So it's a good thing my daughter is majoring in mechanical engineering.

CDUB98 said:

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jpb1999 said:

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Saxsoon said:

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Finance at my company is paying fresh out of college something like 85k here in Texas

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Excuse my ignorance, but what company and what job does someone do with a Finance major?

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Analyze financial models within a company for a multitude of things.

Work for investment backs as analysts for stocks.

Work for financial firms creating models for best investments.

There are many more. Finance is actually not an easy degree.

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I'd say those days are kind of over. Modeling is being done by a comp sci, math, physics and stat majors.

People can do stock analysis with any major. The best investment firms are selecting bright individuals who can read, analyze, and synthesize what they have just read, and then write that down and communicate it to others. Basically the stuff found in good old-fashioned liberal arts degrees, with an extra background in accounting and math.

If you want a career in investment banking or private equity, finance may be worthwhile, but these fields can also be as much about connections and experience as your major.

As an aerospace engineer, it is worth noting that a lot of these engineering jobs start paying well, but do not increase at the rate other things do.

I remember my starting salary in 1984 because it was a very round number. When I adjust that salary in 1984 to its equivalent in 2025, it is right at 50% of what I make now. So in 41 years of work, I've doubled my salary in real dollars.

Now, it's been a pretty high salary all that time - I crossed into the 6 figures in 2002. But engineers, in general, don't ever cross into the crazy money unless you get out of engineering with your company.

fc2112 said:

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As an aerospace engineer, it is worth noting that a lot of these engineering jobs start paying well, but do not increase at the rate other things do.

I remember my starting salary in 1984 because it was a very round number. When I adjust that salary in 1984 to its equivalent in 2025, it is right at 50% of what I make now. So in 41 years of work, I've doubled my salary in real dollars.

Now, it's been a pretty high salary all that time - I crossed into the 6 figures in 2002. But engineers, in general, don't ever cross into the crazy money unless you get out of engineering with your company.

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Some of the richest people I have known were engineers who eventually left their employers to start their own companies/firms.

Buck Turgidson said:

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jpb1999 said:

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Saxsoon said:

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Finance at my company is paying fresh out of college something like 85k here in Texas

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Excuse my ignorance, but what company and what job does someone do with a Finance major?

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From the OP's link:

"Finance majors emerge from their undergraduate studies as budding experts in areas such as stocks, bonds, wealth management, financial planning, investment banking, and venture capitalism. Future Wall Street wolves hoping to enter a major financial firm such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, or BlackRock would do well to attend a college or university that serves as direct pipelines to such companies."

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The change to 'what school did you attend' was already happening when I got onto the street back in the early 00s. HR departments were already moving away from the old school NY ways of hiring the MD's nephew as an assistant trader to book trades and learn while the older guys spent the summer Fridays in the Hamptons. My resume wasn't even been looked at because I didn't have a 3.5 GPA from an Ivy; even worse, my degree was from a poduck ag school in Texas

Our daughter is graduating today with an Electrical and Computer Engineering degree!

That movie is still the best depiction of what the street looked and felt like during the days leading up to Lehman's failure. Complete and total risk-off.

jpb1999 said:

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Saxsoon said:

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Finance at my company is paying fresh out of college something like 85k here in Texas

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Excuse my ignorance, but what company and what job does someone do with a Finance major?

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1) Budgeting, forecasting, and reporting to executive management why the company didn't meet the budget or the forecast.
2) Capital planning. How much new equipment can we afford to buy now, and will it be worth it.
3) Investment analysis. Where should rich people put their money.
4) Mergers & Acquisitions. How much should we pay to buy this competitor that has gone from mom and pop to a competitive threat. Or how much should we tell this mom and pop they should charge the industries 800 pound gorilla to buy them, fire all their people, and make them go away.
5) Capital finance. How much money should we lend to this company based on the collateral that they have, and what interest rate can we charge.
6) Financial reporting. How much should we tell investors we made last quarter, how do we make that look as good as possible, and how do we tell them that things are looking as rosy as possible next quarter.

Saxsoon said:

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Finance at my company is paying fresh out of college something like 85k here in Texas

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Can confirm. My son graduated last year in Finance and is almost exactly there.

Mrs. Degrees still pay pretty well.

Biggest problem I see with the data is there has basically been zero salary increases in the past 25 years. Came out of graduate school making $77K with a signing bonus. Sounds like it's the same now. Costs have skyrocketed since then. You add on any college debt and it's challenging to get a family started.

