Title says it all. Starting college in January and I'm not looking to be broke when I graduate college.
There are jobs out there paying that much but whether you get offered such a role depends on many factors. E.g attending an Ivy League school and also the degree and how well you did. If you have a Harvard Law degree and finish in the top few of your class then you can all but guarantee you'll be getting job offers left, right and centre well above 120k. If you studied something like philosophy at a community college then your chances of getting a 120k+ role are next to zilch.
My advice is first you need to find something youre passionate about. If your calling is to make money only you eventually will lose interest in whatever it is youre doing. Im a physician and yes I make north of $200k but I love my job. Literally.
Do not by any means take medical school, residency or being an attending lightly. Theres a reason why we are paid a lot. Patient care is extremely demanding. Without a passion for serving the community eventually you will burn out and hate your job. Notwithstanding any job you pursue do it because you enjoy it.
Yes as MD you can have a great income and become financially independent by the time you are in your 50’s. Not a cheap degree neither a short one but it is also a very rewarding career. Low paid specialties are like 260-300k right after you finish residency, but obviously you can make more if you want to work harder.
This is true, but mainly only for T14 (and maybe the 2-3 other schools that fluctuate in and out) schools. They’ll make a lot starting from graduation and even more later in their careers. However, a lot don’t go into big law, but they’ll work (especially Yale - they’re the wokest) for a nonprofit like the ACLU and make similar salaries.
If you clerk at the Supreme Court, however, you’ll get a $400,000 bonus and a great career track in exchange for “delaying” your career two years.
Source: parents are lawyers and I have a lot of friends who are lawyers as well.
... college. They are not asking about professional school. They aren't asking about pharmacy school or law school or dental school. Straight out of college means 21 or 22 year old with BA or BS. No sh!t medical doctors eventually earn well over $120,000. We all knew that.
Some of the top schools have stopped issuing grades because they believe everyone is so smart that you don’t need them. I’ve heard that it’s for more “equitable” reasons - the non-meritorious students were having significantly worse grades, so they wouldn’t do as well even though they filled quotas.
However, employers can easily judge merit by positions in law reviews and writing samples.
Better to stick with Med School. Law salaries are not what they once were. Too many lawyers. Too little demand.
Law is split between very high and relatively low-mediocre salaries. You either make it into the big salary range or you get paid as much as everyone else. You either have to go to a top 20ish school or get great grades at a top 50ish school to have a chance at big law. BL is essentially my goal right now
Demand for lawyers has been very high for years now. Headhunters are busy, and everyone is making lateral moves. Big Law salaries continue to outpace inflation. When I started it was 160k plus bonus. Now it's 215k plus bonus for first-year associates. Eight years into your career you should be making over 500k. The partnership track is much longer than it used to be at most firms, but that's not necessarily a bad thing: Senior associates get paid pretty similarly to junior partners, and if you assume (correctly) that the odds of making partner are always going to be against you, it means you get a few more years of great compensation. If you're smart with your money, by the time you realize you won't make partner, you're debt-free, and you've got a house, a college fund for your kids, and a nice retirement fund that's growing faster than you can add cash.
To the OP, the money that you make in your first year out of school is irrelevant. You should be asking yourself what career will provide you with the lifetime earnings you want and a lifestyle you can tolerate. Most of my friends who did investment banking out of college were making considerably less than 100k in their first years, even including bonus (roughly 15 years ago), but now they're partners at private equity firms or MDs at big banks, and they make seven figures.
Law is split between very high and relatively low-mediocre salaries. You either make it into the big salary range or you get paid as much as everyone else. You either have to go to a top 20ish school or get great grades at a top 50ish school to have a chance at big law. BL is essentially my goal right now
Demand for lawyers has been very high for years now. Headhunters are busy, and everyone is making lateral moves. Big Law salaries continue to outpace inflation. When I started it was 160k plus bonus. Now it's 215k plus bonus for first-year associates. Eight years into your career you should be making over 500k. The partnership track is much longer than it used to be at most firms, but that's not necessarily a bad thing: Senior associates get paid pretty similarly to junior partners, and if you assume (correctly) that the odds of making partner are always going to be against you, it means you get a few more years of great compensation. If you're smart with your money, by the time you realize you won't make partner, you're debt-free, and you've got a house, a college fund for your kids, and a nice retirement fund that's growing faster than you can add cash.
To the OP, the money that you make in your first year out of school is irrelevant. You should be asking yourself what career will provide you with the lifetime earnings you want and a lifestyle you can tolerate. Most of my friends who did investment banking out of college were making considerably less than 100k in their first years, even including bonus (roughly 15 years ago), but now they're partners at private equity firms or MDs at big banks, and they make seven figures.
