Salary Reviews or Stats

Tarrant64

Diamond Member
Sep 20, 2004
3,203
0
76
Nothing?

Ok, let me ask this then.

Is it true that if you have a bachelors, you will most likely always earn more than someone without one, or even an AAS? Does job experience matter between the two?

And what about Masters? Some people say going to some high-praised college to get a masters will mean getting sometimes twice the salary as someone who doesn't have one(possibly with more job experience)? Can someone shed some light because I thought that was all BS in the real world.
 

esun

Platinum Member
Nov 12, 2001
2,214
0
0
Statistically, I've read that a masters on average means you'll get paid about $10k more per year in engineering. I'd say statistically people with 4-year Bachelors degrees make much more than those without, but I don't know exact numbers.
 

nycxandy

Diamond Member
Apr 11, 2001
3,731
0
76
If you are wondering whether you should go to college or not, the answer is yes.
 

Tarrant64

Diamond Member
Sep 20, 2004
3,203
0
76
Well I'm in college, at least I'm getting an AAS anyways. I do plan on finishing up a bachelors soon after, I just had a job opportunity to take now where I got offered because of work experience. I'm never quitting school until I'm officially done though.
 

Tarrant64

Diamond Member
Sep 20, 2004
3,203
0
76
I guess the whole "if you work hard enough" thing doesn't apply anymore? there are some people I know without a bachelors(some college though) that are doing well off just off of hard work.

i figured if I kept it up I would eventually get there, but I'm not quitting school on a hunch. :)
 

RelaxTheMind

Platinum Member
Oct 15, 2002
2,245
0
76
its a balance.... some people may pass up a job offer that could have ended up paying more than they would have ever made elsewhere...

and some can take a "good enough" job and quit school and end up working there for some odd years.

This all depends on where you live, your personality, everything. I personally BSed my way up the ladder with my 2 year tech school AAS and handful of certifications to a dept with engineers and such.
 

nakedfrog

No Lifer
Apr 3, 2001
62,283
18,164
136
Originally posted by: Tarrant64
I guess the whole "if you work hard enough" thing doesn't apply anymore? there are some people I know without a bachelors(some college though) that are doing well off just off of hard work.

i figured if I kept it up I would eventually get there, but I'm not quitting school on a hunch. :)

No, it does still apply. No degree of any sort, but making more money than a former coworker with a degree, and the same amount as another with a degree. But some of it comes down to being in the right place at the right time, too.
 

HannibalX

Diamond Member
May 12, 2000
9,359
2
0
Originally posted by: Tarrant64
I guess the whole "if you work hard enough" thing doesn't apply anymore? there are some people I know without a bachelors(some college though) that are doing well off just off of hard work.

i figured if I kept it up I would eventually get there, but I'm not quitting school on a hunch. :)


It depends on what line of work you are going into. I have known plumbers who make $100k/year. I have also known guys with CS degress working for penuts.

A solid work ethic will take you a long way, college can help that but past a certain salary range and experience level college doesn't matter any more. A vice president of sales at my company does not have a college degree - what he does have is 25 years selling in this industry, he makes $400k/year, and knows his job and his employees jobs like the back of his hand.
 

Tarrant64

Diamond Member
Sep 20, 2004
3,203
0
76
Yeah, I'm in the 2 year AAS with micro tech. and in a good enough job to sit here for awhile. working at a quickly growing engineering company with a small IT group(8 or so people). fortunate to learn what I am learning now and hope to take that and expand elsewhere. i should end up doing well as the stats for growth last year were 20% and growing.

like i said though, finish up the AAS, and should the funding permit finish up my bachelors.
 

MrBond

Diamond Member
Feb 5, 2000
9,911
0
76
Originally posted by: esun
Statistically, I've read that a masters on average means you'll get paid about $10k more per year in engineering. I'd say statistically people with 4-year Bachelors degrees make much more than those without, but I don't know exact numbers.
A masters degree also makes you harder to hire. If a company only requires a BS degree, they may see you as "overqualified" and may not be willing to pay you the extra money.

I'll be making $10,000 more than I would have if I accepted a job out of undergrad, but keep in mind that was in December 2004 and the job market is a lot better now. Median salary for my graduating class was about $52,000. This years class, it was $58,000. I'm not making $10,000 more than a 2006 graduate with my degree, but I'll be making $10,000 more than a 2004 grad would (and I'll have my Masters degree).
 

Tsaico

Platinum Member
Oct 21, 2000
2,669
0
0
I would say that a degree will almost always open up the door to make more money. From what I have seen, it seems the best way to get a good raise to find a new job. And on a piece of paper, what seperates people? Sure experience is always a factor, but I guarantee you that for every non-degree person with experience, there is one who has a degree. So not having it only hurts you.

