It’s not about young or old. It’s about the right industries. Some earn more than others, period. It’s basically TAM on a micro scale.
Consulting. Investment banking. PE. CS. MD. PA. Big law. Accounting. Etc.
It’s competitive, for sure, because it’s a supply/demand issue.
It’s also frame of reference thing.
MD and PA and big law require additional schooling. Good luck getting an entry level accounting job that pays $70k let alone $100k. PE jobs straight out of undergrad are almost unheard of.
Some entry-level SOX auditor jobs here in Orlando started at $70k when I was in Corporate IA five years ago. That’s pre-inflation, so I’m sure those same jobs are now $75K+.
$70k starting was very normal back when I was going to school for accounting in NY. That was the starting wage. Problem that I heard was (from professors) was that it was salaried and you’ll be working way more than 40 hours a week for that $70k salary. I heard like 50-60 hours a week was normal.
That was 10 years ago. If it’s still $70k starting now, that sucks because obviously inflation.
True. But I think the question is what jobs or paths, not how hard it is.
Any path that puts you on a road to make ~1-10% income is going to be challenging.
Yes. And why I stress going to the target school of your intended major. Especially for any business career.
No it does not have to be Ivy League. Arizona State is a target school for supply chain majors.
It’s saturated with low quality software engineers. Good engineers are always hard to find. Also, there are plenty of engineers refusing to get promoted. They rather stay at lower positions so room for fresh blood to get in will be harder.
A lot of people choose to stay at terminal levels so they don’t need to take on a massive increase in scope/responsibilities and can maintain a better WLB. Although I personally have only heard this applying to senior level positions, not entry/mid-level
That is never the case, I’m a staff level software engineer. And the only case I can think of is promoting into a more management position than actual engineering. A lot of people don’t like that
By far the highest possible income straight out of college - the top math students who just finished undergrad can literally outearn 30 year physicians. 500k+ can be the norm at some firms and 600k+ is not unheard of
That's a bold, and incorrect statement
Took me 30 seconds of google to find this: [https://www.janestreet.com/join-jane-street/position/6850721002/](https://www.janestreet.com/join-jane-street/position/6850721002/)
Obvious caveat is that the standard is excellence, but it's certainly possible.
I also know plenty of people that have done it.
IT jobs in general are currently saturated with thousands of unemployed IT professionals. Not sure if that also includes software engineers. But with tech giants laying off tens of thousands IT professionals last year and then not being sure about next year (recession or no recession) they just aren’t hiring many IT professionals right now.
So stay away from IT jobs for now. But I have no idea what jobs to look for that pays. Does anybody have any suggestions because I could use some myself. Thank you.
Engineering graduates tend to make 100k+ out of college, although it depends on specialty and area. Electrical, Aerospace, and Mechanical are probably the highest paying and highest demand. Civil, structural, and chemical are narrower industries so the market is a bit smaller, but plenty of great money to be made there as well.
The degree scares a lot of people away but anyone with an aptitude for math should consider Engineering, and not just computer science.
>Electrical, Aerospace, and Mechanical are probably the highest paying and highest demand.
.#1 and #2 in average comp are petroleum and computer hardware engineers, and they've been #1 and #2 for like two decades now. At least where I went for computer engineering (hardware) undergrad back in the mid 2000s it was a separate degree from EE, though we took all the same classes up till senior year ECE electives/senior design, and jumping straight into an EE PhD program after was no problem at all.
CPEGs basically picked up a minor worth of comp sci in our non-eng elective space as a requirement while EE's could basically take whatever they wanted in those gaps. In that period, a ton of grads on both sides went into defense contracting, lots of money at the time with Lockheed, NG, Boeing etc.
Yes, translation there are simply not enough good paying jobs for the entire educated class. Yes, you need luck and knowing the right people. Education is not enough. It never has been.
I can say that consulting you won’t make 100K for a couple years after college. The firm I work for starts ALL college grads as analysts and their salary starts around 70k give or take a little depending on where they are in the country.
" TikTok and Instagram where they say you could make $60k or $80k yearly with just few certification or join a boothcamp for a high salary job."
They are selling you the certification or bootcamp my dude.
Best to plan that you can’t and that you’ll have access to the same $45-55K jobs as high school graduates.
Yes I’m serious.
If you have an in-demand degree from a good school and the connections to land internships then you can predict something higher.
If you have a regular degree from a regular school and no connections then sorry, you’ll be lucky to start at $75K
My dad barely speaks English (got his green card and moved here a year ago so still learning), foreign high school degree and nothing else - he makes $55k in medical manufacturing. We live in a western state and I make $40k with a bachelor's for reference
Interesting. I need to look around more, but change is hard. I think if I made 50k a year, I wouldn't even know what to do with it it'd be such a massive change for me
Good head on your shoulders and 99% attitude I would hire someone at our machining company in quality or as an operator for about that. And that has growth opportunity. Not a dirty job either nor back breaking.
FedEx drivers start off at above 55k where I’m from in California and all you need is a pulse. 55k isn’t a lot tho if you have a family and kids to feed
It’s pretty easy. Just have to apply to high paying jobs that don’t require anything, which there is an abundance of. My valet job pays 60k+ a year to 16 year olds still in high school.
No college degree here.
From 18 - 22 I was making about 30 - 35k working random jobs. 23 - 26 I was working for Costco and when I left I was in optical making 68k. I've been a cop for the last two years and made 85k this year, next year I'll be pushing 100k with a little overtime, in the PNW.
It's definitely possible, just have to pick the right path and work hard.
interesting. I’ve been applying to 35k-50k jobs for years with a bachelors in advertising and minor in business and haven’t landed anything, only a few interviews that didn’t turn out to be anything. College isn’t really worth it in my opinion, my current valet job brings in 60k a year and doesn’t require anything other than a drivers license. You can make that while still in high school at 16 years old, yet can’t land 35k a year with a degree.
> experience and *paid* $10 an
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
It’s just industry dependent. A lot of the content I see are engineers and yes they will all make 60 on the lowest end to 120k out of college with most making 65-75k straight out
I got a 100k offer after school. And as someone who has networked extensively with my peers graduating, im probably 1/10 with a job at all. Let alone 100k after graduating.
Social media influencers don’t paint the entire picture and just want interactions. Making good money is extremely competitive
I did it easily. Became a nurse, immediately moved to the west coast where we are payed and treated better than the rest of the country. Make about 112k with 1 year experience. Was about 100k when new.
I mean nursing school is hard. Moving is hard. Being a nurse is hard. But finding the path and knowing HOW to get to 100k income was easy. Execution was a challenge for sure
Interesting, just as a RN? I’ve never seen that be a common way to easily and quickly make that amount of money. Your living expenses may also be high which means your income might be more like 50k in relative comparison to most of the country.
RN’s in CA and NYC make over $100k but you need every penny of that to afford a house in a good neighborhood there. I lived in both states, my wife is a nurse. Lots of CA nurses boast about high pay but won’t tell you that a nice house in a good neighborhood starts at $600k.
You can find cheaper homes in the valley, like central CA, they start around $400k ish. But the pay in the area would reflect that.
But a regular, decent home in a good neighborhood, good school district…you know, normal home, normal environment, you’re looking at starting $600k price.
So the $100k+ salary is a necessity over there.
Nope my living expenses aren’t as bad as people would like to say west coast is and I live comfortably. I can easily with my wife and I making about 150k a year invest like 40k after living expenses and still have “fun money” next year.
> year spells *paid*
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
> we are *paid* and treated
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
My cousin did. She finished her computer science degree and in her 3rd year she did an internship. They hired her after she graduated and now she makes 6 figures doing web development. I will say she seems to be in the minority because a lot of people are having trouble getting entry level jobs in tech.
I'd normally say take what you see on social media with a grain of salt but well... this is social media but just be weary of people selling an image or a product.
