Population is dropping, so we’ll be needing those bots, and any able-bodied humans, too!
I guarantee that there are some people who graduated from every college on this list who amounted to nothing. I don’t think your anecdote is universally applicable to Bentley.
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Yes, over the years I’ve read a few articles about the dim prospects for biology majors (if BS only, no med school or grad school). Even MIT biology majors can end up with low paying jobs such as lab tech.
At any school….
Even Harvard.
I don’t know your BIL and not saying this is him but at any school you need to be hungry and chase, both gpa wise and career wise. I always cringe when I hear I want to go to a school better for internships.
That said, unless they are lying, Bentley is superb for careers. But no school is perfect. And not every student answers the survey. So the #s won’t be exact. I imagine those struggling are more likely not to.
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Several years after graduating from MIT, I ran into a friend who graduated at the same time who was a sales rep at a retail store. As far as I know he was a good sales rep. I do not know if this qualifies as “amounted to nothing”, but I suspect that he might have expected more when he started off at MIT. One’s choice of major and one’s own abilities and personality matters more than which university you attend.
I have read the same thing on multiple occasions. One single experience to the contrary does not disqualify this understanding. However, our experience has been very different. Biotech is booming right now, at least in some areas.
My guess is that not every biology bachelor’s degree is the same. Students hopefully get some sort of experience while they are studying for their bachelor’s. In some cases it appears that this experience can lead to a pretty good and decently paying position. I am not sure that I quite understand the difference between a lab technician (perhaps making $30k-$60k) versus a research associate (perhaps making $60k-$90k). My guess is that the research associate has a better understanding of why they are doing what they are doing, and a better ability to figure out what happened in the inevitable and common situation where a lab experiment does not come out the way that you expected it to. I suppose that when a lab technician is measuring my cholesterol level there isn’t even much chance of getting a weird result – it is whatever it is. On the other hand if a research associate is growing human cells and trying out a new drug that is hoping to stop some particular genetic problem, there is a much wider range of possible “odd results”, and the employer needs a more knowledgeable employee to try to make sense of the results.
All of which makes me think that average salaries from various universities does not say enough to be particularly useful.
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A tech performs protocol/routine work. An RA is expected to contribute intellectually to the projects. This is how it was at many places I used to work. Techs usually came with an Associate degree from 2 year colleges. RAs were fresh undergraduates with some internship experience.
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These rankings would be funny except that so many people believe them.
If anyone at CNBC was smart enough to predict the future labor markets, they wouldn’t be working at CNBC. They’d be sipping margaritas on a private island trying to decide whether to have dinner with Lady Gaga or Sir Paul McCartney.
Nobody ever sees a disruptive technology coming- that’s why it’s disruptive. Nobody ever accurately understands the pivot when majoring in math meant driving a taxi cab (yes, those years were within our life time) when now it can mean getting a job with a hedge fund and earning low 7 figures within a few years.
Except in hindsight.
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Of course. I was merely using the example of my BIL to highlight the absurd notion that choosing a particular college based on name & ranking alone will automatically drop great success in one’s lap. He transferred to Bentley from a SUNY as a junior. He could have saved my in-laws the money and stayed at the SUNY.
Too many times on CC the implication is made that success in certain fields can’t be achieved unless one goes to certain highly ranked colleges. Yes, we all concede that there are certain career advantages to the higher ranked colleges, but each student is directly responsible for his/her/their own success, even if they have to take a few extra steps to get there from their state U.
I don’t doubt that there are thousands of successful Bentley grads but just going to Bentley or any other college on this list won’t necessarily result in a high-paying, successful career. And it also doesn’t mean that someone who went to Boondocks State U or a tiny Christian college that isn’t even listed here on CC won’t also have a chance at a high-paying successful career. Their paths to get there might just a be a little different.
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Agreed and I noted in the same post but one typically needs to be hungry and to chase to be successful.
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It depends on the field of employment and particular college. There are also situations in which you’d need a few extra steps to get there from a particular highly ranked, private college than you wouldn’t need from a particular state U.
A key problem with these types of lists is they imply that college name is the primary driver of future income when instead it depends on a variety of other factors including major, future field of employment, individual student ability, individual student motivation/personal characteristics, location, parent wealth/connections/support, etc. If students at a particular college average a higher income that tells an individual student very little about whether he/she is likely to have higher earnings, if choosing to attend that college instead of an alternative college.
