I will probably major in Information Technology. In browsing jobs in Information Technology, I was very surprised to see the jobs I could potentially get, and what they pay, starting out. I could be making $60, $70K, right from the start. While I still plan to become a pilot ... it puts in perspective how FO pay needs to rise.
Some comments...60-70K right out of college, in IT, is not common. Depends a lot on who you work for and what you do, what you know, and how you get there. 38-45K is more common for a certified, entry-level guy. We just hired a kid fresh out of the Air Force who was a networking guy - he's making between 51-54K or so.
70-80K per year is a decent salary in today's economy, although the purchasing power of that salary has diminished somewhat in the last 7-8 years. I've been on both sides of that range for a while now, and what I've come to realize is that the adage about "The more you make, the more you spend" is kinda true. When you start getting into that salary range, you really, really want to consider purchasing a house for a number of reasons - tax break being one of the biggest, and long term investment value being another. At higher salaries, you start thinking longer-term rather than living check to check, and those longer-term needs do eat up income. For the greater good, yes, but the actual disposable income may be the same. Get my point?
On the IT industry - it's a lot like flying. You can major in IT, CS or a similar discipline, but what a lot of employers want to see is experience and certifications (think hours and ratings) with the education. Like aviation, a 4-year degree in English or Journalism is perfectly acceptable in the IT fields because they're concerned with practical applications - do you know specific aspects of Networking, Telecommunications, etc and have you done anything in those fields.
If you're going into any of those fields, I highly, highly recommend grabbing any internships you can,
and finding some good mentoring-type wings to crawl under where you can learn some real-world stuff. IT is still very much a craft/apprenticeship type field even though it's technically a profession. You'll do well in the long run, like aviation, to network and make contacts. I've helped a lot of people in IT and telecom (and gotten a number of jobs) doing exactly that. ESPECIALLY the part about finding good mentors.
Sales is a whole different ballgame, and that's where all the money is in IT - trust me - but it is a different set of skills that, in my opinion, cannot be well-learned in a classroom environment.
Now I get it.