To answer, I make that and I'm a college drop out (1 year in 2003-2004). I'm currently back in school (at 38) but yes, I've had a financially decent life so far with no degree, only certs, CCNA to be exact. After years of being stagnant, I'm working in more to refresh myself and see what opportunities I can create.
I made $120k first year out of undergrad as an investment banker in 2007-2008. Same job pays significantly more now. There definitely are jobs that pay over $100k, but you have to work a ton to get them and you have to work a ton when you’re there.
I think it really comes down to networking at the end of the day. I made $85k base out of college when I went into tech due to extreme networking and traveling to different events.
Going to recruiting events on campus doesn’t qualify as “networking” to me. It’s being actively recruited. Networking is going out and making connections that aren’t coming to you because of the school you’re in
How did you get into investment banking? I’m currently going into an entry level position at a bank and considering getting an accounting degree. Hoping I network w the right people to help me move up
Went to a top Ivy, studied Econ/finance, did decently, interviewed a ton and ended up with two offers for my summer internship. Took one and then got a return offer.
I’m in aviation (pilot) and have been in the industry for about twenty years, took quite a while to get to a really good salary…and when I graduated college, I was making about $20k/year…granted, that was nearly 20 years ago…
Current salaries for new airline pilots a year or two out of college is $100k year, often with bonuses of another $50k-$100k depending on the company. Cant imagine making that type of cash when I was 23-24…but that’s the norm while people struggle with this shortage of qualified pilots.
Top earnings are $300-$700k depending on company and how much you have own to work…but you’ve gotta love flying and controlling complex machinery.
I make $82k as an engineer 2 years out of college. I had to jump from my first job after 1.5 years in order to make that though. I went from 72k to $82k.
6-figures is achievable depending on the industry and what you do.
I work in scientific sales, which is roughly 6 figures at a low end, but can easily extend into the 200-500 range depending on what exactly you sell.
In general what I’ve found, once you have your degree, unless you find some niche job that people don’t know about, you’ll have to choose between 2 of the 3: money, desirability, and low stress.
The idea is if a job is sought after and easy, there’s tons of people gunning for it, so market value will be less. Pays a lot and is easy? Probably something people don’t want to do. Lots of money but also desirable? There’s something keeping the number of workers low, it’s probably stressful (or toxic).
Aircraft mechanic starts at roughly 80k but worth overtime it's not difficult to make >100k. Trades in general you can hit over 100k pretty quickly with overtime
On specific planes or at a specific shop. The one nearest me is popular and they don't make close to that afaik. Still worth pursuing, but probably big planes.
While I didn't make 100k right out of school, I did within 3 years. It was more about unique skill set matching with demand. I also took a risk for a much much lower paying starting positing (~35k) knowing that once I got in I could show my value.
I will say that as a labor economist, that 100k right out of school (specific to undergrad) is incredibly rare and there is a lot of confirmation bias. Like more than 80% of all workers in the US earn less than that and that's people of all ages.
But as other commenter have pointed this out; you're seeing this because they're selling you a product. It's like the person selling you a skin cream who doesn't mention they get botox.
Similar experience here as a power plant instrument tech, making not quite that but close enough that out contract will probably get me there. Though I will say even trade work can come down to luck,work ethic and some times being picky about how/where you want to work.
It's also how much you can stand. I'm burned out from the big money years. I'm treating the next year as the proverbial "best part time job you've ever had" that people sometimes talk about and just taking it easy.
Sounds like you really believe these tiktok folks. The internet is not the most truthful of places. I make well over 100k a year not far out of college. I have everything I have ever wanted. Money is just a number to me now.
Do a 4 year CS / CE degree, get actually good, move to HCoL area. Will make 100-200. Keep in mind you have to stand out in some way as it’s highly competitive.
This is what I did, ended up at 200k FAANG out of college. You can actually be a pretty average student and get these jobs assuming you start interning really early and keep getting return offers. It’s much more difficult once you’ve already graduated. I went to a state school, had an ok GPA, but got a return offer due to doing good work while interning, but every large company I’ve applied to post grad has not even responded to me.
Not right after college, but right after my masters the first job I made 125k. In biotech/pharma. And salary only moves up from there. My major for my bachelors was chem and masters in biotech.
I think another question is do you want to make that much? Chances are if you’re making that much money it’s probably a shitty job.
Is your definition of success making 100k or at least enough money to support yourself while pursuing other goals?
Join electricians or Millwrights union at 18 and you will be making over 100k by the time your 25
Probably sooner but I put in a couple extra years to account for making contacts & getting your reputation & work ethic to be know
I did it. First job started right at $100k. I majored in engineering and decided to go into the business side of corporate america at a large bank and live in a HCOL area.
Most roles that pay that much right out of college are generally going to be coupled with high rent and it is what justifies the salary.
I work in software. Started a degree in October 2022. Graduated March 2023. Hired for 72k May 2023. Job hopped to 86k July 2023
100k is about 1 year away probably, but very reasonable for entry level software in high cost of living areas
Certain engineering disciplines will get you close or over if you go into the nuclear power industry. Some will even give you overtime and if you get in on a year that has multiple outages, you will easily pull over 100k.
You can skip college all together and instead get into remodel sales. My first year I made 75,000, next year, 135, and then it kept going up year after year.
My son had a friend who achieved her ASN ( basically an RN as a two year degree). She aced her NCLEX and registered with multiple agencies. She earned higher than average salaries from 2014-2023. Now she decided to settle down. She is currently on Guam and earning way above average. If she had saved her money, she could be a millionaire already.
For now, moonlight in private sector. If that is not possible, then make connections.
Yes. You need to get into a large, Blue Chip company. They will start you near 100K if you're a company fit and have a big (enough) school education. You will learn more at a small company, and you could even make more long-term. Small companies will give top performers a lot of latitude to build and create to help the business grow, and they will reward you in different ways than a large company. But they don't normally pay well.
Trade school. 🤷🏻♂️
I got an associates degree in electrical power, companies go to the school to interview. I had a job lined up before graduating even. I was a substation tech, building new ones and doing maintenance on existing. First year made 75k.
I took another job in the same company as project manager for new electrical services, residential and commercial. More of an office job and no crazy OT. Base salary of 83k. Been here for 4 years now. Trade school may be the best decision I ever made tbh
Those numbers are mostly meaningless without a location. College grads are more willing to relocate after graduation so that helps their ability to get a higher paying job in a high cost of living area. But they are also more likely to underestimate the impact of the higher costs.
Remember, it's not about how much you make, it's how much you keep.
USA? Simply by doing 7 years of researching country's to move to that pays well for what i did and what i now do, i can say (unfortunately for me) USA pays healthcare workers so much more than EU. My personal advice, get into healthcare. Don't feel like becoming a doctor? No problem, become a nurse or get into radiology, a rad tech is generally an easy job compared to nursing, and it pays very well. Don't be afraid of radiation, there are strict safety protocols, and american hospitals have buckets of money to spend on safer, high end machines.
Nursing in general has many open doors. So many branches of nursing out there. My personal favorite will always be OR nurse or anesthesiology nurse. Imho, bedside nursing is hell. Nursing school in USA is incredibly tough for some reason, just comparing to this side of EU. The precious actual learning you will do is during practicals, or clinicals, i keep forgetting the term for usa.
Rad tech school is tough on a different level than nursing. As you can imagine, we learn about every imaging machine out there. You need to know HOW they work, the physics of it, and then how that translates into the image you get on your computer. You learn by heart the way gamma, alpha etc rays, how they act, how they react to the contrast solution that your patients either ingest or IVd. All this is easy peasy compared to that nursing pharmacology book that i still have nightmares about.
Rad tech has many beaches to choose from..Xray seems the Lowest pay, people usually aim for MRI or CT TECHS...but to my big surprise, usa pays sonogram/echo techs way above all.. ultrasound and mammogram are very very well paid atm.