Regarding Bentley, ~90% of students major in business related fields and the remainder mostly major in CS. With ~99% of students majoring in fields associated with higher incomes. I don’t find it surprising that Bentley does well on these lists. However, this doesn’t mean that a business or CS major at Bentley should be expected to have advantages over other colleges with lower average income. Many have higher earnings after controlling for major, including some that admit the majority of applicants, like Bentley. For example, a comparison between Bentley (4th out of 883 in highest earnings) and Rutgers (168th out of 883 in highest earnings) is below, using College Scorecard. Both colleges show similar early career earnings after controlling for major, even though one is ranked 4th and the other 168th in the earnings list.
Business Majors – $69k at Bentley, $68k at Rutgers
CS Majors – $89k at Bentley, $91k at Rutgers
Non-Business/CS – Negligible sample at Bentley, Majority at Rutgers
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So true! Plus, it can depend on what someone’s major is. An engineer typically earns more then a teacher…
I don’t know about Bentley in particular, but to some extent, the argument that one should discard (in a comparison) higher salaries from a given university relative to others is assuming a bit too much.
i.e. If grads from university A major in CS, Business, Nursing, and other practical, solid-paying majors, and grads from university B major in Psychology and the like, then yes, you could attribute A’s higher earnings to majors, but perhaps university A bears some part in their students choosing practical majors, vs. the impractical Psych majors at B.
Of course, one must also consider intentions among entering students. Maybe everyone who matriculates at A is practical-minded and plans on the lucrative majors. That said, my observation is that some universities seem better than others at nudging their students along practical pathways. Some of that is peer-effects, but, from the standpoint of a parent encouraging A or B, peer-effects vs. guidance directly from the institution doesn’t matter much.
All of that is possible, but it often has little correlation with College Scorecard reported median earnings. Some colleges make it easy to switch majors. Others admit by major/college and make it difficult switch to another major/college. Some colleges have a higher rate of switching in to or out of majors associated with higher incomes.
For example, UCLA has published major switching behavior. CS is the UCLA major associated with highest median income shortly after graduating. 100% of students who were admitted as CS majors at UCLA continued as CS majors during the sample period. Nobody admitted as CS switches to a different major. However, 66% of graduating CS majors were admitted as majors in something else – almost entirely engineering, physics, or undeclared. Many students switched in to CS. I expect this has little to do with UCLA nudging students to switch to CS and more to do with CS having highly selective admissions, with a 3% admit rate.
You mentioned psychology. Psychology was one of the most common admission majors. During the listed period, 2061 were admitted as Psychology majors compared to 275 for CS. 7.5x larger number of psychology majors. Having so many Psychology majors pulls down UCLA’s average earnings compared to a tech school with more CS/engineering majors, but I don’t see evidence that the larger number of psychology majors is reducing the number of students wanting to switch to CS. I expect it has more to do with UCLA making it challenging to switch majors to CS, particularly if admitted in an unrelated major/college, such as Psychology.
Looking at the earnings medians for all students doesn’t provide any of this information. In any case, the CollegeScorecard reported earnings for UCLA are below, with comparison to Bentley. I suppose a prospective psychology major at UCLA who instead attended Bentley would be less likely to major in psychology since it is not offered, but what would be the point of applying to a school where your desired major is not offered?
Overall Median --UCLA = 72nd out of 883, Bentley = 4th out of 883
Computer Science – $148k UCLA, $89k at Bentley
Business – $81k UCLA, $69k Bentley
Psychology – $39k UCLA, not offered at Bentley
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I do know of Samuel Merritt as I know a few students who have went there.
I wish CNBC would hire less stupid people. You wouldn’t get articles like this. The article assumes that college brand name is what gets you a job, and that the dollar is worth exactly the same everywhere. For instance, MIT and Caltech have the highest starting salaries. Well, of course they do! Most of the their graduates have engineering degrees, and they’re on east/west coast, with the highest cost of living in the nation. And let’s not forget that on a $112,000 salary, you might be lucky enough to afford a 1 bedroom apartment in California. A 75k starting salary in Texas, for instance, can afford a 3 bedroom house. Salaries work exactly the same as home prices. They’re only comparable in the same local market.
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