Current Events > I think people honestly overrate STEM degrees

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EdgeMaster posted...

emblem boy posted...

Electrical engineer with Masters and I started with 76k out of college. 90k 3 years later. I've noticed others in my field start around 60-70k. I'm in Colorado

I feel like a lot of the non software engineering majors can start of low and the ceiling isn't as high though.
It always seems like the software guys getting those 100k+ stating salary and stuff. But obviously there are software guys who start out really low as well.

Youre an outlier. Ive got a few friends who did engineering (mostly chemical. A few mechanical or civil) and some went back to school for their masters the others are underpaid.

The one friend whos doing the best makes about $80k a year and got his degree in psychology. He is a very smart person and basically my encyclopedia on human nature and behaviors lol. He does sales for a software development/cloud storage company.

Engineering and computer science is one of those field where you can make $60-$80k annually but its rare. For every other field that you can make $100k and over, you start around $30-$40k. Then again theres always exceptions to the rules and some oddballs that make $80k when they studied a subject that wont let you nail a shingle without going to grad school first.

Funny enough, the 3 people (friends dads) I know and have met who make $250k a year and live in a mansion, one works in sales for a medical equipment company and is super boss of the west coast, one is a high level exec for at&t, while the other was a cpa and worked on Wall Street. Ironic because those arent STEM degrees.

It's really not rare to be making like 60-80k starting out in an engineering degree...

I just think the ceiling is low for the non software engineers
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Let me guess, you're a freshman in college or a high schooler?

As far as the TM part is concerned, yes you'll most likely have desk job. Probably for most E's too. It's kind of lame and boring but most professions are like that anyway.

One thing to note about most science degrees is that you'll most likely end up doing engineering in your career unless you get a phd, and even then there's a good chance you will still end up in an engineering job anyway so that's something to keep in mind.

As for pay, you can make way more than 100k, the only time I've made less is during internships. One good thing about STEM degrees is that there is a pretty solid floor for salaries and you don't really need any ingenuity or extreme motivation to get a decent paying job. You learn the shit, get good grades, get a good job. Also work hours are generally not ridiculous as they can be in law or medicine or finance. So yeah, there are certainly higher paying professions out there, but many of them are more risky and might require longer hours.
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TheoryzC posted...

Looking down on people who didn't go to school for engineering was pretty popular on CE back in like 2011/2012

Then they were humbled by reality.
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Would you rather make more per year for 25 years and then be out of a job taking shit pay for another 25 years until you retire or make slightly less but be employed for 50 years
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teepan95 posted...

TIL: the M in STEM doesn't stand for Medicine

You know what, I realized this later on. I thought it stood for math.

That said, most of the guys bragging out STEM are in other majors like engineering. I rarely hear doctors on the internet bragging

The M is math, not medicine.
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Sativa_Rose posted...

The M is math, not medicine.

How is accounting not math?
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Omega Hunter posted...

Sativa_Rose posted...

The M is math, not medicine.

How is accounting not math?

From what I understand, accounting is generally under the business department, and it doesn't involve very much advanced math at all actually. I never majored in accounting so I could be wrong.
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Omega Hunter posted...

I am a CPA, majored in accounting and went big 4 right out of undergrad. All my colleagues I started with straight out of school are making mid 100s 10 years later, obviously the smart and hard working ones. Yea the hours suck and life sucked at first but if you can tough it out it gets better. I might be making 165 k by end of year. Ooh yea and I married my intern who is also a CPA who makes 110 k a year so household income is approaching 300 k.

Marry a smart girl in your industry guys, it really helps.

You are the exception. Most accounting majors do not make it into the Big 4. Those that do and successfully complete their CPA have a bright future. However those that don't make it into the Big 4 get underpaid and overworked at small firms. Even if they do graduate, they are still shunned in industry since employers have a preference for Big 4 CPAs or those with 5-10+ years experience. There is a lot of demand for accounting clerks, but they will shun you too because they don't want someone who will jump ship quickly if you find a rare position that wants a fresh CPA grad. Accounting is just very bottom and top heavy with little middle ground. Employers either want junior grunts for basic data entry, or senior managers with plenty of (BIg 4) experience.
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I have a MS in CS and I recently took an offer for 70k in Denver. (For comparison Comcast Software Engineer II was 55-65k during my interview).

It's about par for the market given my experience, but in 2-3 years I'll be worth 100k+ easily since it's a .NET position. Unfortunately Denver seems to be slightly anti-intellectual and recruiters really want specific tech stacks.

It also took me a month to find my job. Some might say that this is fast, but the entry level market felt pretty bad IMO.
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josifrees posted...

Would you rather make more per year for 25 years and then be out of a job taking shit pay for another 25 years until you retire or make slightly less but be employed for 50 years

this is very stupid .
Engineers go to the management side after 25 years . You must be a very shitty engineer if you dont become a manager after those years.

MasterOfSex posted...

josifrees posted...

Would you rather make more per year for 25 years and then be out of a job taking shit pay for another 25 years until you retire or make slightly less but be employed for 50 years

this is very stupid .
Engineers go to the management side after 25 years . You must be a very shitty engineer if you dont become a manager after those years.

I work with a bunch of engineers and one of the best at their job is a 72 year old man. He's cranky as all fuck but good at what he does. Not everyone wants to deal with the hell that is management.
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Software is what people are really talking about when they talking about money for nothing.

10 years ago at a 10 person shop doing contract work in Alabama my starting salary was 45k and when I left for Boston 3 years later I was making 65k. The company I'm at now hires in fresh grads at six figures and we only aim to compensate around the 60th percentile for the market. By your 3rd promotion you'll start looking at about 200k and the most motivated can get that in 5 years. After that you start making the really stupid money.

EdgeMaster posted...

emblem boy posted...

Electrical engineer with Masters and I started with 76k out of college. 90k 3 years later. I've noticed others in my field start around 60-70k. I'm in Colorado

I feel like a lot of the non software engineering majors can start of low and the ceiling isn't as high though.
It always seems like the software guys getting those 100k+ stating salary and stuff. But obviously there are software guys who start out really low as well.

Youre an outlier. Ive got a few friends who did engineering (mostly chemical. A few mechanical or civil) and some went back to school for their masters the others are underpaid.

The one friend whos doing the best makes about $80k a year and got his degree in psychology. He is a very smart person and basically my encyclopedia on human nature and behaviors lol. He does sales for a software development/cloud storage company.

Engineering and computer science is one of those field where you can make $60-$80k annually but its rare. For every other field that you can make $100k and over, you start around $30-$40k. Then again theres always exceptions to the rules and some oddballs that make $80k when they studied a subject that wont let you nail a shingle without going to grad school first.

Funny enough, the 3 people (friends dads) I know and have met who make $250k a year and live in a mansion, one works in sales for a medical equipment company and is super boss of the west coast, one is a high level exec for at&t, while the other was a cpa and worked on Wall Street. Ironic because those arent STEM degrees.

Not trying to be a dick but I think you're completely wrong with the "you're an outlier" stuff. I graduated with a Computer Engineering bachelor's recently and had no problem finding a job for $60k annually. In fact, you would be hard-pressed to find something in the $30k-$40k range unless it was an internship, and you would probably only be doing that for 6 months to a year. I probably could have found something for $65k or $70k coming out if I tried hard enough.
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