GPA to starting salary

The question is nonsense if you don't consider major, work experience, and other relevant skills and experience.

A history major with a 4.0 and summer jobs as a lifeguard isn't likely to make anywhere near as much as a computer engineering major with a couple of co-op assignments and a 2.8.

It depends on your major:

A 3.6 GPA computer science major will make a little more than a 3.0 GPA computer science major (all other factors equal).

A 3.6 GPA political science major will make the same as a 3.0 GPA political science major. This is because fast food restaurants generally are looking for burger-flipping skills, not how well you were at kissing your professors' booty.

It depends on the COLLEGE. If you get a 3.5 out of Duke, or MIT or Harvard, you are slightly better position than the guy who got a 3.5 at a community college.

Of course only the lazy resentful kids think that the difference between 3.6 and 3.0 is no more than "kissing the professor's booty".

College majors mean very little unless they are pre-professional. If you major in something other than a pre-professional major, the name of the school on the diploma means much more than the major. Law schools couldn't care less about your major - they almost exclusively look at GPA and LSAT. Even med schools look for applicants from backgrounds other than the typical pre-med or bio route (as long as required courses are taken care of). MANY TIMES, the career that you end up with has nothing to do with your major. The quality of the education is the important thing. Like one poster said, a degree from a top 20 US News school usually will mean much more than a degree from a run of the mill state school -- regardless of GPA or major. Such is life.

Lazy L wrote:

Of course only the lazy resentful kids think that the difference between 3.6 and 3.0 is no more than "kissing the professor's booty".

I think you missed my point.

Nah it's just that what you posted was generally so uninteresting that l decided to pick on one aspect of it

its a long season wrote:

College majors mean very little unless they are pre-professional. If you major in something other than a pre-professional major, the name of the school on the diploma means much more than the major.

Correct. Unless you're heading off to med, law, or grad school, GPA means zippy. Your school's name and reputation means a lot more.

Fresh out of college I applied to and interviewed with roughly 50 organizations. Only two required transcripts (1 was the Navy and the other was a powerful business intelligence firm). Nobody else even asked me about my grades and I have never filled in my GPA on the official employment applications (which are usually filled out after being hired anyway).

The lesson is: if you never want to pursue an advanced degree, go to the biggest "name" school you can and do no more than the bare minimum.

I did alright in college, had about a 3.5, but I would hardly say that that is the determining factor in landing a job. Quite honestly, it's all about your interview skills, how you can relate to people. You could have a 2.0, but ace your interview and you'll be set. All too often, at least I find, that actual GPA means crap in the real world, as the poster above me stated.

The only problem with that is that the 2.0 guy won't get an interview in the first place in many cases. I agree that grades aren't as important as many people seem to think they are, but you need a GPA that will at least get you in the door for the first interview. I'm in my last year of school right now, so I'm in the process of applying for jobs. Many job listings have have "GPA of 3.0 or higher in finance or a related field" or something like that listed as a requirement.

GPA isn't the best measure of ability, but it is the easiest criteria to make your first cuts. An employer might receive several thousand applications for a job. Some HR guy at P&G isn't going to sit in front of his computer reading every last cover letter to the word to pick 8 new guys for their market managing teams out of ten thousand applications. They're going to let the computer make the first cut based, at least partially, on what you put for your GPA and grades in related classes on your survey.

That being said, not every firm is as large as P&G and many employers will actually have the time to examine other aspects of your resume. The importance of grades really depends on what you want to do and what company you want to work for. I agree with the above poster that GPA doesn't always mean too much in the real world, but unfortunately, many firms will use it to eliminate applicants just because it's so easy.

FDNY wrote:

based on your GPA coming out of college, what has everyone's starting salary been. Does a 3.5 student really make that much more then a 3.0 student? Explain

What are you trying to do? That's what really matters.

Going back to the basic question, I had a GPA of 3.8, and my starting salary (for a full-time teaching position at a high school, including assistant track coach) was $9200.

That was in 1977.

gpa's count for grad school/med school and that is just about it....

GPA matters a lot depending on field. When I graduated school I was looking at consulting, I-Banking, and publick accounting, all of which have minimum GPA requirements to even interview. I could see, however, how other fields might not have these same hurdles. So in this case, the difference between 3.0 and 4.0 could easily by $50k or more in the first year.

GPA means most for your first job. If you have a 2.5 they might hire the 3.8 guy. But lets be real here...most people get their job because of some kind of connection. Or maybe the hiring guy went is alumnus of your college. That is the much better way to get the job. Most careers don't even asks for transcripts. Teachers, doctors, etc. it matters. Working as a computer engineer? Most places in Silicon Valley don't even confirm you have a degree. In some fields after years of experience no one even asks for a degree anyways...

It all depends what you are going into.

GPA has nothing to do with salary from 3.00 to 3.99

Every interviewee has the knowledge bought from school, its whether or not your personality and work ethic will mesh in the office atmosphere.

Only thing that matters is what the company thinks they can get you to sign for. If you interview great and have a great resume, you'll probably be offered more than someone more lacking. GPA probably matters about 0.5% in the whole equation.

I don't know how I got a job with the dept of navy. I know no one there, no one i interviewed with was from my college. All i can think of is i lucked out and no one else interviewed. Anyways I had a 2.83 so I started at a GS-5 with some bonus cash tossed in here and there. But my friends with 3.0-3.6 have been applying this year and none have gotten calls back. I still think it was just luck on my part and nothing else.

"The lesson is: if you never want to pursue an advanced degree, go to the biggest "name" school you can and do no more than the bare minimum."

that made me laugh out loud, pretty true.