Most lucrative graduate degree?

[Teflon_Mcgee]

So I'm really struggling on what graduate degree I want to pursue.
If anybody has these degrees or knows anything about them I'd much appreciate some input.

My choices are:

J.D. where I afterwards try to become a patent lawyer (I'll already have an engineering degree.) I've already asked about this and got mixed opinions.

I read one article saying the average salary for patent lawyers is 225k-300k
but I couldn't verify this and that seems high.


M.B.A is another option. What kind of potential is there with this degree? I'm just starting to research it but it seems 90k is the average salary. How hard is it to get middle 100k?

And last is either a Masters of Engineering or a Masters of Science in Electrical Engineering. I expect this to be the lowest paying of the three. I've only seen one job that was paid mid 100k and everything else I've seen pays 90k-110k.

I know there are several engineers on this board and would love to hear their input about this degree



My real goal is to make lot's of money. I have an interest in all three areas so I'd be happy doing any of the three. The deciding factor is earning potential and job outlook.

 

[Bible_Belt]

With mba and law, the biggest variable affecting your earnings will be the prestige of your school. Getting into a top program is what makes the money.

 

[ready123]

I'm in grad school for an MS EE right now. Figure out what kind of role you wanna play as well as the industry you want to work in. All three roles you picked have totally different lifestyles and responsibilities associated with them and those matter as much as your earning potential.

Within industry most engineers opt to either stay technical (MS helps) or go to management (MBA helps). Some eventually go into business (MBA helps).

When it comes to pay, there are counter examples for everything and a lot of it is industry dependent but as a pure technical engineer, you shouldn't really expect to hit mid 100k's. 110-120k is the high end for your typical design engineer, and this is after years of experience. There's the occassional counter example where a design engineer is so good at what he does he makes 200-300k. You also have Ph.D consultants who through credentials and experience also make a ton of money. There's a teacher at my college who teaches and consults for NASA JPL twice a week and makes about 250k a year. Just keep in mind the typical starting salary for a technical engineer is 40-70k without a MS, and it's industry dependent. This is also for California

There's a general rule that the closer you are to the topline or bottomline, the more you make. Technical engineers are right in the middle. We don't deal with sales and we don't deal with the company. That's why managers have higher earning potential.

 

[Wired for Sound]

Most LUCRATIVE? Forget law, first of all. You need to be in med school. Neurosurgeons are at the top of the heap. 4 years med school, 7-8 years residency. When you pop out of the other side, 600k a year is pretty routine.

 

[ready123]

Most LUCRATIVE? Forget law, first of all. You need to be in med school. Neurosurgeons are at the top of the heap. 4 years med school, 7-8 years residency. When you pop out of the other side, 600k a year is pretty routine.

you make it sound so easy

 

[Demystify]

I've heard nothing but horror stories about law. I guess an MBA might be okay if you're a go getter who's had lots of work experience in the past.

Most LUCRATIVE? Forget law, first of all. You need to be in med school. Neurosurgeons are at the top of the heap. 4 years med school, 7-8 years residency. When you pop out of the other side, 600k a year is pretty routine.

7-8 years residency? I thought it was four. Also, do you know how much a psychiatrist makes? I'm considering that one.

 

[Rhoto]

With mba and law, the biggest variable affecting your earnings will be the prestige of your school. Getting into a top program is what makes the money.

That really sums it up. And I'm not saying that sarcastically.

Come to my school, we offer both in one program.

But if you're gunning for medical school, goto India, half the price, same education.

However, you can get 75k starting + bonuses of upwards 150% in your first year at any respectable financial institution. With in 3 years, you could be doing 15,000 a month easy.

 

[ready123]

7-8 years residency? I thought it was four. Also, do you know how much a psychiatrist makes? I'm considering that one.

Totally depends on your specialization. Surgeons generally have longer training periods - neurosurgery is one of the hardest, most stressful, and most difficult residencies to get into. In the "pecking order" of doctors, it's also one of the most prestigious. If you wanna read about a gifted neurosurgeon, look up Ben Carson.

Psychiatrist pay varies and is not as much as surgeons but from what I've heard, their residency is easier. I met a psych resident who at UCLA Medical. He told me he went in at 9 am and was done by 3 pm. Contrast this with the number of residents who end up sleeping 5 hours a day.

Keep in mind for a doctor, the low end starting pay is 120k. For a doctor with experience, the low end pay is around 170k.

 

[Demystify]

Totally depends on your specialization. Surgeons generally have longer training periods - neurosurgery is one of the hardest, most stressful, and most difficult residencies to get into. In the "pecking order" of doctors, it's also one of the most prestigious. If you wanna read about a gifted neurosurgeon, look up Ben Carson.

Psychiatrist pay varies and is not as much as surgeons but from what I've heard, their residency is easier. I met a psych resident who at UCLA Medical. He told me he went in at 9 am and was done by 3 pm. Contrast this with the number of residents who end up sleeping 5 hours a day.

