<p>i'm mainly interested in engineering, but i'm also interested in business. can any of u tell me what the salary progressions of a business major is compared to engineering. i noticed stern grads got nearly six figures a year right out of school. is this common among top b-schools (ross, haas, sloan, mccombs, wharton) or is it mainly u start off lower an progress more rapidly than engineers. i always thought engineers made the most right out of school, but those stern statistics counter that. can any of u clarify this? thanks</p>
<p>the only stern grads that get six figures are investment bankers, and believe me you work for every damn dollar they pay you.</p>
<p>It really depends, I think most who start in business start off progressing their salary rapidly until after their MBA then they kind of hit a plateau. </p>
<p>that's actually a really broad question without an easy answer.</p>
<p>In general, business has the most opportunity. You might start out making less than an engineer, depending on your school, but you have more potential to make a large sum of money. If you land the some of the highest entry level positions in business (I-banking, consulting, etc.) then you will make more than the engineers starting out. Even if you do not land one of those positions business offers greater opportunity to make money than engineering.</p>
<p>My dad's an engineer, and he doesn't recommend the field to any prospective student.</p>
<p>If you compare Bachelor's to Bachelor's - Engineering trumps business, particularly in terms of out-of-school salary. (Unless, as Milton mentioned, you land a job in one of the most lucrative areas of business). However, engineers quickly see diminishing returns, as a Masters in Engineering won't warrant nearly as much of a pay increase as an MBA. </p>
<p>If you become an Engineering, it has to be a real passion. I know two engineers who are still in the field, and they love it; I know four who got sick of the lack of progression, went to business school, got their MBA's, and are now making 200,000+ salaries.</p>
<p>200k plus salary is normal for MBAs are a BB bank (factoring compensations), can't speak about engineering salaries, but if you get a degree from a target school and land a job in a BB bank, you will be paid very very well... (also working 100+ hours)</p>
<p>Lot of salary data included in this piece. Might help you get a feel for careers as well.</p>
<p>thanks guys... it seems like a solid path to take would be undergrad engineering and then get an MBA from a kick-ass school.</p>