Hello, I am currently deciding between CS at Berkeley and UVA (I am in-state for UVA). Obviously Berkeley has the better reputation for CS, but would going to Berkeley result in higher earnings in the long run? Average starting salary for CS @ Berkeley is $110k while UVA’s is $80k, but since the majority of Berkeley grads work in Silicon Valley, wouldn’t the effect of the extra money basically be nullified?
Please note that you are not guaranteed CS at Berkeley. You need to obtain GPA 3.3 in three challenging classes to petition into the major.
You should also consider that a significant amount of UVA grads already matriculate to Silicon Valley companies regardless, so the 80k figure still likely includes many of the graduates working in the Bay Area.
However, due to Berkeley’s reputation in CS there will probably be more “hardcore” CS students entering with previous coding experience at Berkeley who would have earned a higher salary after graduation regardless of the school they studied at.
It balances out a bit in the end - if you were admitted to EECS and are guaranteed into the major I would strongly learn towards Berkeley. If you were admitted to L&S and aren’t confident in your CS skills and ability to make the 3.3 GPA cutoff, I would lean towards taking the cheaper route with UVA.
@StevenToCollege thank you, yes I am aware
@yinuos Thank you for the perspective!! I was trying to look up statistics for UVA grads and I think less than 25% end up in SV. Most remain on the east coast, with a decent amount in NYC (which admittedly is outrageously expensive as well). I am looking at Berkeley’s CS curriculum right now as well.