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How much did you make from your first job after graduating from College?

First job salary

  • $0-20,000

    Votes: 4 16.0%

  • $20,001-40,000

    Votes: 14 56.0%

  • $40,001-60,000

    Votes: 5 20.0%

  • $60,001-80,000

    Votes: 2 8.0%

  • $80,001-100,000

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • $100,001+

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    25
G

gbkrip

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 17, 2011
90
0
Nebraska
Hi all,

I saw the ongoing debt after college thread and thought another interesting topic is income after graduation.

In my experience, jobs straight out of college tend not to pay very well. I wonder if this is because that is what an entry level job pays OR if perhaps there is some aspect of experience with negotiation that new graduates simply don't have when it comes to negotiating job terms.

Lets see what you think! Please comment on your experience with your first job and salary negotiation. Also, please include your major/degree and your graduation year.

Thanks!
 
Last edited:
I made $22,000 in 1994 teaching after earning my B.S. in Science Education from the University of Central Florida.
 
gbkrip said:
Hi all,

I saw the ongoing debt after college thread and thought another interesting topic is income after graduation.

In my experience, jobs straight out of college tend not to pay very well. I wonder if this is because that is what an entry level job pays OR if perhaps there is some aspect of experience with negotiation that new graduates simply don't have when it comes to negotiating job terms.

Lets see what you think! Please comment on your experience with your first job and salary negotiation. Also, please include your major/degree.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Good question!

I graduated with a Computer Science degree. Throughout college, I worked, then managed the 3 computer labs at my university at that time. From there, my first job was a systems administrator at my hometown's biggest bank.

The thing that hurt as far as a decent rate of pay when you are starting out is when a company wants "x years experience". It puts you into a bit of a Catch-22 situation, because you need the job to gain the experience, but can't get the job because you don't have the professional experience!

That's what happened in my case, and it was up to the company to take the chance with me. They did, and offered me $30000/year for the job. That was okay for me, especially seeing that I was barely making $5.50/hr at my university, and that had to be under 40 hours/week. So triple the pay? I definitely took it.

Now, granted, this was a little under 20 years ago, and in the midwest USA, so cost of living was very low. $30000 there in 1997 would be roughly equivalent to $45000 - $50000 in a major area.

Experience definitely plays a factor when it comes to even having the job offered to you, let alone getting called back. There is where it is stacked against the graduate, as the employer has to take that leap of faith in you to bring you on. But as long as you keep pushing and getting your name out there, it definitely will happen.

BL.
 
Half of the median household income in the county. Had the opportunity to earn twice the median household income in the county. This is with a PhD in a STEM field.

I'll leave it at that.
 
mobilehaathi said:
Half of the median household income in the county. Had the opportunity to earn twice the median household income in the county. This is with a PhD in a STEM field.

I'll leave it at that.
Click to expand...

And that was your first job out of the blocks?!?

:eek:

BL.
 
AustinIllini said:
$60,001-80,000

BS in Chemical Engineering Major @ University of Illinois
Click to expand...

Nice. How hard was it finding that job? Did you find it by randomly applying or via connections from school?

smithrh said:
Need to factor in when someone graduated for this to make sense.
Click to expand...

This is an excellent point. I will edit the OP.

mobilehaathi said:
Half of the median household income in the county. Had the opportunity to earn twice the median household income in the county. This is with a PhD in a STEM field.

I'll leave it at that.
Click to expand...

Engineer? :p
 
In 1972 I was Ph.D. (ABD)...just my dissertation to complete, and earned $15,000. Considering what my wife and I lived on in the years prior to that...it was GIANT money!
 
OP, I notice you're from Nebraska. Is that were you're at college at as well?

I ask because I was born/raised in Omaha. Graduated from Nebraska, and first job was at First National Bank of Omaha. If so, you should be able to just go back roughly 20 years and look at the median income for that time, and you should catch mine at roughly the low end of that.

BL.
 
Graduated from The Ohio State University with a BA in Computer Science and Engineering in 2009. Made right around 41,000 right off the bat when I went full time with the company. I had been working with them as a 30 hours per week intern previously so they knew my work ethic and the like. I felt lucky to be making over 40,000 right out of college.
 
bradl said:
OP, I notice you're from Nebraska. Is that were you're at college at as well?