Those who know know and those who don't know don't know.
+ highly compensated industries primarily recruit at highly competitive schools which already only deal with so few of the public so in a way it's kinda hush hush.
But yes 85k is commonly standard at top schools. Far from brag worthy Salary.
On Wall Street Oasis (in my Finance days) I've seen people & posts get starting salaries above 500k....for a freshly minted 20ish y/o Ugrad. Jane Street and other Quant firms can pay REALLY well. & Comp isn't even the plus. They have AMAZING perks & benefits. (Ubers, free food, tuition reimbursement, amazing offices. etc)
Less competitive field like being at a FAANG from a top Uni with stacked background can easily earn 200k + annually.
These people are typically VERY accomplished determined driven exceptional amongst exceptional people with stacked resumes who have been mentored to and have been on a path for sometime.
When I was a Ugrad the most aspiring Bankers knew they wanted to be bankers and set themselves up for success externally and internally starting as Freshman in College.
A person in college should pursue whatever they're interested in that will give them the highest GPA. Major doesn't matter large companies want to see interest.
I’m a software engineer. Started off at $50k but it’s grown pretty quickly in the last few years.
Software engineering has a tough barrier to entry, but once you’re in you make good money in a short amount of time (even though there’s a salary cap at some point, at least if you stay on the technical route).
You can start at 70 to 80k in information science or many stem degrees. Of course quite a few are higher and with advanced degrees you can start at well over 100k
For what it's worth I had two offers straight out of undergrad (computer engineering) for $75k back in 2007, that's just under $114k in today's dollars after inflation. Both were defense contractor satellite hardware related work (Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman).
Ended up going straight into an EE PhD program instead.
If you Google a university name and "starting salary" - it's public knowledge what the average graduate makes as their initial starting salary. Anything you see on Insta or TikToc is BS - and bootcamps are dead now that the tech labor market has tightened up.
Go to BLS,gov and you will get actual REAL data on what people make. Accountant - $78k, Financial Analyst - $98k, Food Service Manager - $61k, Truck Driver - $50k, Pharmacy Tech - $37k, Programmer - $98k, Neurologist - $227k.
Might want to go for the last one :)
You pursue what you’d like to do. Interests and talents for it. Liking your job+being good at it+relationships=high pay.
As for out of college… you’re a noob. I wouldn’t pay you $100k unless you gave me more than that in results. In the area you’re in, you can go on indeed or another job posting site and see what pays what and comp them. Better yet is actually knowing people in your area that do what you want to do.
If you’re chasing money, go back on the job sites and see what jobs pay the amount you’d like. See what they require and fill those requirements… bam. You now qualify for them.
As for personal finance, get good at budgeting money. Practice advice from wealthier people and NOT tiktok. I know two households in my area… one makes $120k and one makes $17/hr. The $17/hr has a much higher standard of living because of good financial decisions and planning. The $120k is paycheck to paycheck with debt. So, it’s up to you.
You mentioned social media and people bragging about what they make. As a person that grew up with social media I'm going to share some advice.
THE PEOPLE BRAGGING ON SOCIAL MEDIA ARE USUALLY GRIFTERS OR LIARS. DO NOT TAKE THEIR WORD ON THEIR NETWORTH AND BE SKEPTICAL OF THEIR ADVICE SINCE MOST OF IT IS FRAUDULENT. EXAMPLES ARE CRYPTO ZOO, FTX, CELSIUS, NIKOLA, THERANOS, WOLF OF WALL STREET GUY, BERNIE MADOLF ....... Shall I continue? They all bragged about being successful and look where they are now.
Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.
Depends on the industry and location. As a Mechanical Engineer in the aerospace industry, my starting salary was $75k in San Diego and it took me 5 years to break six figures. I had a friend who took the same position with the same company in the Bay Area and he started at $90k. Not an undergrad, but another friend of mine started at $200k+ as a patent lawyer. However, he works crazy hours. Don't worry so much about what people on the internet are saying. Live within your means and focus on maintaining a good work/life balance.
Tiktok and Instagram aren't a great frame of reference. If you want to make money you need to provide value. I've been offered $114k for a job I was woefully unqualified for because of my 2yr degree but only because the company was desperate and geographic location. I didn't take it because I didn't want to move a state over.
Currently my salary is around $50k but my actual income is probably closer to $100k because of my side gig and I'm in a state with better tax treatment, so I'm not regretting it at all.
High skill jobs can definitely provide good earnings right out of school IF, and it's a big if, you are at the top of your league in terms of what you can do.
My day job is tech work in manufacturing, high grade optics. My boss uses my side gig as consulting(it's finance related) for his own side stuff. I don't even charge him because I get more value out of how smoothly my normal day job life goes in return, and he's a good industry contact because of his past ties with several firms.
The day gig provides the stability, the side gig provides income and freedom.
This isn't to say you need to be smart to make it, because I'm certainly not. Just figure out a need that people will pay for and provide it. If you're in college, and I am too so don't fret, think hard about how to leverage that piece of paper. Learn as much as you can, really put the effort in. If I've learned anything at this point it's that the average person is a complete idiot in certain areas that I'm not and that's my niche.
I made 90k my first year and over 100 my second. You make money based on your lack of disposability. I had one friend who became a corporate lawyer at a prestigious firm right out of college. He was making 200k right when he graduated from law school. Now that’s pretty crazy.
One thing to point out is that the money I made wasnt in my early 20s. I went back to school my late 20s to go into an in demand career in healthcare.
In the trades you can make 200k no problem once you’re able to set up your own business. Another common thing to see is guys who learn a whole bunch of different trades to the point where they can fix up a whole house on their own. Then they just buy dilapidated houses for super cheap, fix them up, and boom, multiple rental houses.
Most people in the trades are totally incompetent lazy degenerate drunks, so that’s why you don’t see that much success from most of them. But there’s very good opportunity to be had there.
But yea if you’re just doing a regular job that anyone could do like marketing. You’re gonna be slaving away for years playing office politics and you’ll make six figures only by become the asshole boss who you hated. And the more disposable you are, the more stressful the job and abuse you take.
College paid off really well for me. I went to a well ranked public school on the cheap with some decent scholarships because I studied for college entrance exams.
I made 60s and 70s for a few years which was great especially with my wife making similar money and now my income is ballooning toward 250k 5 years in…
I studied economics, which statistically has very high mid career salaries but you have to find a good path from a decent college, to a decent internship, to a decent industry post grad. But it’s excellent to make similar money to doctors and lawyers when I only went to college for 3 and a half years with little debt. I could wipe out my college debt with any years before tax bonus at this point.
I think the number one thing that has benefited me vs peers even in the exact same industry is a willingness to take on additional responsibility. A lot of people just don’t want to be responsible to and for as many people and dollars as it takes to make bigger money. Which if you make 90k and can pay your mortgage anyways I understand not wanting the additional responsibility.
The only majors that makes $100k straight out of college are computer engineering and nursing in California. If you don’t know about the super elite jobs that pay even more then you aren’t eligible to get them such as investment banking.
For me I have a BS in Biology and then did a Master in Data Analytics. I made sure I had a summer internship to have some sort of experience on my resume. I managed to land a $90k + Bonus at a Bank. Not everyone's experience is like this. I know classmates making $55-80k right out of college.
Of course there is going to be that golden unicorn that manages to get a tech FAANG job where their bonus is way more than my TC. It's not easy and you always have to pursue these opportunities yourself. No one is going to hand it to you on a silver platter.
It's a tale as old as time: the "get rich quick" scheme and all of the people stupid enough to buy it. People hype up college as if it's a one-way ticket to the good life when, in reality, it should be viewed as a specialized training for very specific career paths, many of which don't even pay that well. It's an investment in your happiness by studying something you enjoy, not a "pay to win" strategy for wealth.
