Many try to judge the worth of a college by its caliber of courses, professors, and the abilities and talents of its students. Some attempt to judge the worth of a college by its tuition price, what it offers for social networking, and the number of majors it has. Of course, the worth of a college is individual, but one way to judge whether or not the tuition cost of a college is worth it may be by the money one earns after graduating with a degree from that college.
In her July 21st article in The New York Times, Catherine Rampell wrote about the site Payscale.com. This site is basically a data base that compiles the salaries of graduates from hundreds of universities and colleges. Because the site is hoping to help students and their parents consider the best school for their bucks, they only list salaries of graduates with a bachelor’s degree. It would be far more complex to try to compare the costs and values of higher degrees from different colleges.
Salaries are grouped into two main categories, the highest median starting salary which is the based on the average of salaries five years out from graduation, and the median mid career salary, based on salaries of graduates who have been working 10 years out from their degree-earned date. Rampell summarizes. Loma Linda, perhaps because of its nursing, dental, and allied health programs, had the highest median starting salary; Dartmouth and Yale graduates had the highest mid career salaries. Students majoring in engineering had the best starting salaries, and students from Ivy League schools had the best mid career salaries. The best salaries are earned by people majoring in engineering, science, and math. Some of the majors that net the worst salaries are in elementary education, fine arts and drama, and social work.
Of course, because value is individual, it all depends on what a student is looking for. One may want to go into social services. Another may want to have the Ivy experience. Both factors, based on the above, could still effect good salaries.