First sentence, last paragraph is not always true. Actually, your first sentence last paragraph often is not true. If we assume undergrad is paid by a combination of parents, financial aid and scholarships and if we assume professional school is paid 100% by student loans, we keep score by net worth, not salary. Twenty-two year old who is earning over $120,000 is contributing to 401K & I.R.A. Do you believe a broker (in my era broker not f.a.) will only earn $120,000 ten years later? Those with professional degrees may never catch the gal or guy who earned $120,000 as a 22 year old. Eg. I was able to buy symbol SPY at less $40 per share. If you were in professional school getting in deep debt when I was buying shares, you are going to have to out earn me significantly. Monday, you have to buy SPY at $400 per share.
Title says it all. Starting college in January and I'm not looking to be broke when I graduate college.
There are jobs out there paying that much but whether you get offered such a role depends on many factors. E.g attending an Ivy League school and also the degree and how well you did. If you have a Harvard Law degree and finish in the top few of your class then you can all but guarantee you'll be getting job offers left, right and centre well above 120k. If you studied something like philosophy at a community college then your chances of getting a 120k+ role are next to zilch.
^^^^
This.
Top schools matter, despite what you may be told by others. Top school, good grades, solid internships and you can get a top job right out of school. Sometimes up to and above 120k, but 90k to 120k almost guaranteed with these credentials.
The 120k depends. I made right at that out of college but the cost of living in Colorado is pretty cheap so I'm very comfy...but if I lived in NY or Cali only making 120ish I'd be broke!
Law is split between very high and relatively low-mediocre salaries. You either make it into the big salary range or you get paid as much as everyone else. You either have to go to a top 20ish school or get great grades at a top 50ish school to have a chance at big law. BL is essentially my goal right now
Demand for lawyers has been very high for years now. Headhunters are busy, and everyone is making lateral moves. Big Law salaries continue to outpace inflation. When I started it was 160k plus bonus. Now it's 215k plus bonus for first-year associates. Eight years into your career you should be making over 500k. The partnership track is much longer than it used to be at most firms, but that's not necessarily a bad thing: Senior associates get paid pretty similarly to junior partners, and if you assume (correctly) that the odds of making partner are always going to be against you, it means you get a few more years of great compensation. If you're smart with your money, by the time you realize you won't make partner, you're debt-free, and you've got a house, a college fund for your kids, and a nice retirement fund that's growing faster than you can add cash.
To the OP, the money that you make in your first year out of school is irrelevant. You should be asking yourself what career will provide you with the lifetime earnings you want and a lifestyle you can tolerate. Most of my friends who did investment banking out of college were making considerably less than 100k in their first years, even including bonus (roughly 15 years ago), but now they're partners at private equity firms or MDs at big banks, and they make seven figures.
Median starting salary for first year lawyers is $80k. More at more prestigious schools in bigger, more expensive cities. 88% are employed after graduation.
I discourage many of my young technicians from going to pharmacy school because of how expensive it’s gotten, but we make $120k+ at the high stress retail positions. If you work hard and are in an area with staffing issues you can get up to 180k+ if you pick up extra shifts.
Seems like most get a bachelors degree before applying to pharm school but that’s not necessary in many cases. In my class most did 2 years pre-reqs then went straight into pharm school. All done in 6 years. State schools are more reasonably priced. Private are easier to get into often times and can run $250k for the degree.
There are plenty of year round pharmacy schools that will get you through the professional phase in 3 years. A motivated student with AP credit from high school could do the whole thing in 4 years…you’d be over $200k a year when you’re 22 years old in California. They’re always hiring in Shasta County. You’d dig Redding the most, OP.
Note: I don’t know why anyone capable of becoming at pharmacist at 22 wouldn’t do something more challenging.
Do chemical engineering, you will make that if you come out with a good GPA and willing to relocate even move overseas working for an oil company.
Right now I'm enrolled in the school of engineering at my local state UNI. Right now my schedule consists of intro level classes in computer science, physics, chemistry, and bio so I will probably pick the one I like the best as my major.
It was kind of a good troll up until here. Clearly not written by an 18 year old; you need another decade or two for all the right wing talking points to start taking hold. But nobody in the USA says UNI. You’re clearly a foreigner, though from an English speaking country. I should check the time stamp. Guessing you’re in Australia or the UK…
Um, ever heard of remote work? My company has had the option for remote work since March 2020. After the 3rd report of a female being attacked while out on a run, I relocated to a red area. Same salary structure as before (many positions over $200K), but employees are spread out across the country. I just fly or drive in for a day or two if necessary.
That being said, few places pay $120K+ straight out of undergraduate school. Then again, if that's not an inflation-adjusted figure, maybe $120K will be more common in 2026.
The average salary out of an Ivy is $85k. So if somebody earns $120k, another grad earns $50k. And Ivy grads done really earn more according to some of their own studies. The grads earn more than the average Rutgers or Penn State grad but not more than the average Rutgers or Penn State grad who had the same ACT or SAT score amd GPA as the Ivy kids. Those grads earn exactly the same amount.