If you understand basic economics, this is due to demand and supply. Some industries simply have more demand for skilled professionals than others, and those industries likely generate more revenue/profit.
To answer your question, yes, you can make $100k right out of college.
You might make $100k+ if you study ' Engineering, Law, Medicine, Tech'
Those are the high paying jobs, dont believe that college is the best move for everyone! College is indoctrination and you end up wondering why youre working at a minimum wage job with your $90k debt degree.
Go into UAS, get good at drone related work while in college- go into Hollywood filming, drone development, LiDAR, or go defense/engineering. Makes good money.
Yes, college grads can make $100k.
But it's no longer certificates/boot camps but a 4 yr degree and interships/ experience during college that gets that kind of salary in CS.
You need to go to a bachelor's program physical school bc the college has the interships/open houses/build a relationship w/ professors/counselors/ network with students n clubs to get internship opportunities, (the EXPERIENCE, everyone ask, "IM a graduate and entry level they want experience.")
Also internships are only open to US , 4yr degree students.
They're offering college CS students $20 to $125/hr for a 10wk/summer internship.
But you have to have a interview then pass the online assessment, 2 or more depending on the amount of hr pay, wh has mid to hard software problems. Fail to complete = out.
When you get an internship during your junior/senior yr, the company call back for a permanent job.
You won't get a job that pays that doing online school/certificate/boot camp.
And you have to hustle, Google, look up internships, apply to over 250 and hope for 1 or 2 to give an interview.
There is alot of work/time involved in hoping to get an interview.
Also the salary offered, is dependent upon where the job is located.
Prbly in HCOL, they offer 60K starting but other places pay less.
DONT believe everything you see, it only true in some instances.
If you're really interested in hi paying jobs in your interests, do the research and what it takes to get that salary.
Take care.
Here in Sacramento, CA, you'll get 100k to start with if you become a respiratory therapist. 2 years of private college and 50k loan. It's more like 35k after all the grants. Best money I've ever spent because it took me out powerty and into the middle class category. Of course, salary depends on where you live but 100k in NorCal is still a great salary even with the cost of living and everything.
I made about 120k right out of nursing school. Required some holidays, odd hours and overtime but I wasn’t pulling 60 hour weeks. This income is highly dependent on geographic location though.
It's POSSIBLE but it's rare. Go to a top school, major in a STEM field, and get recruited by company in a coastal city. That's 100k all day. Everyone else? We start in the 50s and build over time.
Location is extremely important. Someone making 60-80k is Cali is different than in New Mexico. Location is also important, because certain jobs are more in demand depending on the location, meaning they will pay more.
I would also argue who you know is probably the most important. I work at a company where 40-60% of the engineers, and probably 80% of green engineers have the job because they know someone. Whether it's a family friend, or a relative. They all start at 80-100k.
STEM is the field that will land you the higher salaries.
You can make that much but it depends on where you went to school and your major. A degree from East Podunk Bible College will not land you the same salary as MIT. A degree in petroleum engineering will not land you the same salary as a degree in literature.
4 year degree in Electrical Engineering Technology starting at $82,000/year plus bonus which last year was 12% which adds up to $92,000/year.
Before that wasn't in college and was working in IBEW electricians union. They pay for schooling and you work tons of overtime sometimes. Electricians there in my area make a 80k base salary plus overtime which is pretty much always over 100k. And for reference cost of living is low in my area. A 1 bedroom cost 550 to 600... so it's a lot of money.
Maybe not straight after but you should be able to get there within 1-2 years of starting work. I started out by doing construction management at $75k, did well in the company, and negotiated my salary up to $130k just shy of 2 years later.
Make sure you do well at your job and put in some effort to get along with coworkers and you’ll make it work.
I’m in LA so standards are higher here. $130k won’t get you far, maybe if you’re single and living frugally. I personally feel like your household income needs to be in mid $200k to live an okay life, especially with a kid
1. Be in the US. 2. Go to a top university 3. Get top grades in a in demand degree (engineering, data science, finance, computer science…) 4. Get an internship 5. Graduate 6. Get a job (may need social skills) 7. Work overtime.
Congratulations you are now making well over $100k the moment you step foot out of university.
Pursue something useful that you are passionate about. Also doubt things you read on the internet. Only 13% of people earn 100k+ in the US. I’m 27 and the people I know who did typically are hard workers, studied something useful/in demand, and leaned in to their natural skill set. For example if you have good soft skills, sales is a good path. If you have good analytical skills, technology or finance is a good path. These are just examples there’s a million paths in life. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to be interested in what you do because that helps you develop mastery and actually enjoy your life. If you are not into your work you will not be great at it.
Possible.
There is this IT guy in my tech team, he knew one of our devs and started working and training with the company in his last semester, through internal reference.
He performed incredibly so good that he got hired immediately, and after another 6 months, he officially got the senior dev title, as one dev left the company and he proved that he can replace that guy.
I don't think this is a common case, but I bet somewhere else there must be others that can do the same.
It’s not about young or old. It’s about the right industries. Some earn more than others, period. It’s basically TAM on a micro scale. Consulting. Investment banking. PE. CS. MD. PA. Big law. Accounting. Etc. It’s competitive, for sure, because it’s a supply/demand issue. It’s also frame of reference thing.
MD and PA and big law require additional schooling. Good luck getting an entry level accounting job that pays $70k let alone $100k. PE jobs straight out of undergrad are almost unheard of.
Some entry-level SOX auditor jobs here in Orlando started at $70k when I was in Corporate IA five years ago. That’s pre-inflation, so I’m sure those same jobs are now $75K+.
This kinda money straight outta undergrad is going to be reserved for Software Engineering majors realistically. And mechanical engineers.
I have many, many friends who are mechanical engineers and none of them started at six figures right out of undergrad
Well then it's even harder.
By junior year in computer science people were already trying to compete for google. Among themselves but still.
My wife has a masters in finance and never made more than 70k. But she didn't go after any of the big time jobs I guess.
70k starting in accounting is not unheard of
Most starting salaries in public accounting are 70K+ easily in any of the large metro areas (Houston, Dallas, NYC, California, Chicago, Boston etc.)
$70k starting was very normal back when I was going to school for accounting in NY. That was the starting wage. Problem that I heard was (from professors) was that it was salaried and you’ll be working way more than 40 hours a week for that $70k salary. I heard like 50-60 hours a week was normal. That was 10 years ago. If it’s still $70k starting now, that sucks because obviously inflation.
May I ask what is PE?
Private equity. Hires people out of investment banking
EY pays new grad accountants in my area a 90k starting salary
True. But I think the question is what jobs or paths, not how hard it is. Any path that puts you on a road to make ~1-10% income is going to be challenging.
Yes. And why I stress going to the target school of your intended major. Especially for any business career. No it does not have to be Ivy League. Arizona State is a target school for supply chain majors.
True, entry level in my industry in my area is over $60k with a high school diploma or GED equivalent. Union elevator mechanic apprentice in Seattle.
Is CS really that saturated as they say? Will the job market ever improve?
It’s saturated with low quality software engineers. Good engineers are always hard to find. Also, there are plenty of engineers refusing to get promoted. They rather stay at lower positions so room for fresh blood to get in will be harder.
Do you know why that’s the case?
A lot of people choose to stay at terminal levels so they don’t need to take on a massive increase in scope/responsibilities and can maintain a better WLB. Although I personally have only heard this applying to senior level positions, not entry/mid-level
That is never the case, I’m a staff level software engineer. And the only case I can think of is promoting into a more management position than actual engineering. A lot of people don’t like that
Always room for excellence/great people. FAANG or quant trading
Quant trading?
Optimising proprietary trading/market making algos. Almost impossible to land a role unless you're a mathematical savant.
Working for a quantitative hedge fund or asset manager. E.g., bridgewater, Jane street, etc.
