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(11-09-2010, 09:27 PM)Disease Wrote: [ -> ]There isn't much that pays six figure salaries in the IT industry within your first decade or so of entering it (real experience is exponentially more valuable than any degree you might posses). Salaries in the IT industry are also heavily dependent on the individual company you work for. It's not like in medicine or law where you can expect to be payed roughly equivalent from hospital/firm to hospital/firm (disregarding mitigating circumstances such as comparing Boston Medical to an inner city clinic).

You need to narrow down your question if you want a better answer. "Computer-related" is too ambiguous to form any specifics off of. Careers under that description could range from software engineers (programming) to web developers (programming), systems engineers (could include software engineering but also may be aerospace, information, structural, you name it) to any of the titles related to databases (administrators, consultants, etc.), and the list goes on. The one thing that they all have in common though is that they're hobbyist careers. None of these careers can be learned in school alone. If you're going to be worth your salary (and thus have a chance at earning six figures), you need to be a self-learner. Most software engineers, for example, learned how to write code prior to getting their degree. If they even have one for that matter; it's not uncommon to find software engineers who don't have degrees, just because they had work experience.

Lets say development is your preference though. Software engineers are certainly capable of earning in the six figure range. But the positions that support such a salary are senior spots. So that again goes back to what I said before: not something you're going to see within your first ten or so years in the industry. Entry level software engineers (with some work experience) make anywhere from $65,000 to $85,000 a year, depending on the company and amount of experience. People fresh out of college with no work experience can expect to be on the low end of that spectrum ($55,000 to $65,000).

Consultants are well known to make in the six figure range. But the highest paid consultants are those with a background in the engineering/administration side of the field. Database consultants, for example, are among the highest paid in the IT field. But to be worth squat as one you need to have experience as a DBA (administrator).

Management is also known for making six figures. But this usually comes with the added requirement of having an applicable degree, usually in addition to the common degree or work experience of what they're managing. Management is the IT blend of engineering and business. They're also known as the fat cows of the IT field- they take up a lot of space, use up a lot of resources, but can't do a fraction of the work those underneath them perform.

But much of this can be said about the medical field too. Medical residents (what you can expect to be doing your first four-seven years out of Med. School) make pitiful salaries. We're talking 30,000 to 40,000 a year. So even though they are licensed physicians with the "M.D." title and have the massive debt that is known as Medical School, it takes a doctor anywhere from four to ten years (the additional three years I'm tacking on here is the fellowship many doctors have to perform) to begin making the typical six figure salaries.

I don't have any first hand experience with the law field, so my insight here is definitely limited. But common sense dictates that they spend their first few years acting more like secretaries (and earning the pay that goes along with it) than lawyers. And of course the type of lawyer you become will dictate your salary. I'm sure litigators (trial lawyers) make considerably more money than tax lawyers.

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Seeing as I have gone well beyond what is necessary to answer your first question, my next two answers will be quick.

Colleges look at more than just your GPA in accepting you. They also like to see extra curricular activities (both sports and educational). Getting into college is less about your grades and more about showing them diversity and individualism. I will say that Stanford does indeed have an exceptional Comp. Sci. department. I've taken a handful of courses there through their professional development center (paid for in full by my employer, hence why I took them). And I've always been impressed by the quality.

And yes, get involved in whatever it is you can. Anything to diversify yourself.