It seems to be like this, to make good money, your chances are better at larger companies. The large companies tend to have policies on raisies that are matching your reviews. So a 90% on a review will equate to x% on your raise. THe higher the review the higher your raise. So making big jumps are unlikely. Unless you get a full promotion, this is not a good way to climb the paycheck ladder. If you work at a small company, they may not be able to pay you your 70k with benefits, simply because they do not have it, like you or not. Then some government jobs have a base requirement that is a degree. Without it, they do not even look at your resume.

So it comes down to statistics, while you may have a few examples to the contrary, your chances will always be better with a degree then without. Go to school.
 

Tarrant64

Diamond Member
Sep 20, 2004
3,203
0
76
School sucks.

Well, still glad I'm at least still in it. When asked to take the job I told them I'd accept but that I'd still be in school until I finished. I wanted to know if going that much further for the BS is worth it.
 

Azurik

Platinum Member
Jan 23, 2002
2,206
12
81
We don't even look at associate degrees here, need a minimum of a bachelor degree.
 

LS20

Banned
Jan 22, 2002
5,858
0
0
Originally posted by: Tarrant64
Nothing?

Ok, let me ask this then.

Is it true that if you have a bachelors, you will most likely always earn more than someone without one, or even an AAS? Does job experience matter between the two?

And what about Masters? Some people say going to some high-praised college to get a masters will mean getting sometimes twice the salary as someone who doesn't have one(possibly with more job experience)? Can someone shed some light because I thought that was all BS in the real world.

very obvious that, averaged, phd > ms > bs > aa > hs

however, the separation between them very much depends on the specific field

also, because the numbers ARE just average, a person without any degree could make as much as someone with a masters, or even more...

a vague answer, to a vague question, is that better degree = more money

if you have a specific position and salary in mind, we can define the footsteps needed to get there
 

LS20

Banned
Jan 22, 2002
5,858
0
0
Originally posted by: Tarrant64
Yeah, I'm in the 2 year AAS with micro tech. and in a good enough job to sit here for awhile. working at a quickly growing engineering company with a small IT group(8 or so people). fortunate to learn what I am learning now and hope to take that and expand elsewhere. i should end up doing well as the stats for growth last year were 20% and growing.

like i said though, finish up the AAS, and should the funding permit finish up my bachelors.



IT is contingent on practical experience and on-the-job learning. to enter, obviously itd be advantageous to have a better degree. however, if youre already in the door, and want to stay in this general field, degrees wouldnt do you much help.

there are cases where there are explicit ceilings based on education, but in general, if youre quick to learn new skillsets, and have good social skills, you can stick with it and get through the ranks
 

habib89

Diamond Member
Jan 17, 2001
3,599
0
0
i think it depends on what you do... for example at the nummi factory in fremont, ca... there are engineers that make a lot of money, but because of the union, the labor guys make really good money as well, as well as regular pay increases... and those guys have high school diplomas...

and then you gotta look at how much longer they've been working.. if you start right after high school, you've already earned 4-6 years (as opposed to bachelors or masters) more salary than the degreed folks.. so say the high school diploma makes 50k, and the person with a bachelors makes 60k, it'll take years to catch up
 

hanoverphist

Diamond Member
Dec 7, 2006
9,867
23
76
Originally posted by: Tarrant64
I guess the whole "if you work hard enough" thing doesn't apply anymore? there are some people I know without a bachelors(some college though) that are doing well off just off of hard work.

i figured if I kept it up I would eventually get there, but I'm not quitting school on a hunch. :)

in AZ an engineer trying to get his PE has to work under a PE for like 5 years worth of hours to qualify for it. you can also have equivalent work experience to replace that, which is 15 years in your field doing the same thing as you would working under a PE. i have a project manager with an eng degree from ASU like 20 years ago that is applying for his PE based on that, and a croatian drafting supervisor that has an eng deg from his country that is doing the same. neither have worked under a PE for any period of time, both are getting status from work experience.
 

jadinolf

Lifer
Oct 12, 1999
20,952
3
81
Originally posted by: nycxandy
If you are wondering whether you should go to college or not, the answer is yes.

:thumbsup:

You will see this as you get older.
 

MustISO

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
11,927
12
81
I know people who don't have college degrees making just as much or more than their peers. In some cases work experience (and talent) is worth much more.
 

habib89

Diamond Member
Jan 17, 2001
3,599
0
0
there are lots of ways to make money and be successful without a degree... a degree is just sort of a short cut, but it doesn't guarantee money or success