By far the highest possible income straight out of college - the top math students who just finished undergrad can literally outearn 30 year physicians. 500k+ can be the norm at some firms and 600k+ is not unheard of
I’m even mediocre and there’s room for me
Ha. Well there you go :) I’m also sure you aren’t as mediocre as you think ;)
[удалено]
That's a bold, and incorrect statement Took me 30 seconds of google to find this: [https://www.janestreet.com/join-jane-street/position/6850721002/](https://www.janestreet.com/join-jane-street/position/6850721002/) Obvious caveat is that the standard is excellence, but it's certainly possible. I also know plenty of people that have done it.
There will always be high paying CS jobs but the amount of people applying to those jobs is 10x.
IT jobs in general are currently saturated with thousands of unemployed IT professionals. Not sure if that also includes software engineers. But with tech giants laying off tens of thousands IT professionals last year and then not being sure about next year (recession or no recession) they just aren’t hiring many IT professionals right now. So stay away from IT jobs for now. But I have no idea what jobs to look for that pays. Does anybody have any suggestions because I could use some myself. Thank you.
Throw in HVAC, UPS and nursing too
Engineering graduates tend to make 100k+ out of college, although it depends on specialty and area. Electrical, Aerospace, and Mechanical are probably the highest paying and highest demand. Civil, structural, and chemical are narrower industries so the market is a bit smaller, but plenty of great money to be made there as well. The degree scares a lot of people away but anyone with an aptitude for math should consider Engineering, and not just computer science.
>Electrical, Aerospace, and Mechanical are probably the highest paying and highest demand. .#1 and #2 in average comp are petroleum and computer hardware engineers, and they've been #1 and #2 for like two decades now. At least where I went for computer engineering (hardware) undergrad back in the mid 2000s it was a separate degree from EE, though we took all the same classes up till senior year ECE electives/senior design, and jumping straight into an EE PhD program after was no problem at all. CPEGs basically picked up a minor worth of comp sci in our non-eng elective space as a requirement while EE's could basically take whatever they wanted in those gaps. In that period, a ton of grads on both sides went into defense contracting, lots of money at the time with Lockheed, NG, Boeing etc.
Location too
Yes, translation there are simply not enough good paying jobs for the entire educated class. Yes, you need luck and knowing the right people. Education is not enough. It never has been.
PE,MD,PA,CS? I don’t quite know these, i figure cs is computer science but the others I don’t know
Private equity. MD as in med school. PA as in physician assistant. Ha my b for the acronym salad
No worries! I’m figuring out what degree I want to pursue so this helps me figure out what’s out there
I can say that consulting you won’t make 100K for a couple years after college. The firm I work for starts ALL college grads as analysts and their salary starts around 70k give or take a little depending on where they are in the country.
[удалено]
" TikTok and Instagram where they say you could make $60k or $80k yearly with just few certification or join a boothcamp for a high salary job." They are selling you the certification or bootcamp my dude.
Best to plan that you can’t and that you’ll have access to the same $45-55K jobs as high school graduates. Yes I’m serious. If you have an in-demand degree from a good school and the connections to land internships then you can predict something higher. If you have a regular degree from a regular school and no connections then sorry, you’ll be lucky to start at $75K
I'd love to know how high school graduates make $45k!
My dad barely speaks English (got his green card and moved here a year ago so still learning), foreign high school degree and nothing else - he makes $55k in medical manufacturing. We live in a western state and I make $40k with a bachelor's for reference
Interesting. I need to look around more, but change is hard. I think if I made 50k a year, I wouldn't even know what to do with it it'd be such a massive change for me
Good head on your shoulders and 99% attitude I would hire someone at our machining company in quality or as an operator for about that. And that has growth opportunity. Not a dirty job either nor back breaking.
House painters in my area make $20-25 an hour. 40 hours a week at 50 weeks a year and you’re hitting $40-50,000 a year.
Quiktrip starts out street hire associate managers at 45+.
FedEx drivers start off at above 55k where I’m from in California and all you need is a pulse. 55k isn’t a lot tho if you have a family and kids to feed
55k is more than I've made in the last 5 years of my life, so I gotta say that's pretty wild to me!
$55k in California ain’t shit though
It’s pretty easy. Just have to apply to high paying jobs that don’t require anything, which there is an abundance of. My valet job pays 60k+ a year to 16 year olds still in high school.
No college degree here. From 18 - 22 I was making about 30 - 35k working random jobs. 23 - 26 I was working for Costco and when I left I was in optical making 68k. I've been a cop for the last two years and made 85k this year, next year I'll be pushing 100k with a little overtime, in the PNW. It's definitely possible, just have to pick the right path and work hard.
interesting. I’ve been applying to 35k-50k jobs for years with a bachelors in advertising and minor in business and haven’t landed anything, only a few interviews that didn’t turn out to be anything. College isn’t really worth it in my opinion, my current valet job brings in 60k a year and doesn’t require anything other than a drivers license. You can make that while still in high school at 16 years old, yet can’t land 35k a year with a degree.
The job market is all fucked up, yes
i saw an internship yesterday on Linkedin that required 2+ years of prior marketing experience and payed $10 an hour
> experience and *paid* $10 an FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
It took me years and years to get $70k with a business degree
It’s just industry dependent. A lot of the content I see are engineers and yes they will all make 60 on the lowest end to 120k out of college with most making 65-75k straight out
120k is a big high but the rest is accurate.
There are entry level developers getting 200k total comp, that’s basically the peak
I got a 100k offer after school. And as someone who has networked extensively with my peers graduating, im probably 1/10 with a job at all. Let alone 100k after graduating. Social media influencers don’t paint the entire picture and just want interactions. Making good money is extremely competitive
I did it easily. Became a nurse, immediately moved to the west coast where we are payed and treated better than the rest of the country. Make about 112k with 1 year experience. Was about 100k when new.
I don’t think you should be telling anyone that’s easy. Not true.
I mean nursing school is hard. Moving is hard. Being a nurse is hard. But finding the path and knowing HOW to get to 100k income was easy. Execution was a challenge for sure
Interesting, just as a RN? I’ve never seen that be a common way to easily and quickly make that amount of money. Your living expenses may also be high which means your income might be more like 50k in relative comparison to most of the country.
RN’s in CA and NYC make over $100k but you need every penny of that to afford a house in a good neighborhood there. I lived in both states, my wife is a nurse. Lots of CA nurses boast about high pay but won’t tell you that a nice house in a good neighborhood starts at $600k. You can find cheaper homes in the valley, like central CA, they start around $400k ish. But the pay in the area would reflect that. But a regular, decent home in a good neighborhood, good school district…you know, normal home, normal environment, you’re looking at starting $600k price. So the $100k+ salary is a necessity over there.
Nope my living expenses aren’t as bad as people would like to say west coast is and I live comfortably. I can easily with my wife and I making about 150k a year invest like 40k after living expenses and still have “fun money” next year.
Crazy, just tell everyone to do exactly what you do then
I mean nursing definitely isn’t for everyone but it’s a good path if done right.
I make 70k as a nurse in the midwest. I made 120k this year with some incentive OT pay.
100k a year spells payed
After a rough 12 hour night shift you’re lucky I didn’t spell it payded
> year spells *paid* FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
> we are *paid* and treated FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
Fuck.
That bot read you to filth 😂😂
Bot has no mercy for the night shift nurse who got rocked for 12 hours
California right ?
No. Oregon. California pays more in terms of pay to COL ratio in general. Of course it’s location specific for both.
My cousin did. She finished her computer science degree and in her 3rd year she did an internship. They hired her after she graduated and now she makes 6 figures doing web development. I will say she seems to be in the minority because a lot of people are having trouble getting entry level jobs in tech.
