Payscale Data for Engineer Undergrads in their early careers from both schools:
Duke: 78,400
Michigan: 73,000
Duke beats out Michigan by 5,400, however, there are additional factors to consider:
Duke students are from wealthier families in the first place. A whopping 19.2% of Duke students are from the 1%, whose family income is 630k or more a year. That means that almost 1 in 5 Duke students come from households that belong to the 1%. Compare this to 9.3% of Michigan students.
A higher proportion of Duke students hail from wealthy states or locales sch as New Jersey, California, New York, Massachusetts, and Maryland/Virginia/D.C. These students are more likely to go back to these wealthy locales and experience salary advantages. Over half of Michigan students are from the state of Michigan, where salaries are a lot lower in the first place.
When we consider these factors, Duke seems a lot less impressive. In fact, Michigan might be better in placing their engineers on their own merits.
Good points yikesyikesyiks, but I think location and industry have more to do with starting salaries than socioeconomics. The majority of Michigan graduates take jobs in the Midwest, mostly Detroit and Chicago, while the majority of Duke graduates take jobs in the Mid Atlantic and NE, mostly DC and NYC. Cost of living is significantly higher in DC/NYC than it is in Detroit/Chicago, and that drives up salaries in order to adjust for that cost of living variance. That is not to say that all Michigan graduates take jobs in the Midwest. Roughly 20% take jobs in the East Coast, and roughly as many take jobs in the West Coast, but majority stay close to home. That alone makes all the difference.
Also, the industries that graduates join could have a impact on starting salaries. While many Michigan engineers decide to pursue careers in consulting and finance, the majority dream of working for major midwestern manufacturing giants, like Boeing, Ford, GM etc…Duke engineers I more likely to wander away from engineering jobs for those sexier, higher paying consulting and finance jobs.
Regardless, employers do not differentiate between Duke and Michigan…not significantly anyway.
@caramelmac: Michigan seems to be the best option for you based on fit & on your intended major.
With respect to your comments about other schools, I think that they are your honest opinions & are, therefore, valuable & necessary for others to help make appropriate suggestions.
Duke doesn’t have a nursing school? Of course it does. Also, self reported data from pay scale is not even close to being as valuable as data from the federal government.
JenniferClint, the data reported by the universities is more accurate than data reported by the government. And no, Duke does not offer undergraduate degrees in nursing, not that it matters, as nurses actually have good starting salaries. But music, art architecture, education and Kinesiology majors are paid significantly less and definitely bring down the starting salaries averages.
Again, companies do not differentiate between Michigan and Duke. They are considered peer institutions and are equally appealing to prospective employers.
@Alexandre There are jobs in Detroit??? the last time I was there the place was a ghost town and it wasn’t that long ago. BTW Detroit has lost 61% of its population since 1950 and a big chunk of that is from 2000.
Ok, move along…nothing to see here. OP: if you think Dukies come off douchie, that is fine. It’s your impression, you are entitled to it! Go to Michigan. You will find the same peers, plenty of douchie kids, and lots more nice ones. Don’t let any of this nonsense sway you.
CU123, Ford, GM and Chrysler alone hire 250-300 or so Michigan graduates annually (over 200 from the CoE alone, 50+ from Ross from LSA). Michigan is home to 19 Fortune 500 companies (9th among US states). Dow Chemical, Stryker, Kellogg, Whirlpool etc…hire many graduates as well.
Besides, although Detroit’s population has indeed declined over the years, Michigan’s population has not. Also, downtown Detroit may be a ghost town, but its suburbs are actually quite nice.
We may not like living in Michigan CU, but to those who were born and raised there, and who have their loved ones living in the area, working in Michigan for a large and well established company has its appeal.
Detroit’s population is holding steady currently, and yes even slightly growing. Downtown Detroit and midtown are bustling with activity and lots of construction. It is far from a ghost town! People who make negative comments about all of Detroit and Michigan are those who really have no clue what is occurring. Detroit and environs changed the world as we know it. It’s time people give it the respect it deserves.
Another thread going off the track. I was just at Michigan moving my son out. Saw some houses in Midtown and looked up the area pricing… $500,000 to live in Midtown. Yes, I think Detroit is changing. You still want to to be careful to stay in certain pockets but with time other areas will gentrify. Lots of young professionals are living in Detroit proper now… Not just the suburbs.
If you are a driven motivated student you will succeed anywhere!! Companies hire YOU not the school. All these schools have excellent recruiting, they will get you in the door, but YOU are the one who needs to sell yourself and convince them that YOU are best for the job. NO school “name” will get you that offer.
@FoxRulz… So true. Just talked with a hiring manager for a tech firm yesterday. Most tech sectors are so deplete of good candidates they just want people that can succeed. They really don’t care what school they come from. They just want excellent talent. Saying that, of course there are companies that might prefer one schools candidates over another school. That is usually a work history thing like one schools kids seem to be better prepared then another schools candidates. The other thing I hear is when the hiring manager or CEO or board of directors is going out of their way to support a certain school. They will give some credence to that. So there is some small bias.
I am in Chicago and whenever I mention my son going to Michigan the response is usually… “He won’t have a problem finding a job” and them telling about all the great Michigan hires… FYI
CU123, It is true Detroit had lost a lot of its sheen over 2 decades. None can dispute it. However, the auto industry hiring has gone up in the last few years and Michigan CoE is one of the preferred sources. Idon’t know when you visited Detroit last, but I would imagine not in the last 3 years.
I can’t rattle out employment statistics in Detroit or for that matter in Michigan, the only thing I can say is that all the current year CoE and Ross grads (mostly children of my friends) have already received full time job offers.
I love Detroit. It is a real authentic place, not just an outdoor mall/tourist trap with duckboats.
Many U of M students never go to Detroit. Ever. It is an hour and half away with the free bus ride (as fast as 40 mins with a car and no traffic). It’s like asking about New York City for a student that goes to Yale. It’s there, not too far, but you don’t need to go, ever, if you don’t want.
@UMICHBHG One of my favorite places in Detroit when I was a student long time ago was the Belle Isle Park. We would then go to the Greektown for dinner afterwards. Do people still go there nowadays? The other place we used to go was the Tigers Stadium.