<p>I was wondering what the average starting salary is for a b.s. degree in compsci/compe. Also, are these 2 different departments? Thanks</p>
<p>Its definitely a good amount since CS/CSE is highly regarded in the industry. But more importantly, make sure you like CS/CSE because it is definitely time-consuming. Choosing majors just for salary is not the way to go. :D</p>
<p>Do you know how much salary is dependent on what school you graduate from? I want to study CSE but won’t be able to get into the department at the UW so I might go somewhere else.</p>
<p>Industrywide it’s about $60k. UW CSE is probably $80-90k. I don’t think this is directly dependent on the university/department; it’s more due to the fact that a substantial number of people get jobs at companies like Google/Microsoft/Amazon/Facebook which all pay $90-100k. You could probably go to another, less well-reputed university and get similar offers from the same set of companies. You just have to make sure your skillset is on the same level.</p>
<p>What would be the best way to do that? I am considering going to Western Washington University which doesn’t have a very reputable CS program. How can I compete for jobs even some UW graduates have difficulty getting?</p>
<p>saxman66: Let’s say you want to get a job at Company X, where it is extremely competitive and UW grads (or Stanford, MIT, Waterloo, for that matter) also have difficulty getting positions.</p>
<p>Getting a job at X is two parts: getting an interview and then passing the interview.</p>
<p>I want an interview!
-
Networking:
Can you get someone to refer you to X? Pass your resume along? Are you on good terms with the recruiters? This gives some extra weight to your resume, assuming it passes the ‘resume bar’ for that company. I cannot stress how many times I (or a friend for me) have passed along resumes to recruiters, given personal recommendations, and gotten an interview. </p>
<p>Go to all the career fairs. The nice thing about UW CSE is that we have our Fall/Winter recruiting career fairs that are open to ONLY CSE students. This gives us a perfect opportunity to chat up recruiters and engineers from the hottest companies in N. America. </p>
<p>Also, a lot of people switch around companies for internships or even during full time employment, which gives people a really easy way to network with others. It’s to a point where the tech industry probably has a 2-3 degrees of separation going on, especially if you have connections to the Bay Area.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Resume:
With any job, you need a resume that stands out. Let’s say you have zero employment experience. Besides putting in ‘hot’ terms for projects or things you’ve worked on (ie. open source, big data), you’ll need personal projects. Do you have a github account with side projects? These show drive and passion. On your resume, keep it clean and easy to read, [insert typical resume tips], etc.</p></li>
<li><p>Apply Everywhere:
Just do it. Apply everywhere. Online. Career fairs. University career center.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Even if it’s a small company you’ve NEVER heard of, any experience will help you grow both technically and as a person - individually and as a team member. This will help with 1 and 2, which will in turn help with your final goal of working at Company X. </p>
<p>Now, if you’re going to just fix computers (oh no, my monitor isnt working! quick fix it.) for a summer, it might not be that worth it unless you have time to do some side projects on your own.</p>
<p>Congrats! You got an interview.
What now? Interviews have two parts: Technical competency and culture fit.</p>
<ol>
<li>Technical Competency:
Prepare for tech interviews. Seriously. Glassdoor, google “company x interview questions software eng”, whatever. Practice talking while coding. Talking while thinking. </li>
</ol>
<p>Based on what type of position you’re interviewing for and what stage you’re in with schooling, you’ll want to review different things, but basically at any interview, you should know: algorithms, data structures, time complexity</p>
<p>If X is that competitive, they’re going to want someone who can think fast, on their toes, AND get it right the first time. Practice, practice, practice.</p>
<ol>
<li>Culture Fit:
Let’s say you’re the perfect coder/problem solver/thinker for Company X. You might not get the job. During the interview, the interviewer(s) will be taking note of your personality. Would you fit in with their team? Would s/he want to work with you >40 hours a week… for potentially several years?</li>
</ol>
<p>This is something where, if you don’t fit in, you won’t fit in. This is kind of hard for me to describe since I haven’t been in a position where I’ve been told I wasn’t a good ‘fit’ for a company. </p>
<p>My biggest tip is: be yourself. This is as much for them as for you. If you’re a Class A actor and can seem like you’ll do well with the team, you might end up completely miserable at X.</p>
<p>Notes:
We’ve had an English major ace tech interviews and work at Google as a software engineering intern. It’s what you learn, either in class or outside of class, that will help you in your future. Being in CSE definitely helps with street cred, but it’s really up to the individual.</p>
<p>Also, I’m writing this after an all nighter, so I might have missed stuff / sound kind of rambley. sumzup/mlidge, please feel free to add to this…</p>