Reply to Universities Ranked By Earnings Data: CS Graduates

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The data is not perfect, but at least it is impartial coming from the government database.  There are many factors to take into account when reviewing:

1.  What %age of graduates are actually working in the CS field vs. working for a hedge fund or some other higher-paying profession;
2.  How many graduates are working in higher cost of living / higher salary areas...Boston, NYC, SFO will pay higher salaries for the same job vs. a U Michigan graduate that stays in MI...even the same company will pay differently based on location;
3.  How many graduates are working for start-ups that will pay lower salaries but offer stock and other incentives...that likely pulls down the median for MIT, Stanford, etc.  I bet someone that started at Google in 1997 likely had just an OK salary by 2002 but possibly stock options worth $10MM+...not sure that is captured in any of this data

Now, you may argue that the value of the top schools is the optionality...however, there has never been a study showing that an MIT grad working for Google in Boston makes more than a UMD grad working for Google in Boston in the identical role.  That doesn't happen.[/quote]

Agree on these factors.  I would also be interested in knowing how many of the graduates went on to grad school -- that's going to bring down anyone's average because grad school stipends are like $24K but like the start-up kids, some of them are going to move into very well paying jobs in 5-10 years.

Re: UMD grad vs MIT grad at the same job in the same location -- I sure hope they're both making the same amount of money!  I think the idea is that they are likely to be more MIT grads working for Google in Boston than UMD grads, bringing up the average salary of MIT grads.  That being said, I wouldn't say that an MIT grad working at Google in Boston making $150K is necessarily "better" off than a UMD grad making $100K at the NSA in MD over the course of their career.[/quote]

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