<p>To me, how much money I will make after graduation is the #1 factor in selecting a college</p>
<p>After all, college is an investment and we're spending a lot of money, so the point is to get a bang for your buck after graduation</p>
<p>Do you feel the same way?</p>
<p>As a great man once said "get rich or die trying"</p>
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To me, how much money I will make after graduation is the #1 factor in selecting a college
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Salary varies far more by major and career than it does by college. :p</p>
<p>Nope. College is not vocational school. The purpose of college is to become an educated individual, learning how to learn and how to think. If one chooses a high paying career, then that's great. If one chooses a lower-paying career, such as social work, that's great too. If one chooses a major that does not directly lead to a career, such as psychology or art, that's also great.</p>
<p>If all you care about is your end salary, go to vocational school and become a plumber. They make great money. (Please don't flame me; there are many, many intelligent, educated plumbers.)</p>
<p>You don't need a college education to make lots of money.</p>
<p>Or you could go to a glorified vocational school, aka undergraduate business school ;)</p>
<p>yeah, last i checked at wharton/mitsloan/cmutepper/nyustern all had 60k average postgrad salaries and above.</p>
<p>No. The amount of money you make is going to somewhat depend on what school you go to but (for my major at least, engineering) as long as you're going to a good school you'll be fine. It was important to me that they had good job placement services but I didn't even look at the average graduating salary when I was looking at colleges, I just picked the one that had the best combination of affordability, reputation and atmosphere.</p>
<p>You'll make more money in the long run (and especially between 18-23) if you skip full time school and start a business. Go to school at night and weekends. In 6-8 years you'll have your degree.</p>
<p>If you aren't smart/good/motivated enough to start a business, I guess college is an OK way to go as a fallback.</p>
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If you aren't smart/good/motivated enough to start a business, I guess college is an OK way to go as a fallback.
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Or if, and call me crazy on this one but it DOES happen, someone has no desire to start a business college is an "OK way to go."</p>
<p>duke3d44, you forgot to mention Michigan (Ross) and Georgetown (McDonough) among the programs with $60K or higher starting basic salaries. </p>
<p>Back to the OP's priorities, I hope they change. College is about learning and personal development. Careers come later and aren't related to college.</p>
<p>Actually more important than money is not hating what you do for a living... I'll take 60k at a job that doesn't make me sick thinking about it over 80 or 100K that makes me miserable. Perhpas that is just me...</p>
<p>I know plenty of smart people and we could all be making more money doing other things. Guess what? That work wouldn't suit us. It's not all about the $$.</p>
<p>The person who said to just skip college and start a business, obviously doesn't appreciate the task of creating and managing a successful business...it won't be easy and there is no guarantee. That said where you go to school does make a difference, my friend graduated from Yale undergrad(majored in history) and straight out got a job in a hedge fund for 100k a year. If she graduated from UF or even Georgetown, the likelihood of that happening is far slimmer. Do what you love...but if that so happens to coincide with making money than great. A great (prestigious) college will help you, not guarantee you...but contribute towards getting a higher starting salary. Also for the record, now a days what you major in for undergrad is irrelevant. You can major in ART history and go work on wall street, as long as your smart and they see that, they will train you on the job.</p>
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Also for the record, now a days what you major in for undergrad is irrelevant.
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True for some fields but not all. Art majors aren't going to make the jump into engineering or chemistry any time soon.</p>
<p>Sorry, I was implying non science/engineering positions. For those it obviously helps to attend an engineering school or major in the sciences. But in professional careers--teachers,doctors, lawyers, business people ect.--then it doesn't matter.</p>
<p>You're right, I was just clarifying before someone else who takes message boards too seriously did.</p>