<p>Hi,
I'm thinking about what career path I would like to take.
I've always been talented with computers/technology but I don't know what a career in this area would be like?
I am a very congenial person and love being around others. For some reason I get the feeling that a computer science / technology career does not fit that mold.. Are computer science / technology jobs often dull, boring, and stressful, with little social interaction? I mean, I do enjoy technology, mathematics, and computers, but I also enjoy more lively things such as going out with friends and having a good time, sports, etc.
What are salaries like for those graduating from top-tier schools (e.g. ivy league, MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, etc)?
Are job opportunities plentiful?</p>
<p>First, job opportunities are plentiful, and it looks like that is around to stay. There are quite a few careers you could have with a CS degree, the most prominent is software engineering. With software engineering you have to work a lot with others since you are not programming something by yourself, instead you are making only a small portion of a large project that must be coordinated. The salaries from top tier(or really any tier) is about 50K starting, which is pretty nice compared to most other majors.</p>
<p>Is it rare for a salary to go in the 125,000-150,000 range?</p>
<p>No it’s not rare, my dad is a software engineer for JCPenney and makes about $120,000 as a software engineer who’s been practicing for ~20 years; he’s also not the management type, so if he chose to go more upper-level, an increased salary would definitely be possible. He also didn’t go to a top-ranked school at all.</p>
<p>60k starting more likely.</p>
<p>I know of some MIT graduates who received starting salaries of 8o,ooo+, thats why I’m asking :.
If graduating from a top-tier university, roughly how many years would it take to approach 6 figures?</p>
<p>depends on how successful you are in your job. there is no definite answer for these kind of questions bro.</p>
<p>Starting is around 75k from a top school</p>
<p>6 figures really depends on how good of a job you do, whether you get further education(MS In CS, MBA, PhD, etc). Even if ‘some’ MIT graduates receive starting salaries of 80k+, that doesn’t mean it is common, nor should you expect it. I know the mid career salary for a cs major is about 100k, which is including all schools, not just the good ones, so salaries of 125k-150k during mid career are pretty common.</p>
<p>Starting is NOT 75k from a “top school” and it is not 50k either. Nationally, the average is something like 61k (look at the BLS OOH to see for sure). If a school averages 75k it is probably because they feed into companies located in higher coat areas lik NYC or LA.</p>
<p>Depending on your “area of expertise” and its demand, $100,000K+ is very common in CS/IT after just 10-12 years experience.</p>
<p>Add on a high-level security clearance…$30,000 to $50,000 more</p>
<p>Be an independent consultant for INTEL agencies…bill at $90 to $115 per hour.</p>