Why are some PhDs getting less pay than computer scientists who only have undergrad degrees?
438609
because salaries are market driven and doctorates in many fields are just not in demand
254072
No, it is rarely negotiable.  There are usually many post-docs at the institution/lab and they all get paid the same.  If they really want you, you may have some bargaining power for things like travel, computer resources, etc.
549276
it's also a very common degree in colleges and universities, especially among women.  It's supply and demand.  If you can fill all your teaching jobs at lower salaries, there's no reason to increase the salary.  If there comes a time where there's a shortage of teachers, then salaries will increase.
56196
As with any field, how much money there is to be made depends on the supply and demand. There are many sub-fields in computer engineering from database management to embedded systems design. And then there are specialists and general engineers. Specialists generally get paid more, but have a more difficult time finding employment. General engineers have more that they can get hired for, but there are more of them, so the competition for jobs can be great. \nAnd then you get into marketing, that is marketing yourself. If you want to see the effect of marketing on your potential as a "computer geek", just look at the list of richest people in the world, and see who is at the top of the list. \nWhat I would recommend would be to look at what sub-field of computer engineering you enjoy the most, and are best at, and see how others in that field have fared. Learn from their mistakes and try new approaches to acheive success. In a free market economy, there is always potential, for success and for failure. Both can be educational.
20129
Engineering and computer science graduates have the easiest time getting jobs and the highest starting salaries of bachelor's degree graduates. Accountants are also in demand and make a good salary.
92310
I believe so. I am a computer engineer and the year I graduated from college computer engineers had one of the highest average starting salaraes (2004). 10k more than Computer Science. As a computer engineer you have many more options that a strict computer scientist, or a strict electrical engineer.
385529
I am in an Engineering Physics and Management program and I'm more of a tech head than a lot of the guys in my program. I think it's just what you were taught and what you were exposed to when you grow up. A lot of parents still have the stereotypes in their heads and they pass that on to their children without (or not without) realizing it. Even though we'd like to pride ourselves in having left all stereotypes behind us, they still exist today and they exist more readily in certain parts of the world than others.\n\nMen don't seem to be getting much more than women, it's a statistical fact that, on average, men are getting paid more than women. This is attributed to a number of reasons that include salary negotiation, the men to women ratio in higher paying positions and the men to women ratio in full-time and part-time positions.
478409
It depends on the Computer Science degree and what specialties interest you. Computer Science can be and is MORE than just knowing how to write programs in Java, C++, or pick your favorite programming language.\n\nI have a BSc in Computer Science and Mathematics and I've been working professionally for 20 years.  Some of what I've learned came from my university degree.  Much of what I use day-to-day is self taught from book, the school of hardknocks, and a rare seminar.\n\nSome people get away with very little mathematics other than Calculus, Probability Theory, Linear Algebra, and maybe some form of Mathematical Induction.\n\nI started in Physics and this had much greater requirements for Mathematics including Tensor Analysis, Fourier Transforms, Differential Equations, et cetera.  This foundation has given me a leg up on understanding scientific applications of "Computer Science".\n\nThe Lineary Algebra was extremely valuable for 3D Computer Graphics algorithms that I worked on.  All of the other math was useful for data visualization that I've done.\n\nBUT, there is one area in which Computer Engineers and Computer Scientists, even up through PhD level are woefully deficient in their training -- Statistics, Probabilistic Modeling, and Decision Theory.\n\nBecause of this lack of training, so called CS people and computer people over spent BILLIONS of DOLLARS during the Internet boom that literally went down the drain because they didn't know what the needed to know about modeling, capacity planning, and queueing theory.  I witnessed this first hand at two companies that went bankrupt. So called "CS" people proposed and sometimes implemented solutions and architectures that cost $20M, $50M, at worst $1B when a properly designed solution would cost $2M-$4M. \n\nRepeatedly I've seen many, many, many papers published by so-called Computer Scientists from reputable universities that lacked basic statistical rigor.  Did you know that just because the average number you compute is "bigger", there is always the probability that it is not actually bigger?  If the numbers are based on samples, there is always a probability that two numbers could flip relative to each other?  This basic foundation in Statistics is a requirement for many many science disciplines including Genetics, Biology, Medicine, Social Sciences, and yet is perplexingly missing from a so-called "Science" discipline of Computer Science.\n\nI would recommend supplementing your CS degree with several courses in Statistics and Probability Theory or Modeling.  Queuing Theory or Reliability Analysis would be very useful if you plan on design large scale systems. Bayesian Statistics has it's value and provides some of the underpinnings of Bayesian Networks.\n\nI can't help but wonder how much money in the world would have been saved and how many YEARS of my life I could have dedicated to other activities if more computer scientists had a better grounding in the principles of science, especially Statistics.\n\nSorry for this rant.  Hope it gives you some perspective.\n\nTo sum it up, the more you know, the more you can make better decisions.
