OT--Government Released College Statistics (Yet Another Reason to Choose UM over MSU, OSU)

Submitted by gremlin on

Average salary ten years after attending UM: USD 57,900.

Average salary ten years after attending MSU: USD 49,800.

Average salary ten years after attending OSU: USD 42,600.

 

https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/search/?state=MI&sort=advantage:desc

https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/search/?state=OH&name=ohio%20state&sort…

Everyone Murders

September 13th, 2015 at 9:57 PM ^

This is not a close case. UofM >>>>OSU & MSU academically and professionally. We don't need random stats to confirm that. The issue's on the field of play - with OSU historically and with MSU recently. Not in the classroom, boardroom, or elsewhere.

Tagg

September 13th, 2015 at 10:02 PM ^

It reminds me of the old Northwestern chant of "it's alright, it's ok, you're going to work for us someday!" when they were down by 30 against Michigan. When NW was good for a few years I never heard that chant at Ryan Field. 

vablue

September 13th, 2015 at 9:54 PM ^

I graduated as an engineer and there were a lot of other graduates that were a bit disappointed what they ended up earning.  Many people focus on what the top or average students get, they forget what the bottom students get.  Michigan does have a good size engineering school, but it also has a huge liberal arts school, those graduates make very little. 

I have mentioned this before on this board and I will say it again.  As great as a Michigan degree can be for the top performers, if you find yourself in the middle or bottom of the pact you are no better off than those in the middle or bottom of the pact from any other school and your salary will reflect that.  Thus that average number is not as high as some might expect. There is a lot of data that shows if you are in the middle or bottom of your class at an upper echelon school, you would have been far better off going to a lower ranked school and finishing higher in your class.  I guess this goes to the old philosophy of making sure you are the smartest person in the room.

gwkrlghl

September 13th, 2015 at 9:59 PM ^

Many employers use a strict 3.0 cut-off and really only check to make sure a) your school is a decent accredited one and b) that you have work experience. You're far, far better off going to say Western, getting a 3.5 and getting some work experience versus going to Michigan, getting a 2.5 and no work experience. That Western grad will be smoking the Michigan grad in no time

Wendyk5

September 13th, 2015 at 11:21 PM ^

OK, so I graduated a long time ago (25 years +) with an LS & A degree. When I semi-retired from a full-time career to a part time career (really to hang with my kids while they grew up), I was making more than twice the median in a "liberal arts" field. Not a lawyer, doctor, or finance person. Could have made more if I wanted more responsibility and a management position, which I didn't. I think it depends on what you do, who you are, how ambitious you are, and how good you are at your job. It's what you do with what you have that counts. 

 

Wendyk5

September 14th, 2015 at 10:36 AM ^

I guess my point is that a liberal arts degree isn't all gloom and doom. Times are different now than 25 years ago in regard to the growth of the tech sector and STEM focused jobs but I still think there is value in a liberal arts degree depending on what you choose to do with it.

NJWolverine

September 14th, 2015 at 7:07 AM ^

The only additional point I would make is that "top" is relative.  I still think there's more slack for STEM majors than for others.  For example, I had several friends in the BBA program, and it was generally the impression that you needed to be at the very top of the BBA program to get offers to work on Wall Street or Chicago.  I had a good friend who was "average" (3.3) in the b-school, and ended up taking on debt to go to an average law school because he didn't want to be a "glorified secretary" making $40,000 per year.  He ended up doing well, but only because he finished at the very top of his class in law school, but it's a cautionary tale nevertheless.

Another observation is the importance of STEM majors.  It just cannot be stressed enough.  If you look at NJ, a local engineering school many of you have never even heard of, the Stevens Institute of Technology, has an average salary of $82,800, whereas Princeton University (a school you probably have heard of), only has an average salary of $75,100.

Esterhaus

September 13th, 2015 at 10:18 PM ^

 

Never judge a man by the size of his wallet.*

 

 

*I'm no sourgrapes here. Easy 1%er today although we choose to live lowkey with exception of travel and world exploration. We also work separately >3,000 hours/year. WTF cares.

Sopwith

September 14th, 2015 at 12:21 AM ^

... the purported biographical info at the end could read as follows:

*I'm actually either (a) an internet rich guy, i.e. an average joe, or (b) an actual rich guy who is so supremely insecure that I'm worried people on the internet might think I'm poor, or god forbid, think I'm only top 10%, so I need to proclaim both my household income percentile, working hours, and "world exploration" publicly.  

WTF cares? Evidently, you do.

Here's my rewrite of your post to make it better:

"Never judge a man by the size of his wallet."   

End. See? Better, amirite?

 

Esterhaus

September 14th, 2015 at 12:27 AM ^

 

If I did not admit to the information that aggrieves you so, I would certainly be perceived by most as a sourgrapes type. "I don't have it so you shouldn't have it." There is too much of this sentiment at Michigan, the State and the University, and it is counterproductive. You personally don't need money to be successful as a human being. That is all.

Zoltanrules

September 13th, 2015 at 10:35 PM ^

If you look at top STEM undergrad schools : MIT , CalTech, Mudd, Stanford, Princeton the average starting salaries are $70k. If you are in state, UM Engineering is a great return on investment. And if you happen to be female you can write you own paycheck.

ThirdVanGundy

September 13th, 2015 at 10:39 PM ^

I've been outta college for about 15 years and I just eclipsed 45 grand. Damn Journalism. But I love it, so I'll stay.

gopoohgo

September 13th, 2015 at 10:54 PM ^

This statistic effectively eliminates physicians' high income. 10 years after undergrad enrollment would means you would be at most a resident making 40-60k.

taistreetsmyhero

September 13th, 2015 at 10:56 PM ^

you've got 4-5 years of undergrad, then 4-6 years of graduate school. If you're doing medical school, you've got 4-7 years of residency after 4 years of medical school, and during residency you're making about $50k, and then fellowships after that that can last 1-4 years. So it's a long haul before you're hitting that median value.

arsenal926

September 13th, 2015 at 11:02 PM ^

This would be such an awesome set of data if it was segmented the salaries out by major. Wish the government would present legit information that shows how specific majors are doing at specific schools when you have to fill out a Fafsa. I've seen many people attend a school like Michigan and just assume they made it. Then they get pissed when  the EMU accounting grads are making a 30K higher starting salary with much better growth prospects.

wolfman81

September 13th, 2015 at 11:07 PM ^

Here is a link to starting STEM salaries: http://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200911/physicsmajors.cfm Depending on your discipline, you start at $55k to $65k (Note: Data is from 2009...so you can probably add some to the numbers stated there, but not 3%/year due to the economic conditions since 2009). So, yes, if you graduate more STEM graduates, you would expect to do well in this metric. Kettering, Tech, Rose Hulman would be big winners here. Again, it is about value added.

SpikeFan2016

September 13th, 2015 at 11:10 PM ^

Also, you can't measure the value of a degree purely in terms of salary. It's a big part of it, but there are many more factors like overall experience, intellectual rigor/prestige, and connections/networking. 

bacon1431

September 13th, 2015 at 11:13 PM ^

Its a somewhat pointless study unless you look at the numbers for individual majors. And some undergrad degrees have no earning potential. If your bachelor degree is in one of the humanities, you aren't going to do anything with it until you get your masters. So that delays your earning potential another year or two. Then there's a degree like social work where you don't make a ton unless you become an agency administrator but that takes more than 6 years after undergrad