<p>Hi guys, I love Portland and everything, and I love Reed. I just value the existence of it and of course its cool name. But an average typical starting salary of 44200? Whoa, what happened to that. Why's the starting salary so low? I mean of course it's not all about the money, but coming from a poor family, I really need to start earning some bucks after paying through college, and that's like, the average starting salary after graduation for Asbury University or Waltham Forest College. Ever heard of those places? Exactly. I mean how come it has a lower starting salary for graduates than 50th rank national schools like Purdue and UIUC? How does this reflect Reed's reputation really? I mean you can go into UIUC with poor stats and still be earning more bucks after college, without earning a 3.9 and a 2100 in order to get into Reed College. Now I'm really starting believe in the College Board stats. And not to be offensive or anything, but don't Reed thesises all focus on such narrow topic with really no implications. Like a biology professor from Reed studying just one peculiar Japanese frog. I mean how's that really going to change the world? Reedies seem to write their thesis's on really weird topics, as far as I perceive, that are really closer to 'nerds' sitting inside their basements building some software rather than really going out and doing things that change the world. As far as my opinions go, does Reed seem really not like the college for me? I mean one guy from our senior class this year went there, but no one was like really congratulatory, and I'm just not sure if just because I don't so easily 'fit in' at my school, I'll fit in Reed. I'm not a hipster, I'm just a shy guy who's more closer to Walter Berglund in Freedom and the main character from "How I became stupid". Am I really not going to fit in at Reed?</p>
<p>Reading between the lines, perhaps you are a little anxious about starting college this fall, which is causing you to second-guess your choice? </p>
<p>If your future starting salary is your biggest concern, then I suggest you focus on majors that are highly employable. If you work hard at Reed, major in something where you can actually get a job (computer science, economics, math, etc.) your prospects will be good. </p>
<p>If you go in with a negative attitude (why do professors focus on esoteric research topics? why do grads from other schools have higher starting salaries?) you will miss out on a lot of enjoyment and people will pick up on your narrow mindedness. Be positive.</p>
<p>Large schools like UIUC generally have engineering departments, one of UIUC’s strengths in fact. Starting salaries for engineering and other STEM majors will almost always be higher than those for humanities majors. I wouldn’t let that deter you.</p>
<p>Where did you get that number? Is that for one major or whole school? Be careful about comparing averages for schools that offer different majors. Reed looks like it only has LAC type of majors…Purdue has engineering majors. Often a big difference between what an engineer can make first year out versus a philosophy major.</p>
<p>Remember that Reed is one of the grad school prep colleges. Strictly in terms of money (likely not a popular theme at Reed), the Masters or PhD starting salary is more relevant to Reed grads (some 60% go to grad school). Without engineering, computer science and business, Reed BA grads will indeed earn less than grads from schools with those majors. OTOH, a Reed grad with a PhD in, e.g., bio doing cutting edge research will be paid well!</p>
<p>If you were using PayScale rankings, you should be cautious- they only take the averages of the students who only get a bachelor’s degree. Because most liberal art school alumni go to graduate school within the next 5 years, and earn their PhDs or other related degrees, most of their salaries are excluded from consideration of their bachelor school.</p>