<p>kinda disheartened from the results.
in fact, MechE got paid the least among ALL engineering majors in my school... (including CivE who also had 53,800 figure)</p>
<p>MechE salary significantly went down from year 2006 (59,000) and even 2005 (55,000). we did not do so hot last year, and i guess year 2008 won't be much better; </p>
<p>Getting a masters might help bump you into some cooler career options, because it'll probably give you some finite element experience. Some of those employers, particularly defense contractors, pay quite a bit more than that median.</p>
<p>Also, learn to negotiate. I'd guess that a good chunk of the folks who were given offers just accepted those offers as-is, and didn't go back to ask for more. You can up your offers by a good 2-3K by asking for it.</p>
<p>Mechanical engineers are projected to have 4 percent employment growth over the projections decade, slower than the average for all occupations. This is because total employment in manufacturing industries—in which employment of mechanical engineers is concentrated—is expected to decline. Some new job opportunities will be created due to emerging technologies in biotechnology, materials science, and nanotechnology. Additional opportunities outside of mechanical engineering will exist because the skills acquired through earning a degree in mechanical engineering often can be applied in other engineering specialties.</p>
<p>the thing with ME is that we don't have any <em>star</em> employer like CS does such as Microsoft and Google. Therefore, ME graduates' median salaries are similar across all engineering schools whether it be ranked in the top 10 or bottom 50. it's all the same companies that hire MEs.</p>
<p>for instance, Microsoft and Google hired 24 of our CS undergrads. They hired 0 ppl from Cal Poly undergrads (link above). hence there was a huge difference between the two median salaries for CS.</p>
<p>But Lockheed Martin was our ME's biggest recruiter (6 ppl) and they are the biggest recruiter for like all the other engineering schools as well and they do not necessarily pay high salary as compared to other ME companies.</p>
<p>so i guess median salaries for MEs are not so dependent on prestige of its college as I know Stanford MEs had similar numbers as Cal Poly and us. </p>
<p>well, somebody here at CC (Nytao?) who was from UMich said long time ago that engineering might be the worst thing major at prestigious schools.</p>
<p>now that I think about it, CS guys do benefit from the prestige of schools because star employers like MS and Google exist. Other eng majors... not necessarily.</p>
<p>
[quote]
so i guess median salaries for MEs are not so dependent on prestige of its college as I know Stanford MEs had similar numbers as Cal Poly and us.
[/quote]
Very true.</p>
<p>CS/Programming is probably the only engineering field where this true. The software engineering major at Cal Poly did have a higher average salary than CS@Cornell though. :)</p>
<p>ken285/ i know. but i guess it ultimately means that your salary depends upon the location of your school rather than its engineering program reputation.</p>
<p>i'll be a little pessimistic here but please don't be offended.
i'll just illustrate an example.</p>
<p>if you are going to be a ME, you can just be a middle 50% ranked student at your HS, score 1200 SAT score (which is already beyond 75th percentile at Cal Poly), pay $3,500 instate tuition there and have a same treatment as a guy who</p>
<p>who was in top 5%, scored 1500 SAT score, paid $35,000 tuition... with debt accumulated close to $40,000 by the graduation.</p>
<p>if i knew about this during my high school years, i wouldn't have tried so hard to become a valedictorian.</p>
<p>S has ME degree '06. His classmates with CS degree hired by big software are now migrating back-to-school. S may start second internship/consultancy/contractor with big software. Duties as yet undetermined but probably not a bunch of software.</p>
<p>
[quote]
ken285/ i know. but i guess it ultimately means that your salary depends upon the location of your school rather than its engineering program reputation.
[/quote]
Considering that 25% of Cornell CS grads work in the NY metro area, I'm not sure this effect is as big as you think. And lots of SoCal is going under tremendous property devaluation currently. Not so much for the NY metro area.</p>
<p>
[quote]
if you are going to be a ME, you can just be a middle 50% ranked student at your HS, score 1200 SAT score (which is already beyond 75th percentile at Cal Poly), pay $3,500 instate tuition there and have a same treatment as a guy who</p>
<p>who was in top 5%, scored 1500 SAT score, paid $35,000 tuition... with debt accumulated close to $40,000 by the graduation.
[/quote]
If you're not going to IB or Consulting, Ivy League schools are a huge rip off.</p>
<p>
[quote]
if i knew about this during my high school years, i wouldn't have tried so hard to become a valedictorian.
[/quote]
Honestly, I never understood why someone would go to a school where they were simply average. The amount of work you'd have to put in would be epic if you wanted a highly above average GPA.</p>
<p>ok, like you said, the location isn't the factor of comparison between Cal Poly and Cornell. so there truly exists no treatment differences between Cal Poly grads and Cornell grads.</p>
<p>"If you're not going to IB or Consulting, Ivy League schools are a huge rip off."</p>
<p>i agree whole-heartedly. seriously, sicne that i graduated now, i can't agree more with that statement.</p>
<p>Job prospects should be excellent, as computer software engineers are expected to be among the fastest-growing occupations through the year 2016.</p>
<p>Employment change. Employment of computer software engineers is projected to increase by 38 percent over the 2006 to 2016 period, which is much faster than the average for all occupations. This occupation will generate about 324,000 new jobs, over the projections decade, one of the largest employment increases of any occupation.</p>
<p>Job prospects. As a result of rapid employment growth over the 2006 to 2016 decade, job prospects for computer software engineers should be excellent. Those with practical experience and at least a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering or computer science should have the best opportunities. </p>
<p>
[quote]
Honestly, I never understood why someone would go to a school where they were simply average. The amount of work you'd have to put in would be epic if you wanted a highly above average GPA.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Why would you want to go to a school were you weren't challenged?</p>
<p>
[quote]
Why would you want to go to a school were you weren't challenged?
[/quote]
I got to a school where I feel very challenged, and I am still able to pull off a 3.86 after my first year. I guess I just work really hard and study too much.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Why would you want to go to a school were you weren't challenged?
[/quote]
Is that a serious question?</p>
<p>It's all relative obviously. Studying 40 hours a week and getting a 2.5 GPA is not gratifying even remotely. Studying 25 hours a week and getting a 3.5 GPA is pretty sweet.</p>
<p>
[quote]
It's all relative obviously. Studying 40 hours a week and getting a 2.5 GPA is not gratifying even remotely. Studying 25 hours a week and getting a 3.5 GPA is pretty sweet.
[/quote]
What about studying 40 hours per week and getting a 3.85 or so? Is this gratifying?</p>
<p>
[quote]
What about studying 40 hours per week and getting a 3.85 or so? Is this gratifying?
[/quote]
If you are in the bottom third of intelligence in your major this is highly unlikely. Now you understand why going to a reach school is a bit difficult.</p>
<p>I'm going to a large reach school I wasn't even admitted to for undergraduate now for grad studies, taking upper-level courses without having the pre-reqs (since I'm mostly taking classes out of my field), and still able to carry over a 3.0.</p>