Thread: A general question aout programming?

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    A general question aout programming?

    I'm majoring in the computer science field, and that is programming. I think I will enjoy it,but I've heard from alot of people you don't make alot. I thought I heard you made pretty darn good!!!!!! What would be my potential earnings as I graduate from college?

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    if your sole purpose is earning then do some kind of business!
    of course you will earn as a software professional but this field is like more technical challenges if that is your mindset.

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    Devil's Advocate SlyMaelstrom's Avatar
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    Well... potentially you can earn billions of dollars... I'm not sure how much more specific I can be than that.

    Those that are telling you "you don't make a lot" are comparing the market of today to what it was 10 years ago. Due to several factors, the demand on jobs have become so great that employers have been able to decrease salaries as low as the competitiveness for the job will allow them to... this is true not only for computer science but almost all business and finance related fields. However, relative to many other jobs in today's market, computer science still pays pretty good. Alternatively, you might have found yourself with a business degree, leaving college and doing processing jobs for the next decade making close to nothing.

    Due to the fact that we are "globalizing" our market, jobs that can be done outside of US soil tend to be sent out to cut costs and increase the demand in the market. As such, service jobs (that cannot be sent out of the county), such as doctors or lawyers, have been seeing less of a decrease in salary.

    I guess the point I'm trying to make is that computer science is not a bad choice for a degree these days. I mean, there are worse choices as far as salary and the most important thing is that you find yourself in a career that you could enjoy. Besides, when your picking your degree path, you should never have the mindset of "What's going to make me the most money when I start a career?"
    Last edited by SlyMaelstrom; 03-25-2008 at 10:53 PM.
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    SlyMaelstrom: billions!!!!????!!!
    not by just coding! naah! you have to do business! others will code!

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    not by just coding! naah! you have to do business! others will code!
    That is not necessarily true
    Code:
    >+++++++++[<++++++++>-]<.>+++++++[<++++>-]<+.+++++++..+++.[-]>++++++++[<++++>-] <.>+++++++++++[<++++++++>-]<-.--------.+++.------.--------.[-]>++++++++[<++++>- ]<+.[-]++++++++++.

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    Devil's Advocate SlyMaelstrom's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by manav View Post
    SlyMaelstrom: billions!!!!????!!!
    not by just coding! naah! you have to do business! others will code!
    He didn't ask how much he would potentially make coding, he asked how much he would potentially make majoring in computer science. Go onto the Forbes 500 list and find the first CS graduate on it. You can "potentially" make that and much more...

    I know the Google guys are sitting around at a clean 18 billion a piece... so, given inflation... if you were to be at the peak of your fortune around 65-70... I'd say you can potentially make 150 billion dollars. If only Computer Science would work as good for everyone as I'm sure it will for you...
    Last edited by SlyMaelstrom; 03-26-2008 at 06:45 AM.
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    You can make Billions...No, MILLIONS! in the fast food industry. Just not as a burger flipper.

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    Quote Originally Posted by indigo0086 View Post
    You can make Billions...No, MILLIONS! in the fast food industry. Just not as a burger flipper.
    Exactly! Which is why "how much can I potentially make" is a bad question... which was the point of my whole humorous rant. What did he want from us? An average salary? The high-end of the average? Would anyone want to be told that they can only potentially make a few million in their life?

    Besides, s/he didn't even say where they live... I mean, here in New York, I can step into a McDonalds and get a cashier job that would net me more money than about 4-5 computer science graduates in Romania or Serbia...
    Last edited by SlyMaelstrom; 03-26-2008 at 07:00 AM.
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    My general failsafe for career dead-endedness is to embrace it, work in a non-programming field that pays well, and just live a life with my hobbies. The way I see it, you work the last half of your life, retire, then die shortly thereafter, so at least I'll put most of the pressure on my self interests and maybe family. Otherwise I'll seek a job in my field.

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    Quote Originally Posted by indigo0086 View Post
    My general failsafe for career dead-endedness is to embrace it, work in a non-programming field that pays well, and just live a life with my hobbies. The way I see it, you work the last half of your life, retire, then die shortly thereafter, so at least I'll put most of the pressure on my self interests and maybe family. Otherwise I'll seek a job in my field.
    There aren't many jobs these days that pay well enough for you to dedicate a signifcant amount of time to your hobbies and still maintain a decent living (especially if you have a family). It's a nice dream, but hardly reasonable... I will admit it's signifcantly more reasonable than earning billions of dollars (potentially), however, unless we're lucky, our career tends to occupy enough of our lives that I feel you should make an effort to get into one that you can enjoy.
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    There are plenty of well paying jobs without haphazard deadlines and artery hardening stress as found in many other professions, and if you have a decent resume it's not impossible or very hard. Maybe not so much today but hell, hardly off the charts.

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    Quote Originally Posted by indigo0086 View Post
    There are plenty of well paying jobs without haphazard deadlines and artery hardening stress as found in many other professions
    Really? I'd love to hear about these...
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    Quote Originally Posted by SlyMaelstrom View Post
    Really? I'd love to hear about these...
    There exists a job which will not lead you to your untimely death by stress, Which I can prove by showing that the negation of that statement is not a tautology.

    I win.

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    Quote Originally Posted by indigo0086 View Post
    I win.
    Sure, if you ignore the fact that your argument went from "there are plenty of well-paying jobs without stress" to "there exists a job that won't kill you from stress."

    Victory is yours!
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    Logical fallacies oh my, are we not the sophisticated one.

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