I ask because I was born/raised in Omaha. Graduated from Nebraska, and first job was at First National Bank of Omaha. If so, you should be able to just go back roughly 20 years and look at the median income for that time, and you should catch mine at roughly the low end of that.

BL.
Click to expand...

Yessir. I've been in Omaha for 12 years. Grew up and went to school here. Really like Omaha actually (as everyone who has never been to Nebraska loses their mind imagining nothing but corn ;) ).

----------
prostuff1 said:
Graduated from The Ohio State University with a BA in Computer Science and Engineering in 2009. Made right around 41,000 right off the bat when I went full time with the company. I had been working with them as a 30 hours per week intern previously so they knew my work ethic and the like. I felt lucky to be making over 40,000 right out of college.
Click to expand...

I'm curious, how did the transition happen from intern to full time? Did they offer you a better salary than your equivalent hourly pay as an intern was? Did you try to negotiate at all?
 
gbkrip said:
Nice. How hard was it finding that job? Did you find it by randomly applying or via connections from school?
Click to expand...

I came out of school in the recession, so jobs were a little harder to find. I had two offers and have since changed jobs. That was in 2010 where about half my colleagues graduated unemployed. By one year post graduation, nearly all my peers in ChemE had jobs in some discipline of ChemE.
 
AustinIllini said:
I came out of school in the recession, so jobs were a little harder to find. I had two offers and have since changed jobs. That was in 2010 where about half my colleagues graduated unemployed. By one year post graduation, nearly all my peers in ChemE had jobs in some discipline of ChemE.
Click to expand...

That's great. Congratulations! I would say I naively expect success for graduates in that field though, even during the difficult times of the recession.
 
Graduated this past december. Landed a temp job in Feb. with BOA/ML. Totally entry level call center work only making about 23k a year.

Worked all through school had a management position with a small business cellphone dealer. 7 years of sales and management experience that really hasn't helped out at all. This job market is just flooded with people taking up the good paying jobs.

Oh and I forgot, I have my BS in Business Admin major in management.
 
gbkrip said:
That's great. Congratulations! I would say I naively expect success for graduates in that field though, even during the difficult times of the recession.
Click to expand...

It got really ugly for a couple of years there, but energy, specialty chemicals, and pharma react to market changes differently than the usual industries.

Also note, the jobs pay well but there is normally a great deal of travel involved. I would be lying if I didn't admit the jobs have put strain on my relationship with my wife at times. Considering leaving the field to teach HS Chemistry, Physics, or Math.
 
My first job right out of college - with a mechanical engineering degree - was a little over $26k a year.

I was very happy to have it - minimum wage at the time was $3.35 an hour, so it was s HUGE pay increase for me. :cool:
 
Graduated a year ago but I'm still doing the job I had during college for the last four years... Making about $36,000 which was awesome during college... not so much now.
 
2008 - $57,000 as a software developer.

Of course, location matters. $57,000 is a good salary for a starting developer here in the midwest. Out in Silicon Valley, $57,000 would get me a nice cardboard box under the Bay Bridge so I'd imagine starting salaries are a lot higher.
 
I graduated in May 2013 with a BS in Accounting. Three days after graduation, I began working for my state as an auditor of local government entities. I started at $45,500, but we got a cost of living adjustment a few weeks after I started, so essentially I was making ~$46,400 after a month or so. I live in the south, so cost of living is pretty low compared to many other places.
 
gbkrip said:
I'm curious, how did the transition happen from intern to full time? Did they offer you a better salary than your equivalent hourly pay as an intern was? Did you try to negotiate at all?
Click to expand...
Essentially yes. Along with a pay increase came the health benefits and the like.

Quite honestly I did not bother to negotiate a higher pay. I thought what they offered me was fair for just having gotten out of school. I worked for them for about 6 month before graduating. I actually spread my last quarter of classes out over two quarters so that I could work more hours for them. The benefit of that was they payed for one class each quarter. They were very good to me and understanding about class schedule and the like.
 
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