salary for master degrees in computer science??? (Austin, Howe: university, professionals)

[DORAEMON4ever]

My brother has a master's degree in computer science; he received his degree from an university in Germany. I'm not exactly too sure what his current position or job title at his current company is, but he is considering about moving to the US/ Austin for higher salary.

Does anyone know what kind of salary can he expect with his master's degree and a 5-year experience?

[hoffdano]

Originally Posted by DORAEMON4ever

My brother has a master's degree in computer science; he received his degree from an university in Germany. I'm not exactly too sure what his current position or job title at his current company is, but he is considering about moving to the US/ Austin for higher salary.

Does anyone know what kind of salary can he expect with his master's degree and a 5-year experience?

I think it depends most of all on what that experience is. I don't believe programming positions value a Masters degree especially highly unless his research is in an area especially interesting to the employer.

A B.S. C.S. from A&M or UT can earn mid-$50s now right out of college.

[CarnivalGal]

Pretty much the same salary as someone with a Bachelor's degree in CS. This s a field where degree don't matter nearly as much as experience and skill. My dh is a CTO / VP, Info Technology. The highest paid person under him (makes well into 6 figures) has never set foot in a college classroom.

[XLadylawX]

Originally Posted by mm57553

Pretty much the same salary as someone with a Bachelor's degree in CS. This s a field where degree don't matter nearly as much as experience and skill. My dh is a CTO / VP, Info Technology. The highest paid person under him (makes well into 6 figures) has never set foot in a college classroom.

I think your husband is a rarity; an amazing rarity.

Engineers I am familiar with are extremely arrogant when it comes to education. A CS degree is hugely important for someone in the computer engineering field.

Check out salary.com for accurate information regarding salary.

[hoffdano]

Originally Posted by XLadylawX

I think your husband is a rarity; an amazing rarity.

Engineers I am familiar with are extremely arrogant when it comes to education. A CS degree is hugely important for someone in the computer engineering field.

Check out salary.com for accurate information regarding salary.

I disagree. I have been in the software business in Austin since 1984. The single most important part of getting a software job and getting paid well is the experience you have. That doesn't mean a degree doesn't matter. Computer science degrees are valuable. But someone who has written software in the area you need with proven success will be more productive than someone with more education but less experience or less relevant experience.

Software professionals arrogant about their education are just that - arrogant. And probably not the ones doing the hiring.

[DORAEMON4ever]

Originally Posted by hoffdano

I disagree. I have been in the software business in Austin since 1984. The single most important part of getting a software job and getting paid well is the experience you have. That doesn't mean a degree doesn't matter. Computer science degrees are valuable. But someone who has written software in the area you need with proven success will be more productive than someone with more education but less experience or less relevant experience.

Software professionals arrogant about their education are just that - arrogant. And probably not the ones doing the hiring.

from your experience, what would the salary be?

[hoffdano]

If your brother were graduating with that MS, I think he might earn $10K-$20K more than a BS, depending on his grades, specialty area, etc.

As someone competing against experienced people - the only answer I can give is "it depends." If he is a skilled programmer, he could earn $75K or more. If his "just a Java guy" he could be competing with BS guys a few years out of college and make much less.

[XLadylawX]

Originally Posted by hoffdano

I disagree. I have been in the software business in Austin since 1984. The single most important part of getting a software job and getting paid well is the experience you have. That doesn't mean a degree doesn't matter. Computer science degrees are valuable. But someone who has written software in the area you need with proven success will be more productive than someone with more education but less experience or less relevant experience.

Software professionals arrogant about their education are just that - arrogant. And probably not the ones doing the hiring.

Experience will trump a degree agreed but it is hard to get in the door of an engineering firm without a degree if you are just starting out.

A review of the OP indicates 5 years of experience so that definitely will be a very important consideration.

As to the arrogance, I think it is stronger on the hardware side than on the software side. I've known a few arrogant hiring engineers who have treated people with less than a CS degree or a "lesser" degree with disdain.

There is a lot of arrogance in the engineering profession.

For the record, I am a liberal arts major and am merely married to the profession.

I repeat though, Salary.com has been fairly accurate in my experience.

http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/S...Austin-TX.aspx

[ATXer]

Originally Posted by DORAEMON4ever

from your experience, what would the salary be?

I have a Masters degree in CS with about 9-10 years of experience in the industry. I make in the range of $105-$110k depending on bonuses etc. I agree with some of the posters here; IT is a field where you can work your way through with the most basic education and still make a lot of $$$. However, larger companies do base promotions/raises depending on your creds. I have seen people hitting a roadblock after scaling up a few positions due to lack of an advanced degree.

With 5 years of experience and a foreign degree, I'd say he'd make around $75-$85k.

Hope that helps.

[rickc007]

Originally Posted by ATXer

I have a Masters degree in CS with about 9-10 years of experience in the industry. I make in the range of $105-$110k depending on bonuses etc. I agree with some of the posters here; IT is a field where you can work your way through with the most basic education and still make a lot of $$$. However, larger companies do base promotions/raises depending on your creds. I have seen people hitting a roadblock after scaling up a few positions due to lack of an advanced degree.

With 5 years of experience and a foreign degree, I'd say he'd make around $75-$85k.

Hope that helps.

What AtXer said

Depends also on what his experience is in.

And a Master Degree gets you past HR a lot easier in the hiring process.