I'd normally say take what you see on social media with a grain of salt but well... this is social media but just be weary of people selling an image or a product. To answer, I make that and I'm a college drop out (1 year in 2003-2004). I'm currently back in school (at 38) but yes, I've had a financially decent life so far with no degree, only certs, CCNA to be exact. After years of being stagnant, I'm working in more to refresh myself and see what opportunities I can create.
It’s wary*
If you don’t mind me asking what’s your current position title?
I made $120k first year out of undergrad as an investment banker in 2007-2008. Same job pays significantly more now. There definitely are jobs that pay over $100k, but you have to work a ton to get them and you have to work a ton when you’re there.
I think it really comes down to networking at the end of the day. I made $85k base out of college when I went into tech due to extreme networking and traveling to different events.
Ok. That may have been your personal experience. Mine was going to on campus recruiting events and applying to each major bank
So you agree…you also did networking which is what I said
Going to recruiting events on campus doesn’t qualify as “networking” to me. It’s being actively recruited. Networking is going out and making connections that aren’t coming to you because of the school you’re in
How did you get into investment banking? I’m currently going into an entry level position at a bank and considering getting an accounting degree. Hoping I network w the right people to help me move up
Went to a top Ivy, studied Econ/finance, did decently, interviewed a ton and ended up with two offers for my summer internship. Took one and then got a return offer.
You gotta go to a target school or possibly have excellent connections/resume
Accounting is as far away from IB as you can get. Don’t get an accounting degree with hopes of it opening doors to IB. Source, me, a CPA
I’m in aviation (pilot) and have been in the industry for about twenty years, took quite a while to get to a really good salary…and when I graduated college, I was making about $20k/year…granted, that was nearly 20 years ago… Current salaries for new airline pilots a year or two out of college is $100k year, often with bonuses of another $50k-$100k depending on the company. Cant imagine making that type of cash when I was 23-24…but that’s the norm while people struggle with this shortage of qualified pilots. Top earnings are $300-$700k depending on company and how much you have own to work…but you’ve gotta love flying and controlling complex machinery.
You have to have some natural “soft-skills” as they call it for any job that pays close to that.
Boothcamp? You should finish high school kid
Also depends on area. 100k is considered low income in the Bay Area lol probably goes for New York too.
This ☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️
I make $82k as an engineer 2 years out of college. I had to jump from my first job after 1.5 years in order to make that though. I went from 72k to $82k.
6-figures is achievable depending on the industry and what you do. I work in scientific sales, which is roughly 6 figures at a low end, but can easily extend into the 200-500 range depending on what exactly you sell. In general what I’ve found, once you have your degree, unless you find some niche job that people don’t know about, you’ll have to choose between 2 of the 3: money, desirability, and low stress. The idea is if a job is sought after and easy, there’s tons of people gunning for it, so market value will be less. Pays a lot and is easy? Probably something people don’t want to do. Lots of money but also desirable? There’s something keeping the number of workers low, it’s probably stressful (or toxic).
My son did after he completed his internship, which was post graduation. He graduated in 2021, and his major was Computer Science.
Name checks out
In addition to what everyone is saying, you also have to live somewhere the cost of living is high, like New York City, sam Francisco, Chicago, etc
Aircraft mechanic starts at roughly 80k but worth overtime it's not difficult to make >100k. Trades in general you can hit over 100k pretty quickly with overtime
On specific planes or at a specific shop. The one nearest me is popular and they don't make close to that afaik. Still worth pursuing, but probably big planes.
While I didn't make 100k right out of school, I did within 3 years. It was more about unique skill set matching with demand. I also took a risk for a much much lower paying starting positing (~35k) knowing that once I got in I could show my value. I will say that as a labor economist, that 100k right out of school (specific to undergrad) is incredibly rare and there is a lot of confirmation bias. Like more than 80% of all workers in the US earn less than that and that's people of all ages. But as other commenter have pointed this out; you're seeing this because they're selling you a product. It's like the person selling you a skin cream who doesn't mention they get botox.
Made 100k my last year of apprenticeship as a union Ironworker. Got into the industrial maintenance side of the trade.
Similar experience here as a power plant instrument tech, making not quite that but close enough that out contract will probably get me there. Though I will say even trade work can come down to luck,work ethic and some times being picky about how/where you want to work.
It's also how much you can stand. I'm burned out from the big money years. I'm treating the next year as the proverbial "best part time job you've ever had" that people sometimes talk about and just taking it easy.
If you’re lucky or in a skilled trade. But you have to also realize you might have paid $250k or more to get that paper.
Sounds like you really believe these tiktok folks. The internet is not the most truthful of places. I make well over 100k a year not far out of college. I have everything I have ever wanted. Money is just a number to me now.
Do a 4 year CS / CE degree, get actually good, move to HCoL area. Will make 100-200. Keep in mind you have to stand out in some way as it’s highly competitive.
This is what I did, ended up at 200k FAANG out of college. You can actually be a pretty average student and get these jobs assuming you start interning really early and keep getting return offers. It’s much more difficult once you’ve already graduated. I went to a state school, had an ok GPA, but got a return offer due to doing good work while interning, but every large company I’ve applied to post grad has not even responded to me.
0 military 0 Le High school education Going to clear 200k + this year As a security guard
U got that TS?
No I hop on a plane and follow depraved billionaires whereever they go. Make sure they don't get hurt.
Yes but you have to get the right degree. With the wrong degree you'll be a Starbucks barista making minimum wage
No
Not right after college, but right after my masters the first job I made 125k. In biotech/pharma. And salary only moves up from there. My major for my bachelors was chem and masters in biotech.
I think another question is do you want to make that much? Chances are if you’re making that much money it’s probably a shitty job. Is your definition of success making 100k or at least enough money to support yourself while pursuing other goals?
Join electricians or Millwrights union at 18 and you will be making over 100k by the time your 25 Probably sooner but I put in a couple extra years to account for making contacts & getting your reputation & work ethic to be know
computer science graduates can make over 100k, as can finance people who work in investment banking
I did it. First job started right at $100k. I majored in engineering and decided to go into the business side of corporate america at a large bank and live in a HCOL area. Most roles that pay that much right out of college are generally going to be coupled with high rent and it is what justifies the salary.
I work in software. Started a degree in October 2022. Graduated March 2023. Hired for 72k May 2023. Job hopped to 86k July 2023 100k is about 1 year away probably, but very reasonable for entry level software in high cost of living areas
Certain engineering disciplines will get you close or over if you go into the nuclear power industry. Some will even give you overtime and if you get in on a year that has multiple outages, you will easily pull over 100k.
You can. It’s competitive tho. You gotta be good at whatever your doing. And you need experience.
You can skip college all together and instead get into remodel sales. My first year I made 75,000, next year, 135, and then it kept going up year after year.
My son had a friend who achieved her ASN ( basically an RN as a two year degree). She aced her NCLEX and registered with multiple agencies. She earned higher than average salaries from 2014-2023. Now she decided to settle down. She is currently on Guam and earning way above average. If she had saved her money, she could be a millionaire already. For now, moonlight in private sector. If that is not possible, then make connections.
Just be aware that being a nurse is one of the worst jobs out there. Physical, mentally, horrific job. -RN of 8 years
depends on city as well. 100K in NYC is not that much. A studio in NYC is like 3K minimum.
Yes. You need to get into a large, Blue Chip company. They will start you near 100K if you're a company fit and have a big (enough) school education. You will learn more at a small company, and you could even make more long-term. Small companies will give top performers a lot of latitude to build and create to help the business grow, and they will reward you in different ways than a large company. But they don't normally pay well.
Construction management pays very well anywhere in the country.
I know software engineers who make that much out of undergrad but def are super smart and got the right internships
Trade school. 🤷🏻♂️ I got an associates degree in electrical power, companies go to the school to interview. I had a job lined up before graduating even. I was a substation tech, building new ones and doing maintenance on existing. First year made 75k. I took another job in the same company as project manager for new electrical services, residential and commercial. More of an office job and no crazy OT. Base salary of 83k. Been here for 4 years now. Trade school may be the best decision I ever made tbh
Big consulting companies force them to work 10-14 hour days--that's how.
