Anonymous wrote:Salary surveys are notoriously difficult to interpret.

The sample sizes are small, and self-selecting -- both big no-nos in statistics.

There are regional variations, with cost-of-living and local employers. A CalState that is located within convenient distance of Silicon Valley may have a higher salary than an Ivy, or a decent flagship state school, especially since the latter are often located out in the hinterlands.

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Anonymous wrote:Helps if you change your last name to Singh...

Also helps if you are not a minority...

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Anonymous wrote:I know of a 2015 Berkeley CS graduate whose starting salary was about $230,000 but in the So Cal not Nor Cal. Still surprising for a BS holder right out of college.

What is the typical starting salary for top CS graduates (top 10%) from Stanford/Berkeley headed to top SV firms?

Anonymous wrote:Interesting that there are big differences in starting salaries between colleges like Cal Poly (very affordable state school) vs. Stanford but not much difference in the top 10 for mid-career salary.

Doesn't seem like Stanford/MIT are worth the investment long-term, unless you are a lower income family that qualifies for a lot of aid.

Anonymous wrote:I know of a 2015 Berkeley CS graduate whose starting salary was about $230,000 but in the So Cal not Nor Cal. Still surprising for a BS holder right out of college.

Anonymous wrote:Some CEO of tech startup Dittach doesn't hire CS majors because he says colleges do a "rotten job of teaching them skills". He wants people who are great coders, and most taught themselves to code in high school, and don't even need a degree. He says CS departments at universities are 10 years behind in a field that changes every ten minutes.

Anonymous wrote:Helps if you change your last name to Singh...

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Anonymous wrote:Remember that people are more likely to take their first job near where their university is (more connections, no move needed) and those universities in CA have a high cost of living so salaries are also higher. Then places like Carnegie Mellon are in Pittsburgh where cost of living is much lower and salaries accordingly.

The variation in salaries from #1 to #20 on the list isn't that great -- I think you'd do well with any of those universities.

Wouldn't many CMU graduates move away from PA for job purposes to other major cities as well (NY, DC SF etc.) and thus subject to the same high cost of living. My guess is CMU graduates would not find many jobs near campus.

I went to CMU. It's geography. Remember IT people are needed in every company, not just software companies. So let's say you're a mid-sized industrial products company. You're going to recruit at the local universities, but not fly recruiters out to other universities. There were a bunch of companies at CMU who recruited there simply because they were in Pittsburgh or Ohio, but they aren't companies you'd usually hear of, like Air Products, Westinghouse, PPG. I know many people who took jobs at places like that. Often they just wanted to stay in the area because they had friends who were also staying.

Yes, Google, Facebook and big guys like that fly around to recruit, but the smaller ones don't. Then, CMU grads who do leave Pittsburgh end up dispersed, so not only in high-wage areas like SF and NYC, but also cheaper cities like Chicago and Dallas.

Computer science majors don't usually go into IT. They become software developers and computer engineers. Most IT professionals have an information systems degree if they have a degree at all. Many only have certifications for the equipment that they work on - not that there's anything wrong with that. They do well in the field with those certifications.

Is degrees are mainly for systems design, architects, management.

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Anonymous wrote:Remember that people are more likely to take their first job near where their university is (more connections, no move needed) and those universities in CA have a high cost of living so salaries are also higher. Then places like Carnegie Mellon are in Pittsburgh where cost of living is much lower and salaries accordingly.

The variation in salaries from #1 to #20 on the list isn't that great -- I think you'd do well with any of those universities.

Wouldn't many CMU graduates move away from PA for job purposes to other major cities as well (NY, DC SF etc.) and thus subject to the same high cost of living. My guess is CMU graduates would not find many jobs near campus.

I went to CMU. It's geography. Remember IT people are needed in every company, not just software companies. So let's say you're a mid-sized industrial products company. You're going to recruit at the local universities, but not fly recruiters out to other universities. There were a bunch of companies at CMU who recruited there simply because they were in Pittsburgh or Ohio, but they aren't companies you'd usually hear of, like Air Products, Westinghouse, PPG. I know many people who took jobs at places like that. Often they just wanted to stay in the area because they had friends who were also staying.

Yes, Google, Facebook and big guys like that fly around to recruit, but the smaller ones don't. Then, CMU grads who do leave Pittsburgh end up dispersed, so not only in high-wage areas like SF and NYC, but also cheaper cities like Chicago and Dallas.

Computer science majors don't usually go into IT. They become software developers and computer engineers. Most IT professionals have an information systems degree if they have a degree at all. Many only have certifications for the equipment that they work on - not that there's anything wrong with that. They do well in the field with those certifications.