as an insurance adjuster is grunt work in financial services. But it is an entry position. And without specific education which has greater value to an employer, that is still a good offer.
Had he taken it, he would have something on his resume he does not have. Experience. With a couple of years of experience under his belt, he probably could have traded that $40K job for a $60K job in a couple of years. He could have worked as a claims adjuster, lived lean, and started an evening MBA program with a public university.
Instead he thinks the fact he "worked hard" in high school and college should grant him a ticket into a management program at a major financial services firm (which probably go to MBA grads at top-tier B-schools), or even directly being hired into an experienced reinsurer role because "he heard about if from his brother and thinks its a good job."
Scott is a naive idiot. And now the world knows. I would never hire him.