I am a chemical engineer which has historically had a higher percentage of women compared to other engineering fields. It was probably 75/25 back when I was in school. It might be 60/40 now.

That $79k/year number can vary significantly by region. Along the Gulf Coast, most engineers worth having cross the $100k barrier within 3-5 years.

I agree with FC that if you stay on the technical side, you tend to limit your income potential (although there are some exceptions). In my company we have Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) that do quite nicely. The other option is to move up the ranks on the management side. Much more upside there.

There are definitely fields with much higher ceilings, but very few with higher floors.

fc2112 said:

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https://www.collegetransitions.com/blog/highest-paying-college-majors/

Using data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New Yorkand factoring in both early and mid-career salariesthese are the ten highest-paying college majors along with the average salary reported by graduates aged 22-27 for 2025

1) Computer Engineering: $80,000
2) Chemical Engineering: $79,000
3) Computer Science: $78,000
4) Aerospace Engineering: $74,000
5) Electrical Engineering: $72,000
6) Industrial Engineering: $71,000
7) Mechanical Engineering: $70,000
8) Finance: $66,000
9) Economics: $65,000
10) Construction Services: $64,000

Is there a single one of these majors that has more that 20% women? Here are some specific examples of the gender disparity of some of these majors:

https://studysoup.com/blog/education-2/college-majors-with-the-greatest-gender-disparities/

Computer Engineering - Percent male students: 87.4%; Percent female students: 12.6%
Computer Science - Percent male students: 82.2%; Percent female students: 17.8%
Electrical Engineering - Percent male students: 85.6%; Percent female students: 14.4%
Mechanical Engineering - Percent male students: 85.7%; Percent female students: 14.3%

If people are concerned about pay disparity, why aren't they majoring in things that pay a lot more?

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These are likely to be higher-paying fields because women aren't in them. Assuming men don't stop applying for those jobs, all adding more female applicants will do is expand the applicant field, the expected outcome of which would be lower starting salaries.

LeftyAg89 said:

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fc2112 said:

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If people are concerned about pay disparity, why aren't they majoring in things that pay a lot more?

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Isn't the pay disparity when you are comparing apples to apples?
Female CS major vs Male CS major? etc

Anyway, a friend of mine from my middle school days is a lawyer and she took her firm to court... and was awarded $275,000 in back pay for 2014! LeClairRyanLawsuit

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No in fact its the opposite. At least for the 70cents on the dollar crap that folks used to quote for a while

Do a lot of women get paid less for the same job then men? Yes, absolutely. But there's more to it than the usual sexism/ racism garbage.

Men negotiate more aggressively. Men are often breadwinners in the family. Women sometimes can be the 2nd earner, so there isn't as much pressure. Also, if you get paid less, it can sometimes/often means less stress, something that is more likely to appeal to a woman. Guys would rather get paid more, women would rather have a less stressful life, because they also have the whole family/nurturing part to deal with.

Kenneth_2003 said:

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aggie93 said:

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2 highest paying majors in Texas are Maritime Engineering Technology and Maritime Transportation down at Galveston and they are also 80/20. Of the women who do get the degree few want to stay out on boats for more than a few years. You can make great money with great benefits, isn't even that academically rigorous compared to some of the majors on that list (not easy but not like going Chem E from College Station). My son is graduating in August and weighing multiple 6 figure offers at 21. Truth is even a lot of men aren't willing to make the sacrifices and put in the work necessary for it in spite of the comp.

The reality is life has very few easy buttons, you have to put in the work and make hard choices to succeed unless you are just extremely lucky (and often those folks squander their success). Most women want to major in the same things and they tend to be soft skill jobs in comfortable offices (or at home) that have lots of human interaction. Jobs lots of people can do and thus they don't pay well. There are definitely exceptions to the rule but they are exceptions.

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Can do a few years offshore and come back and work to become a harbor pilot and effectively set your own schedule. Another option i've seen and there is demand for, though it's a work your way up kinda thing, but working harbor tugs. Either way if you're holding a USCG Master Mariner or Captains license, you're going to set your schedule.

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Harbor pilot is the hard gig to get but there are a LOT of different directions you can go with varying time on the water. Tankers, LNG, tugs, containers, and many other applications. It will always be cheapest to move goods by water. Have to pay your dues but there are a lot more guarantees for a successful career than 90 plus percent of degree fields. A lot more demand than supply and while AI may impact it some long term I don't envision a world where we let ships that are worth hundreds of millions in terms of an asset and cargo float the seas without some humans on board and the guys with the licenses are the ones you can't do without.

