Pay Range

Hey guys, this May I will finish my Associates Degree in Computer Information Technology and I plan to work as a programmer! Does anyone know what the average salary is for a computer programmer with an associates degree. Or a website where I can find it?? I want to know what to expect!

 

No idea. But how come you didn't look this up before going to school for it? Just curious.

 

Search Yahoo HotJobs or just search salary survey on Yahoo

 

I did, but I do not remember it!

 

Depends on the company, where you live, your experience, the position, etc...

 

Bachelors in Computer science start at 42K-47K, so I would expect somewhere in the upper 30's for associates. You should look for a job somewhere that will pay for you to finish the bachelor's, it will be more than worth it in the long run. It sucks that a degree makes so much difference, pay should be based on skill, but in the software business this isn't always the case. Unless you are just that good.

 

Place I plan to work for will help me pay for school while I am full time! I am going to obtain a bachelors online!

 

More pay generally does come with more experience however a college degree isn't just a piece of paper even if you breeze through college you still learn more than the average joe.

For MOST situations you can only get so far with experience. At some point you will need some sort of higher education to continue to climb the ladder.

I definitely agree to look for somewhere that will pay for your education. My last employer payed for my last year of college. My current employer has tuition assistance as well. I'm gonna go back to school to get my MBA in the next few years and have my company will pay for it. They will also pay for additonal professional certifications. I plan on getting my CFE (certified fraud examiner) and my CFI (certified forensic interviewer) certifications in the near future and my company will pay for those as well.

 

Just a tip. Try to be as diverse and well-rounded as you can, especially in the current job environment. Don't let yourself get too specialized otherwise someday you might find yourself laid off and you will severely limit your employment prospects if you aren't well rounded. Since you will have a programming degree I would recommend learning SQL and SAS especially since you have the "logical" programming mindset it should be easy for you to pick up on. I taught myself SQL at my last job and its a great thing to have on the resume.

 

i know that entry level engineers at EA start at least at $50k a year. that would be with a bachelors degree or proof of skill/experience. we had some engineers there that didnt have degrees at all, but they had taught themselves a langauge and could prove it to the hiring managers.

on the other side of the spectrum, we had a guy with a PhD in mathmatics who had been a physicist for 10 years and then decided to become a software engineer. he started at about $100k a year and i am sure he is around $150k by now.

for me, i have a degree in computer science and with 1 year of experience, EA hired me in at $45k a year... and that was 7 years ago.

and, yes, it matters where you are looking for work. check out this tool for cost of living differences and pay expectations (click on "Cost of Living"):
http://www.homefair.com/

for example, earning $50k in los angeles is equivalent to earning $35k in denver.

 

You have a 2 year or 4 year??

 

BS - "4 year" degree.
but it took me 10 years to finally earn it

i had some personal and life changing events that happened to me during college that delayed my progress.

 

Focus on the 4-year, the standard employer question to people with an A.S. degree - why did not you finish?

And for salaries also search current opennings to get a ballpark range.

 

I would hire you right out of school with ZERO experience starting at around 32k - 35K Depending on how much I thought you knew after the interviews.