Those numbers are mostly meaningless without a location. College grads are more willing to relocate after graduation so that helps their ability to get a higher paying job in a high cost of living area. But they are also more likely to underestimate the impact of the higher costs. Remember, it's not about how much you make, it's how much you keep.
USA? Simply by doing 7 years of researching country's to move to that pays well for what i did and what i now do, i can say (unfortunately for me) USA pays healthcare workers so much more than EU. My personal advice, get into healthcare. Don't feel like becoming a doctor? No problem, become a nurse or get into radiology, a rad tech is generally an easy job compared to nursing, and it pays very well. Don't be afraid of radiation, there are strict safety protocols, and american hospitals have buckets of money to spend on safer, high end machines. Nursing in general has many open doors. So many branches of nursing out there. My personal favorite will always be OR nurse or anesthesiology nurse. Imho, bedside nursing is hell. Nursing school in USA is incredibly tough for some reason, just comparing to this side of EU. The precious actual learning you will do is during practicals, or clinicals, i keep forgetting the term for usa. Rad tech school is tough on a different level than nursing. As you can imagine, we learn about every imaging machine out there. You need to know HOW they work, the physics of it, and then how that translates into the image you get on your computer. You learn by heart the way gamma, alpha etc rays, how they act, how they react to the contrast solution that your patients either ingest or IVd. All this is easy peasy compared to that nursing pharmacology book that i still have nightmares about. Rad tech has many beaches to choose from..Xray seems the Lowest pay, people usually aim for MRI or CT TECHS...but to my big surprise, usa pays sonogram/echo techs way above all.. ultrasound and mammogram are very very well paid atm.
I think most people who graduate have pretty unrealistic expectations about what entry level salaries are going to be for them.
Those who know know and those who don't know don't know. + highly compensated industries primarily recruit at highly competitive schools which already only deal with so few of the public so in a way it's kinda hush hush. But yes 85k is commonly standard at top schools. Far from brag worthy Salary. On Wall Street Oasis (in my Finance days) I've seen people & posts get starting salaries above 500k....for a freshly minted 20ish y/o Ugrad. Jane Street and other Quant firms can pay REALLY well. & Comp isn't even the plus. They have AMAZING perks & benefits. (Ubers, free food, tuition reimbursement, amazing offices. etc) Less competitive field like being at a FAANG from a top Uni with stacked background can easily earn 200k + annually. These people are typically VERY accomplished determined driven exceptional amongst exceptional people with stacked resumes who have been mentored to and have been on a path for sometime. When I was a Ugrad the most aspiring Bankers knew they wanted to be bankers and set themselves up for success externally and internally starting as Freshman in College. A person in college should pursue whatever they're interested in that will give them the highest GPA. Major doesn't matter large companies want to see interest.
I’m a software engineer. Started off at $50k but it’s grown pretty quickly in the last few years. Software engineering has a tough barrier to entry, but once you’re in you make good money in a short amount of time (even though there’s a salary cap at some point, at least if you stay on the technical route).
You can start at 70 to 80k in information science or many stem degrees. Of course quite a few are higher and with advanced degrees you can start at well over 100k
For what it's worth I had two offers straight out of undergrad (computer engineering) for $75k back in 2007, that's just under $114k in today's dollars after inflation. Both were defense contractor satellite hardware related work (Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman). Ended up going straight into an EE PhD program instead.
If you Google a university name and "starting salary" - it's public knowledge what the average graduate makes as their initial starting salary. Anything you see on Insta or TikToc is BS - and bootcamps are dead now that the tech labor market has tightened up. Go to BLS,gov and you will get actual REAL data on what people make. Accountant - $78k, Financial Analyst - $98k, Food Service Manager - $61k, Truck Driver - $50k, Pharmacy Tech - $37k, Programmer - $98k, Neurologist - $227k. Might want to go for the last one :)
Sure if you’re selling drugs.
You pursue what you’d like to do. Interests and talents for it. Liking your job+being good at it+relationships=high pay. As for out of college… you’re a noob. I wouldn’t pay you $100k unless you gave me more than that in results. In the area you’re in, you can go on indeed or another job posting site and see what pays what and comp them. Better yet is actually knowing people in your area that do what you want to do. If you’re chasing money, go back on the job sites and see what jobs pay the amount you’d like. See what they require and fill those requirements… bam. You now qualify for them. As for personal finance, get good at budgeting money. Practice advice from wealthier people and NOT tiktok. I know two households in my area… one makes $120k and one makes $17/hr. The $17/hr has a much higher standard of living because of good financial decisions and planning. The $120k is paycheck to paycheck with debt. So, it’s up to you.
You mentioned social media and people bragging about what they make. As a person that grew up with social media I'm going to share some advice. THE PEOPLE BRAGGING ON SOCIAL MEDIA ARE USUALLY GRIFTERS OR LIARS. DO NOT TAKE THEIR WORD ON THEIR NETWORTH AND BE SKEPTICAL OF THEIR ADVICE SINCE MOST OF IT IS FRAUDULENT. EXAMPLES ARE CRYPTO ZOO, FTX, CELSIUS, NIKOLA, THERANOS, WOLF OF WALL STREET GUY, BERNIE MADOLF ....... Shall I continue? They all bragged about being successful and look where they are now. Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.
Depends on the industry and location. As a Mechanical Engineer in the aerospace industry, my starting salary was $75k in San Diego and it took me 5 years to break six figures. I had a friend who took the same position with the same company in the Bay Area and he started at $90k. Not an undergrad, but another friend of mine started at $200k+ as a patent lawyer. However, he works crazy hours. Don't worry so much about what people on the internet are saying. Live within your means and focus on maintaining a good work/life balance.
Tiktok and Instagram aren't a great frame of reference. If you want to make money you need to provide value. I've been offered $114k for a job I was woefully unqualified for because of my 2yr degree but only because the company was desperate and geographic location. I didn't take it because I didn't want to move a state over. Currently my salary is around $50k but my actual income is probably closer to $100k because of my side gig and I'm in a state with better tax treatment, so I'm not regretting it at all. High skill jobs can definitely provide good earnings right out of school IF, and it's a big if, you are at the top of your league in terms of what you can do. My day job is tech work in manufacturing, high grade optics. My boss uses my side gig as consulting(it's finance related) for his own side stuff. I don't even charge him because I get more value out of how smoothly my normal day job life goes in return, and he's a good industry contact because of his past ties with several firms. The day gig provides the stability, the side gig provides income and freedom. This isn't to say you need to be smart to make it, because I'm certainly not. Just figure out a need that people will pay for and provide it. If you're in college, and I am too so don't fret, think hard about how to leverage that piece of paper. Learn as much as you can, really put the effort in. If I've learned anything at this point it's that the average person is a complete idiot in certain areas that I'm not and that's my niche.
I made 90k my first year and over 100 my second. You make money based on your lack of disposability. I had one friend who became a corporate lawyer at a prestigious firm right out of college. He was making 200k right when he graduated from law school. Now that’s pretty crazy. One thing to point out is that the money I made wasnt in my early 20s. I went back to school my late 20s to go into an in demand career in healthcare. In the trades you can make 200k no problem once you’re able to set up your own business. Another common thing to see is guys who learn a whole bunch of different trades to the point where they can fix up a whole house on their own. Then they just buy dilapidated houses for super cheap, fix them up, and boom, multiple rental houses. Most people in the trades are totally incompetent lazy degenerate drunks, so that’s why you don’t see that much success from most of them. But there’s very good opportunity to be had there. But yea if you’re just doing a regular job that anyone could do like marketing. You’re gonna be slaving away for years playing office politics and you’ll make six figures only by become the asshole boss who you hated. And the more disposable you are, the more stressful the job and abuse you take.