BBRex said:

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fc2112 said:

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https://www.collegetransitions.com/blog/highest-paying-college-majors/

Using data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New Yorkand factoring in both early and mid-career salariesthese are the ten highest-paying college majors along with the average salary reported by graduates aged 22-27 for 2025

1) Computer Engineering: $80,000
2) Chemical Engineering: $79,000
3) Computer Science: $78,000
4) Aerospace Engineering: $74,000
5) Electrical Engineering: $72,000
6) Industrial Engineering: $71,000
7) Mechanical Engineering: $70,000
8) Finance: $66,000
9) Economics: $65,000
10) Construction Services: $64,000

Is there a single one of these majors that has more that 20% women? Here are some specific examples of the gender disparity of some of these majors:

https://studysoup.com/blog/education-2/college-majors-with-the-greatest-gender-disparities/

Computer Engineering - Percent male students: 87.4%; Percent female students: 12.6%
Computer Science - Percent male students: 82.2%; Percent female students: 17.8%
Electrical Engineering - Percent male students: 85.6%; Percent female students: 14.4%
Mechanical Engineering - Percent male students: 85.7%; Percent female students: 14.3%

If people are concerned about pay disparity, why aren't they majoring in things that pay a lot more?

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These are likely to be higher-paying fields because women aren't in them. Assuming men don't stop applying for those jobs, all adding more female applicants will do is expand the applicant field, the expected outcome of which would be lower starting salaries.

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Finance and Economics seem like they'd have quite a bit of women. Certainly more than engineering.

Tex100 said:

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mirose said:

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If you have an economics degree and you are unemployed you just aren't trying.

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. Really? What skills does an economic major possess?

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WE GIT MONEY!

Tex100 said:

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mirose said:

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If you have an economics degree and you are unemployed you just aren't trying.

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. Really? What skills does an economic major possess?

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I used the knowledge from my econ BS degree many times right out of.college building production models using derivatives. Was a very handy skillet. Haven't needed it in a decade but was glad I had the knowledge and it helped in my career

aggie93 said:

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2 highest paying majors in Texas are Maritime Engineering Technology and Maritime Transportation down at Galveston and they are also 80/20. Of the women who do get the degree few want to stay out on boats for more than a few years. You can make great money with great benefits, isn't even that academically rigorous compared to some of the majors on that list (not easy but not like going Chem E from College Station). My son is graduating in August and weighing multiple 6 figure offers at 21. Truth is even a lot of men aren't willing to make the sacrifices and put in the work necessary for it in spite of the comp.

The reality is life has very few easy buttons, you have to put in the work and make hard choices to succeed unless you are just extremely lucky (and often those folks squander their success). Most women want to major in the same things and they tend to be soft skill jobs in comfortable offices (or at home) that have lots of human interaction. Jobs lots of people can do and thus they don't pay well. There are definitely exceptions to the rule but they are exceptions.

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I've gotten to know a couple guys in those careers and while it's not easy on family life they make a lot of money and with the lengthy time at sea or on shore there's a balance.

But I can tell you that nobody ever brought these kinds of careers to our attention in the early-90's when I was in HS.

GeorgiAg said:

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Wait until you see the garbage collector and roofer gender gaps.

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One of these refuses the other.

Whoever edits that site / content is prob *****ing about what they make, yet the idiots list construction at number 10 at 64k, meanwhile they have civil engineering at 65k. I guess math is hard. Not to mention 65k is too low for civil.

jpb1999 said:

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Saxsoon said:

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Finance at my company is paying fresh out of college something like 85k here in Texas

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Excuse my ignorance, but what company and what job does someone do with a Finance major?

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Son just moved to new gig- 2 yrs out of aTm. New pay- $140k

AggieStan said:

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jpb1999 said:

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Saxsoon said:

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Finance at my company is paying fresh out of college something like 85k here in Texas

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Excuse my ignorance, but what company and what job does someone do with a Finance major?

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Son just moved to new gig- 2 yrs out of aTm. New pay- $140k

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I'm sorry but I tell my son all the time. When you get out of school if you are willing to work you can make 150k within 2 years out of college. Maybe I just see things differently but I don't understand how it is that hard to make 100k a year. People just don't want to switch careers or try. This jobs are everywhere. I have 24 year olds making 200k that work for me.

sleepybeagle said:

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Yep... Every college in every university should be REQUIRED to publish a Return on Investment in years for each of their degrees.

