For sure! I just love the way she tells the story. He would never have been in that position if he’d been one of those Type A kids who had everything lined up. As it is, he found the job listing somewhere online, I guess. It was across the country and a leap of faith. She was so mad he was in that position and hadn’t planned better. 
You never know, man.
2 Likes
Though in that case, he likely could have gone back to college and finish. Although colleges may not consider readmission automatic after a leave of absence, they are more likely to readmit former students who were in good academic and financial standing.
3 Likes
In certain circles dropping out is considered fashionable and worth more than finishing school. Dropping out and doing your own thing builds you cred if you want to later raise money from a VC firm etc.
1 Like
A friend of mine accepted a low ball job offer from a startup back in the early 2000s… because it was better not to move too far. It was just another tiny biotech that would not have look led prestigious or even recognizable on a resume. The friend is still there… that name gained some recognition and my friend’s brokerage account gained some serious $$. I worked for a company that had a great potential but fizzled out. Morale of the story? You never know. 
4 Likes
Delete
1 Like
I did think about it, but it didn’t come close to $11k, plus the credit from tax. So I came to the conclusion it’s a fake estimation. So why bother.
Looking back, we probably have all missed some opportunities. Timing isn’t everything, but in many cases, it’s almost everything. For startups, it’s very different environment today.
4 Likes
I’m another mom who didn’t want my son to drop out of college to work for a start up. Only in hindsight did I truly regret that decision. So much good I could have done with $$$. My son is fine with it all.
1 Like
My kid was a 2020. A true outlier year because of covid.
Yes, companies rescinded offers, and fears of hurting their recruiting pipelines didn’t stop them.
Covid made it easier than a slowdown.
3 Likes
One of mine was a May ‘20 grad and his offer was rescinded in late March. He was shocked and so disappointed- but he immediately started networking and he had a new offer by the end of April, started work mid May after virtual graduation and has done extremely well there- has been a great company. No complaining or ‘poor me’ attitude. I’m so happy to see how he handled all this.
My current senior signed her job offer letter in August- her friends all have post grad jobs already as well. These are mostly business and engineering grads. My friends kids who are graduating have jobs lined up as well. Various schools.
7 Likes
My D graduated last year from a LAC with an English degree (most internships after her junior year were cancelled due to covid). She was fortunate to get a great job in publishing with good benefits and 401K matching. While D only makes 50k and lives in a high COL city, she has roommates, no car and is quite frugal. In her first year of working she was able to save quite a bit.
My S will graduate in the spring and will be working for MBB in a city with a more reasonable COL (I encouraged him to take the same salary and the lower cost of living and then fly to NY to visit friends when he wants). He’ll be making more than twice my D’s salary plus signing money and bonuses. My kids used to joke when they were young that D would be living in S’s guest house. 
Hoping they will both be happy with their professions and lifestyles.
14 Likes
Very true. A little update on my post. Even in current job market jobs are still available. DD got a second offer from a bigger tech company with recent IPO that offered her even better compensation then the first one. She let the first company know of that offer and they tried to come up a little but since that’s a small startup they didn’t have leverage to increase it by much so it still was lower then the second company. And she likes the second company more so she will be starting with them in two week. So despite what we read in the news jobs are still available for qualified candidates and the pay is not reduced in fact she got 40% increase because she will be getting RSU at current prices and not at the top of the market like it happened with her previous company.
7 Likes
Oh yea, they’re out there. My son is in the same situation. He got a 70% boost, plus a signing bonus. Two of the 4 companies that recruited him though ended up temporarily closing the position they were looking to fill due to hiring freezes. It’s a mixed bag for sure. I think it’s a little easier right now if you have a track record.
4 Likes
There are many tech companies, and many types of positions at different tech companies. Some are enthusiastically hiring new grads for many positions. Some are laying off and not doing any hiring. One can find many anecdotal examples in both groups, and a similar statement could be made in all previous years, including during recessions.
Towards the end of the year, we should start seeing colleges publish the results of their post-graduate employment survey in which they ask grads x months out of college about whether they are employed / seeking work, salary, and other information. Comparing such surveys to previous years should provide a more meaningful measure of how things have generally changed from previous years. A meaningful change could be the portion seeking employment was 5% larger than typical previous years. This type of difference is not captured well in anecdotal examples.
For example, the % seeking employment and average salary of those employed by year in the NACE survey is below, for new CS major grads. This survey is intended to represent all grads in the US, by sampling from a wide variety colleges. It includes students working in all sections of country (not just high cost of living areas) , and I believe it includes those working part time.
It looks like the % seeking employment had a substantial increase in 2020 and still remained high in 2021. I suspect this relates to COVID. However, while the % seeking employment increased, the salary of those who are employed (the vast majority of students) reached record high levels in 2020.
NACE Survey: CS Majors First Destination Salary Inflation Adjusted to 2022 $.
2021 – 14% seeking employment, $94k mean
2020 – 14% seeking employment, $99k mean
2019 – 9% seeking employment, $98k mean
2018 – 11% seeking employment, $92k mean
2017 – 11% seeking employment, $96k mean
2016 – 12% seeking employment, $89k mean
2015 – 11% seeking employment, $86k mean
1 Like
The tech sector is going though a major market correction now, in-part because of the inflated salaries they have been paying. Amazon, Google, Twitter, HP, and the like are having to make major cost cuts because of lower revenue. Sooner or later the cost overruns make projects unprofitable. I would expect starting salaries to be more deflated for a while.
1 Like
Some of it was inflated salaries, but those weren’t largely starting position. They were higher level people being poached to other companies. The bigger issue is that they just hired too many people. The market is tightening, but I expect wages to remain high.
3 Likes
I think they still get job offers and promotions. That’s what I’m told. The market is not bad as I had assume.
1 Like
I agree. From what I see offers are still high. The only thing I noticed the sign up bonuses are gone or really small but equity in current market makes up for it.
1 Like
Based on D’s BF who is getting an MBA at a top school, the past summer was pretty brutal for return offers for tech companies. General consulting and finance were fine. Return offers about the same rate for S’s bulge bracket financial, but they are trimming generally in groups that are down and low performers.
I am seeing that kids that got offers are seeing offers elevated above last year’s levels. No salary deflation. Maybe not even dis-inflation.
1 Like