Keep in mind for a doctor, the low end starting pay is 120k. For a doctor with experience, the low end pay is around 170k.

Thanks, another question - do you think medical school's frown upon finishing your bachelor's degree in six years or so rather than four?

 

[Bible_Belt]

Med school is not my area of expertise, but I don't think they would. 90+% of admissions are automatic admit or rejects based upon your gpa and admissions test scores.

 

[kickureface]

ready what is your school in la

 

[Wired for Sound]

you make it sound so easy

With 12+ years of training ahead of me before I'm allowed to perform my first solo surgery, if I allow myself to really think about the road ahead...it would drive me nuts.

Thanks, another question - do you think medical school's frown upon finishing your bachelor's degree in six years or so rather than four?

I think it depends on what you have been doing in those six years. If you spent it switching majors, withdrawing from classes, and re-taking classes that you failed...it'd probably send some red flags. On the other hand, if you were busy volunteering at hospitals, shadowing doctors, and taking extra courses that are geared towards your desired specialty...it could be a good thing. I'm just speculating though, as I don't have extensive knowledge on that kind of selection criteria.

And yeah, the residency length is directly related to your specialty, and the teaching hospital where you do your internship. 4-5 years for neurology, anesthesiology, general surgery, ob-gyns...some residencies are 6 years, and neurosurgery has the longest as far as I know, weighing in at a hefty 7-8 years. Also, from what I've read, a 2 year fellowship after the residency is also a very good idea. You should talk to Plastic_Surgeon. I haven't seen him post in awhile, but he's doing his residency still in NYC I think.


But bottom line is...if money is the OP's TOP concern, being a physician is basically unparalleled, excluding entrepreneurship, or being a sports/music/entertainment superstar.

 

[Demystify]

I think it depends on what you have been doing in those six years. If you spent it switching majors, withdrawing from classes, and re-taking classes that you failed...it'd probably send some red flags. On the other hand, if you were busy volunteering at hospitals, shadowing doctors, and taking extra courses that are geared towards your desired specialty...it could be a good thing. I'm just speculating though, as I don't have extensive knowledge on that kind of selection criteria.

Maybe I should reconsider switching to pre-med then. I've done mostly everything you said I shouldn't do. I've failed a course, dropped at least two or three courses, and have an incredibly mediocre GPA that wouldn't shine on any med school application. I also haven't volunteered, shadowed doctors, and taken extra courses seeing how I'm just now thinking about switching to Pre-med.

Perhaps I'll look into switching to Finance/Economics instead.

 

[ready123]

ready what is your school in la

I'm at CSUN

Thanks, another question - do you think medical school's frown upon finishing your bachelor's degree in six years or so rather than four?

your goal is to look competitive on paper. That means a 3.6-3.7 minimum GPA, at least a 30 on your MCAT, some type of hospital volunteer/shadowing experience to show you really wanna do this. Anything less, you're gonna have a hard time getting into any med school except DO schools and allopathic schools in the Carribean. Those are like the Devry's of med school so you don't wanna go there, especially if you want to want a competitive specialization. From what I heard, most Carribean MD's end up becoming pathologists and are stuck in a lab all day. Check out this forum: http://www.studentdoc.com/phpBB2/. They got a lot of good info here for premeds

 

[synergy1]

If all you care about is money, Wutang is right, get your FE degree and try to get a job on wall street. Most of those hedge fund guys at the job are recruited from Ivy college events though, so don't expect guaranteed 500,000 starting pay. From what I understand, most hedge fund managers are given a percent of the total accounts they are working for an various performance fees ( how well you can do). If you love money and are good at managing risk of large money accounts, thats probably the one for you.

FE isn't a joke though, the mathematics is comparable to graduate level engineering courses. It seems like it'd be fun though

 

[Effington]

I laughed at the brain surgeon one.

 

[djtdot]

If all you care about is money....
Masters in financial engineering-become a quant on Wall Street, make 300-500k/year

True, but how many people love both math and programming to succeed in this job? You will be sitting in a cubicle and code for a long long time. That will be such a boring job! I was thinking about this, but I decided against this.

 

[djtdot]

I'm in grad school for an MS EE right now. Figure out what kind of role you wanna play as well as the industry you want to work in. All three roles you picked have totally different lifestyles and responsibilities associated with them and those matter as much as your earning potential.

What is the usual GPA required for MS in EE in the states?

 

[Wired for Sound]

I laughed at the brain surgeon one.

Why? We're talking about graduate degrees that bring the most money. A doctorate in medicine is peerless in terms of average salaries, and can be obtained by hard work alone. Within this field, private practice neurosurgeon salaries make most other specialties look like a paycheck from picking lettuce in the fields 16 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Excluding luck, or extraordinary circumstances, my answer was what the poster was looking for. Right?

 

[Demystify]

Does anyone know how much tattoos effect getting into grad/med/business/law school or hired thereafter? I'm referring to ones that are both visible (arms) and not visible (chest/back/etc.) I know a guy who got into a pretty decent law school with tattoos on his arms.