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The underlying myth of a college degree is that you need one to succeed. This is a lie reinforced time and time again by colleges and universities.

Higher learning needs this myth to employ the liberal arts and humanities departments which basically are worthless degrees that drive up costs and student debt. That is why it is almost 2/3rds of individuals owing most of the loan debt are women.

The bottom line is that it is the major that will get you that success and not a piece of parchment with your name on it.

And of course, these degrees are difficult.

ChemEng94 said:

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I am a chemical engineer which has historically had a higher percentage of women compared to other engineering fields. It was probably 75/25 back when I was in school. It might be 60/40 now.

That $79k/year number can vary significantly by region. Along the Gulf Coast, most engineers worth having cross the $100k barrier within 3-5 years.

I agree with FC that if you stay on the technical side, you tend to limit your income potential (although there are some exceptions). In my company we have Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) that do quite nicely. The other option is to move up the ranks on the management side. Much more upside there.

There are definitely fields with much higher ceilings, but very few with higher floors.

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The latest AICHE salary survey shows a large difference between those who manage people and those who don't.

Quote:

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Get an Associate's Degree/Certification in welding and you can laugh at all these measly salaries.

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While I don't disagree with you, by the time you're in your mid 40's your eyes are shot. That is per my neighbor, who is a pipe welder who makes bank and is in his late 30's.

GeorgiAg said:

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Wait until you see the garbage collector and roofer gender gaps.

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So, the women refuse or not?

Gaw617 said:

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Biggest problem I see with the data is there has basically been zero salary increases in the past 25 years. Came out of graduate school making $77K with a signing bonus. Sounds like it's the same now. Costs have skyrocketed since then. You add on any college debt and it's challenging to get a family started.

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Weird, I make well over twice as much as I made when I graduated from grad school in 2008. Would be higher, but I've slowed down my schedule quite a bit and not working full time for awhile now. Definitely outpaced inflation and such easily. And that difference is going from California to Idaho too; if I stayed in California it would easily be tripled by now.

I have a liberal arts degree and make more than most of you nerds.

Find a trade, focus on a specialization within said trade, and work your ass off. It's not hard.

mirose said:

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AggieStan said:

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jpb1999 said:

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Saxsoon said:

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Finance at my company is paying fresh out of college something like 85k here in Texas

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Excuse my ignorance, but what company and what job does someone do with a Finance major?

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Son just moved to new gig- 2 yrs out of aTm. New pay- $140k

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I'm sorry but I tell my son all the time. When you get out of school if you are willing to work you can make 150k within 2 years out of college. Maybe I just see things differently but I don't understand how it is that hard to make 100k a year. People just don't want to switch careers or try. This jobs are everywhere. I have 24 year olds making 200k that work for me.

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Out of curiosity, what do these 24-year olds making $200K do?

Because there's a whole damn lot of people on this forum and in the world who say it's basically impossible for that to happen.

I'm in commercial real estate so my compensation is "eat what you kill" and can be variable but mostly it's pretty worthwhile. However, I recognize that it's not for everyone and I want my boys to be aware of their options.

theJonatron said:

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I have a liberal arts degree and make more than most of you nerds.

Find a trade, focus on a specialization within said trade, and work your ass off. It's not hard.

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This. There is a lot of money to be made out there.

Maybe those averages are higher cause there are no women bringing the average down

I get to make $150k for 20 years and am handicapped for the last 40 years of my life? Where do I sign up!

TXTransplant said:

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Texarkana said:

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The most interesting information to me from that website is that salaries have been basically flat for the last 40 years when adjusted to 2024 dollars ...... too bad the cost of college and housing have skyrocketed.

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This. I'm a chemical engineer, and starting salaries back when I finished my BS TWENTY FIVE years ago were $60-$65k. Meanwhile tuition has increased by 4x.

Our professional org just released the 2025 salary survey, and it says the median salary for new grads is $79k. Not sure what the median was for the early 2000s, I just know the salary of the offers I received.

Salary survey also reports that 32% of respondents under the age of 32 were women. ChemE has always had a higher percentage of female students compared to other eng majors.

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Chem E class of '85. Back then I think the average offer for new grads was low to mid $30's. If it's only $79k now, 40 years later, that's not great.