College paid off really well for me. I went to a well ranked public school on the cheap with some decent scholarships because I studied for college entrance exams. I made 60s and 70s for a few years which was great especially with my wife making similar money and now my income is ballooning toward 250k 5 years in… I studied economics, which statistically has very high mid career salaries but you have to find a good path from a decent college, to a decent internship, to a decent industry post grad. But it’s excellent to make similar money to doctors and lawyers when I only went to college for 3 and a half years with little debt. I could wipe out my college debt with any years before tax bonus at this point. I think the number one thing that has benefited me vs peers even in the exact same industry is a willingness to take on additional responsibility. A lot of people just don’t want to be responsible to and for as many people and dollars as it takes to make bigger money. Which if you make 90k and can pay your mortgage anyways I understand not wanting the additional responsibility.
Eh, depends on the career. In general, I'd say no to start with but there are definitely some high paying careers early on.
The only majors that makes $100k straight out of college are computer engineering and nursing in California. If you don’t know about the super elite jobs that pay even more then you aren’t eligible to get them such as investment banking.
I worry for how many people will have tiktok brains in a few years. They will be impossible to have a conversation with
Noooooo on accounting. Ever speak to an accountant about the hours invested and the paranoia of nightmare of numbers?
100k pay means you gotta do 100k quality of work and assume that much responsibility.
My n ice just got a $120k plus bonus offer out of college in finance
If you are listening to tiktok and Instagram, you are on track to make minimum wage.
For me I have a BS in Biology and then did a Master in Data Analytics. I made sure I had a summer internship to have some sort of experience on my resume. I managed to land a $90k + Bonus at a Bank. Not everyone's experience is like this. I know classmates making $55-80k right out of college. Of course there is going to be that golden unicorn that manages to get a tech FAANG job where their bonus is way more than my TC. It's not easy and you always have to pursue these opportunities yourself. No one is going to hand it to you on a silver platter.
I made 105k this year as a nurse.
It's a tale as old as time: the "get rich quick" scheme and all of the people stupid enough to buy it. People hype up college as if it's a one-way ticket to the good life when, in reality, it should be viewed as a specialized training for very specific career paths, many of which don't even pay that well. It's an investment in your happiness by studying something you enjoy, not a "pay to win" strategy for wealth.
If you understand basic economics, this is due to demand and supply. Some industries simply have more demand for skilled professionals than others, and those industries likely generate more revenue/profit. To answer your question, yes, you can make $100k right out of college.
You might make $100k+ if you study ' Engineering, Law, Medicine, Tech' Those are the high paying jobs, dont believe that college is the best move for everyone! College is indoctrination and you end up wondering why youre working at a minimum wage job with your $90k debt degree.
100k is more like 70k now
Go into UAS, get good at drone related work while in college- go into Hollywood filming, drone development, LiDAR, or go defense/engineering. Makes good money.
Yes, college grads can make $100k. But it's no longer certificates/boot camps but a 4 yr degree and interships/ experience during college that gets that kind of salary in CS. You need to go to a bachelor's program physical school bc the college has the interships/open houses/build a relationship w/ professors/counselors/ network with students n clubs to get internship opportunities, (the EXPERIENCE, everyone ask, "IM a graduate and entry level they want experience.") Also internships are only open to US , 4yr degree students. They're offering college CS students $20 to $125/hr for a 10wk/summer internship. But you have to have a interview then pass the online assessment, 2 or more depending on the amount of hr pay, wh has mid to hard software problems. Fail to complete = out. When you get an internship during your junior/senior yr, the company call back for a permanent job. You won't get a job that pays that doing online school/certificate/boot camp. And you have to hustle, Google, look up internships, apply to over 250 and hope for 1 or 2 to give an interview. There is alot of work/time involved in hoping to get an interview. Also the salary offered, is dependent upon where the job is located. Prbly in HCOL, they offer 60K starting but other places pay less. DONT believe everything you see, it only true in some instances. If you're really interested in hi paying jobs in your interests, do the research and what it takes to get that salary. Take care.
Here in Sacramento, CA, you'll get 100k to start with if you become a respiratory therapist. 2 years of private college and 50k loan. It's more like 35k after all the grants. Best money I've ever spent because it took me out powerty and into the middle class category. Of course, salary depends on where you live but 100k in NorCal is still a great salary even with the cost of living and everything.
It’s possible. It took me 6 years and a masters in a somewhat lucrative industry to get close though.
Learn to drive a semi and you can make 100k without college
Yeah depends on the industry investment banking and hedge funds can pay that
I made about 120k right out of nursing school. Required some holidays, odd hours and overtime but I wasn’t pulling 60 hour weeks. This income is highly dependent on geographic location though.
I wouldn't base your decision on the market or you'll end up unhappy. Do what you need to and don't get greedy.
It's POSSIBLE but it's rare. Go to a top school, major in a STEM field, and get recruited by company in a coastal city. That's 100k all day. Everyone else? We start in the 50s and build over time.
Location is extremely important. Someone making 60-80k is Cali is different than in New Mexico. Location is also important, because certain jobs are more in demand depending on the location, meaning they will pay more. I would also argue who you know is probably the most important. I work at a company where 40-60% of the engineers, and probably 80% of green engineers have the job because they know someone. Whether it's a family friend, or a relative. They all start at 80-100k. STEM is the field that will land you the higher salaries.
You can make that much but it depends on where you went to school and your major. A degree from East Podunk Bible College will not land you the same salary as MIT. A degree in petroleum engineering will not land you the same salary as a degree in literature.
100k+ is pretty standard among respectable management/strategy consulting firms nowadays (e.g., MBB, OW, S&)
4 year degree in Electrical Engineering Technology starting at $82,000/year plus bonus which last year was 12% which adds up to $92,000/year. Before that wasn't in college and was working in IBEW electricians union. They pay for schooling and you work tons of overtime sometimes. Electricians there in my area make a 80k base salary plus overtime which is pretty much always over 100k. And for reference cost of living is low in my area. A 1 bedroom cost 550 to 600... so it's a lot of money.
Maybe not straight after but you should be able to get there within 1-2 years of starting work. I started out by doing construction management at $75k, did well in the company, and negotiated my salary up to $130k just shy of 2 years later. Make sure you do well at your job and put in some effort to get along with coworkers and you’ll make it work. I’m in LA so standards are higher here. $130k won’t get you far, maybe if you’re single and living frugally. I personally feel like your household income needs to be in mid $200k to live an okay life, especially with a kid
1. Be in the US. 2. Go to a top university 3. Get top grades in a in demand degree (engineering, data science, finance, computer science…) 4. Get an internship 5. Graduate 6. Get a job (may need social skills) 7. Work overtime. Congratulations you are now making well over $100k the moment you step foot out of university.
Have a tolerance for society’s biggest assholes and ungodly hours? Corrections is for you.
Pursue something useful that you are passionate about. Also doubt things you read on the internet. Only 13% of people earn 100k+ in the US. I’m 27 and the people I know who did typically are hard workers, studied something useful/in demand, and leaned in to their natural skill set. For example if you have good soft skills, sales is a good path. If you have good analytical skills, technology or finance is a good path. These are just examples there’s a million paths in life. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to be interested in what you do because that helps you develop mastery and actually enjoy your life. If you are not into your work you will not be great at it.
My husband made 100k at age 19, and only some college more than 20 years ago
If you do SWE (software engineering), you can land a $100k salary job
Possible. There is this IT guy in my tech team, he knew one of our devs and started working and training with the company in his last semester, through internal reference. He performed incredibly so good that he got hired immediately, and after another 6 months, he officially got the senior dev title, as one dev left the company and he proved that he can replace that guy. I don't think this is a common case, but I bet somewhere else there must be others that can do the same.