I haven't graduated yet, and I work for myself now, but my last job was $20/hour (~40k a year, I think I ended up on my tax returns as $42xxx.xx) as a sys admin with IRA/health insurance, and paid vacation. This is in the central florida area which is pretty low cost of living. Oh FWIW I'm double majoring in English and Finance and will graduate in the spring. I dunno how important it is to have a CS degree, I see lots of job postings that require one, but I've gotten offers for 40-50k and I don't have one, so I think it just depends.