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What's Your STEM Degree Worth?

Posted by samzenpus on from the doing-the-math dept.

Jim_Austin writes A recent study by economist Douglas Webber calculates the lifetime earnings premium of college degrees in various broad areas, accounting for selection bias--that is, for the fact that people who already are likely to do well are also more likely to go to college. These premiums are not small. Science Careers got exclusive access to major-specific data, and published an article that tells how much more you can expect to earn because you got that college degree--for engineering, physics, computer science, chemistry, and biology majors.

3 of 148 comments (clear)

  1. Not the data I was looking for... by houstonbofh · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I was hoping it would show the fields and the difference, such as between CompSci with and without degree. Not. It is CompSci degree vs Burger King? Well, duh...

    1. Re:Not the data I was looking for... by viperidaenz · · Score: 4, Insightful

      and for entry-level positions, we tend to ignore undergrad degrees entirely (great, you know how to learn... but what have you learned?).

      Isn't the point of hiring for an entry-level position finding someone who knows how to learn? If you expect them to know it all already, it's not entry-level.

  2. It's Worth Very Little by KermodeBear · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It gives me a paycheck every two weeks but the work is utterly devoid of personal fulfillment. If I had known fifteen years ago what to expect from a career in software I would have spent my time getting a completely different degree.

    --
    Love sees no species.