420725
It depends whether the scientist is working in the public sector, i.e. university, government, or the private sector, i.e. a corporation large enough to have its own research department.\n\nThe private sector scientist will make much more money but there are other disadvantages. The private sector scientist will not be able to chose his or her research topic or communicate results openly to the rest of the world. There is a lot of pressure to produce useful results quickly so basic research is usually done in the public sector.\n\nAs for the exact amounts of pay, it is highly variable by country. I know Egyptian scientists who have to hold two jobs in order to support their families.\n\nIn the private sector, salary depends on how much grant money you bring in to your institution. \n\nI hope this info helps.
315213
Whats the phd in? depending on your answer the fields might be limited or competetive but most at that level are making 6 figures easy.
551591
In China,that depends--depends on your ability,the company you work for,and whether yopu are luky. A good fresh PhD holder may get the salary of more than 20,000 monthly  while some unluky guys may just get much less.
445753
For starters teachers only work 9 months out of every year. My base salary is $38,000 which puts me in the bottom 10% of teachers doing the same job at other colleges in my state (high school teachers in the area make about the same). If I work the other 3 months of the year I earn about $58,000. Which, working four days a week, ain't that bad. I can think of many, many more jobs that work much more than me and make a whole lot less. But, you're right, those jobs don't require an MS or Ph.D. degree.\n\nI could take my math degrees and programming experience and work in industry making more than double my salary to start. But, I prefer to keep this job and be there for my son when he needs me. When he gets older, I'll leave education and earn more money. In the mean time I'm not complaining about my salary because I knew what the job paid before I accepted the position.\n\nTeaching is a great job for parents with small children. My job allows me to spend time with my son every single day and, to me, that's priceless.
515451
Most schools in the U.S. have assistanceships available for graduate school. Few students in the U.S. pay for Ph.D. programs, for example, because they work as research assistants, teaching assistants, etc. to cover their tuition and pay a stipend.\n\nIn the U.S., each grad school has its own application.  You can go to any school's website and find the forms to fill out.
704122
Its because they haven’t been exposed to the real (working) world yet. I was sooo phucking pissed when I graduated back 1991. I couldn’t get a job doing crap with shiny new business degree.  I felt like my teachers in high school, college and the whole phucking world had played a mean trick on me. Meantime, my buddies that never went to college had jobs for something like 15 or 20 bucks an hour and I thought they were making sooo  much.
375351
Yes.\n\nThe BA degree is becoming the new high school diploma and so the Masters degree is becoming the new BA and the PhD is becoming the new MA.\n\nThat sounds terribly confusing so let me summarize:  each degree is now being considered as valuable as one degree lower than its status.\n\nAny extra training makes you distinct and fetches a better annual income.\n\nCurrently I'm killing myself over two minors and majors in a BA degree and I've got job offers for every college I'm looking at because my knowledge encompasses so many different areas and is so extensive.  I offer a new perspective to old problems.\n\nI have one year left to go as a undergrad and then I'm heading for my PhD or J.D. (depending if I'm going into law).  People are already interested in me JUST because I have a big head.
202345
Usually means more pay.  Best to get degree while you can.  If marriage/kids are in the future, might be more difficult.
956272
College professors have tough jobs. Consider the number of years and dedication required to get a Ph.D - the committment and sacrifice invested in extremely specific and competitive fields with few job opportunities which society doesn't necessarily value. \n\nSalaries, for example, are not comparable with the corporate world. Just compare comparable salaries between a 3rd year tenure-track professor and anyone in a basic business field with a bachelor's degree and a few years of experience - there is a significant difference.\n\nIn addition, consider that there is an entire generation of entitled college students that take little responsibility for their own development and progress and regularly blame others, including their college professors, when they fail. For example, in your question, you reference the student that doesn't know they answer. Did you consider that the student that doesn't know the answer probably hasn't done his homework, hasn't invested in his or her responsibility to actually learn. Have you also considered that college should be more competitive. Everyone should have the opportunity to strive for a degree, but not everyone should get one. If that were the case, our education would mean nothing.\n\nImagine if your surgeon was given a medical degree because we dumbed down the requirements so that people wouldn't feel bad.\n\nThe cirriculum of any professor's class isn't just made up out of thin air. They have advisors, committees and department heads that review course materials and provide direction about the philosophy which drives the structure of the class. \n\nOk, so here's what I would improve...\n\n1. I'd pay them better\n2. I'd encourage them to have more competitive classes.\n3. I'd encourage them to incorporate professional standards in their classes such as: professional email requirements, following instructions, etc...\n\nAnd finally, most college professors do it because they love their fields and have a deep committment to service - helping others.