College graduates score higher-paying jobs

I'm a software engineer. Great way to make a living. My wife may not listen to me, my kids may not listen to me but DAMMIT, THIS MACHINE IS GOING TO DO WHAT I TELL IT.

What is the average starting salary for a full time poster on Yahoo Messageboards?

I went into engineering and it has been good for me. The course work was extremely difficult though. I often times studied until the wee hours of the morning. If you can hack it -- go for it. I think the drop-out rate is something like 50% though. In one calculus class I was in 40 people started, 17 finished; I got a C and was glad to get it! I'd say for engineering the numbers aren't too far off. If you have a liberal arts degree -- it's going to be a bit tougher to get a good job (not impossible).

I went with chemistry and pull down 125k a year...thanks everyone else for hating science and math

I'm a maintenance man, and I earned $60,000 last year, full benifits. Go figure.

I get a kick out of companies looking for Bachelor Degrees and Certifications in the I.T field as requirements just so they can pay you 14 bucks an hour. This country is fuked.

I have a GED and make 80,000 a year working on heavy equipment. I was paid 40,000 a year to learn it hands on. I have no student loans to pay off either. You all need to think about skilled labor in the trades. Help America get back to what it was built on. Too many people want that easy dollar...

Pretty sure petroleum engineers are the highest paid engineers, not software.

This is one of those articles that Yahoo writes from time to time to help sell advertising to all those online courses that's on the web. The fact is your grades had better be superior (3.5 or above) because the competition is intense. I'm an old guy that hires accountants, and grades are important and the way you handle yourself during an interview. Dress in a business suit, DO NOT let your cell phone ring AND ask 'intelligent' questions. You'd be surprised how many young people don't have any questions that matter.

None of this matters if you're miserable with your work. My next door neighbor used to be an engineer. His wife is a paralegal. They make decent money, but they hate their jobs. They are nice people, but are so miserable with how they spend 50+ hours of their weeks that none of it matters. They never have time to travel or go to the park.
My husband and I are artists and worked freelance when we lived next door to them. It's feast or famine. We would save money during the feasts to make it through the famines. We usually only work 2-3 days a week on average and enjoy lots of free time to be together as a family. They had a kid the same age as ours who lived in a ghetto daycare while they worked. They'd pull in at 6 pm with their irritable and see us playing in our yard or getting home from the beach and they'd give us dirty looks. Point is, we make less money but live better lives. My family has leisure time, and with some budgeting and creativity, we live a good life.

This shows how "far" we've come. Those in fields that help others, such as social services, education, etc. are paid the least. And we call ourselves an advanced society?

A degree is a license to fish but it will never guarantee that you will catch anything

I just graduated December '11 with a Psychology degree. I got a job making around 50,000 January '12. While my degree helped me stand out. My internship is what put my ahead. I worked very hard to get my internship and once I was in I networked like crazy. My advice is to grab an internship and network. I think that's very important when it comes to getting a good career.

Union trades and technicians are a good way to go also. Being blue collar doesn't mean anyone is lazy or stupid at all. It's a derogatory term IMO. I have met a lot of electricians, etc. who are very well paid geniuses. I am a union heavy equipment operator and make 30/hr, and it takes a tremendous amount of skill and responsibility, not just pushing levers like some people think. Too many people try to push kids through college, when in reality sometimes they would be happier or better off doing a skilled trade.

Is this a joke? I know business administration majors that work at Best Buy earning less than $10/hour. That's less than $20,000 a year - the American dream is slowly burning.

...because what's most important in life is what you earn.

Ridiculous. I work with people making $40k a year who are wealthy. I work with people making $130+ per year who are poor. It doesn't matter what you earn, people. What matters is that you do something you truly enjoy, and (and this is REALLY important) that you tailor your lifestyle AND your future financial plan to the income you're making today AS WELL as the projected income, taxes, benefits, and future needs (education, medical, retirement, etc.) you're likely to have. The problem with our nation is that people do not link their consumption to their level of income. It's generally a random relationship, so most people fail at expanding their wealth due to the complete lack of a plan.

It's wonderful that engineers make so much money. I'll tell my engineer neighbor that he should be the wealthiest guy on the block, instead of the old man who owns a pizza shop and loves what he does.

so about two weeks ago, there was an article on yahoo that suggested students not to major in engineering or architecture because there are no more jobs in those particular fields. now we should major in engineering all of a sudden 'cause yahoo gives us stupid statistics.

I would like to know where you are finding this information and what states you polled. I graduated in 2009 with BBA and I'm making $10/hour which is $20,800/ year in Texas. I am so far in debt because of student loans. I would love to make what you are reporting so I can pay my bills.
On a political note-just because Rick Perry has created jobs, doesnt mean they pay a above min wage. Most people who have received these jobs still live off the government. Maybe I should quit my job have about 5 kids and then I will be sitting very well!

I guess I can't complain that I have a job, but why, after four years experience, am I barely making more than the average graduate with no experience? Guess I just work for a corporation that doesn't throw money away to the people who help them make money.

I'm pretty sure I already knew these were the majors that did the best/worst. But maybe that's because I'm currently in college and I'm surrounded by this stuff everyday, so that's why this all kind of seems like common sense to me. Gotta remind myself not everyone is in college or ever was!

Having said that, it's not too shocking that liberal arts majors don't get paid as much. Sometimes people get lucky who don't have a full-on university degree and make tons of money while those who have their doctorate or close to it don't make nearly as much. Does a college degree matter anymore? Yeah, in a good economy, I think it does, but with what America's facing right now, it has mattered a little less when you consider that people with such high official educations equally can't find a job alongside someone with just a high school diploma or less, even. In the end we're all people with just varying skills and varying intellects trying to make our way in this world. It's not the money we make that matters, it's the people we've touched in a positive way and helped make better because of our jobs that matter. I think some people with ridiculously high salaries and who are so far out of touch with real people need to remember that. *cough*Politicians in Washington*cough*