<p>i was wondering what the difference in salaries (starting and overall in the long run) would be between a graduate of a school like cornell, carnegie, etc. with a masters and a graduate of a school like u maryland, northeastern, u pitt, etc also with a masters?</p>
<p>Assuming the same career path (private vs. public, etc), little to no difference.</p>
<p>Yup.</p>
<p>No real difference in salary, at least, not directly. Someone in from Podunk Tech will make the same coin as someone working the same job from MIT. The difference comes in <em>getting</em> that job. They're much more likely to hire you if they know a bit about the program, and the jobs with the more difficult work (and, IMHO, the cooler work) are going to be more inclined to hire someone with a masters from one of the top ten programs.</p>
<p>So, your school will likely play a part in helping you <em>get</em> a higher paying job, and will help you do that job well. In that regard, going to a better school will possibly increase your salary, but I really don't think that there's a huge difference between the schools you mentioned. Just aim for one of the top programs for your masters; that'll make more of a difference than your undergrad program.</p>