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Looking at the ROI on a college degree is very tricky even if you are just using to to compare schools. I clicked through to the original data set (http://qz.co

Looking at the ROI on a college degree is very tricky even if you are just using to to compare schools. I clicked through to the original data set (http://qz.com/193400/here-are-the-american-colleges-and-majors-with-the-highest-roi/ http://qz.com/193400/here-are-the-american-colleges-and-majo...) and it shows that they used a net figure for calculating tuition that assumes average grants and loans. I don't believe this includes a TVM calculation for the loans though. This can really add up if you have 70K in student loans... I'd like to see a better comparrison with public schools in the engineering field across the entire career of an engineer. I went to a good state engineering school for mechanical engineering. Cheap in state tuition (and a 529) meant no debt post graduation. That's huge when starting out. Additionally my classmates and I had offers inthe 60k-80k range. That might not be as high as people right out of Stanford but I can't imagine it has a large effect over the length of someones career. When you factor in that many of the graduates from more prosetgious colleges carry debt for 5+ yrs after graduation.

vonmoltke 13y ago
The annual % ROI on my degree is basically infinite, since the state of Florida paid for my entire BS. Sure, Florida Atlantic is not a place most people have heard of, but I still managed a Fortune 500 EE job right out of school, in late 2002 no less.
- randomdata 13y ago
  I would suggest you still have opportunity cost to consider. Assuming a four year program, you could have, on average, earned $120,000 during that time. If you then invested that at 5% until you reached retirement age, you could have earned right around $1,000,000 over your career above your regular income going forward. As such, your ROI should really be calculated on what you are able to earn in your career above that. To add, I would suggest that someone who has the determination and mindset to successfully complete an engineering degree should be able to earn even more than $120K during that initial period, but there are lots of variables that could be considered. It is impossible to narrow down exactly what opportunity you lost during that time, but it is almost certainly not zero.
  - vonmoltke 13y ago
    > I would suggest you still have opportunity cost to consider. The opportunity cost comes in to the 20-year ROI column, which I admit without a change in my career trajectory would have me well below the top schools in that list. > Assuming a four year program, you could have, on average, earned $120,000 during that time. If you then invested that at 5% until you reached retirement age, you could have earned right around $1,000,000 over your career above your regular income going forward. As such, your ROI should really be calculated on what you are able to earn in your career above that. As you said, the actual cost depends on a lot of variables. However, that is an unrealistic starting point, at least for the period 1998 - 2002 when I was an undergrad. As a trade apprentice, which is probably the best job I could get with only high school, I would be looking at about $20,000/year, or $80,000. Plus, your starting point neglects living costs and taxes, which are going to consume a significant portion of that amount and which my scholarships covered. It further neglects working during school; I made $3,000/year - $5,000/year doing landscaping, maintenance, tutoring, and other odd jobs. That amount is about what a part-time (20 hours/week), minimum wage job would pay at that time. That cuts the opportunity cost down to $20,000 - $40,000 for the entire period, which is not much of a head start on a career that is going to pay me more than that in my first year after graduation.
geebee 13y ago
Payscale did a survey at the mid-career point http://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report-2014/best-schools-by-major/computer-science http://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report-2014/best-scho...

vonmoltke 13y ago

The annual % ROI on my degree is basically infinite, since the state of Florida paid for my entire BS. Sure, Florida Atlantic is not a place most people have heard of, but I still managed a Fortune 500 EE job right out of school, in late 2002 no less.

randomdata 13y ago
I would suggest you still have opportunity cost to consider. Assuming a four year program, you could have, on average, earned $120,000 during that time. If you then invested that at 5% until you reached retirement age, you could have earned right around $1,000,000 over your career above your regular income going forward. As such, your ROI should really be calculated on what you are able to earn in your career above that. To add, I would suggest that someone who has the determination and mindset to successfully complete an engineering degree should be able to earn even more than $120K during that initial period, but there are lots of variables that could be considered. It is impossible to narrow down exactly what opportunity you lost during that time, but it is almost certainly not zero.
- vonmoltke 13y ago
  > I would suggest you still have opportunity cost to consider. The opportunity cost comes in to the 20-year ROI column, which I admit without a change in my career trajectory would have me well below the top schools in that list. > Assuming a four year program, you could have, on average, earned $120,000 during that time. If you then invested that at 5% until you reached retirement age, you could have earned right around $1,000,000 over your career above your regular income going forward. As such, your ROI should really be calculated on what you are able to earn in your career above that. As you said, the actual cost depends on a lot of variables. However, that is an unrealistic starting point, at least for the period 1998 - 2002 when I was an undergrad. As a trade apprentice, which is probably the best job I could get with only high school, I would be looking at about $20,000/year, or $80,000. Plus, your starting point neglects living costs and taxes, which are going to consume a significant portion of that amount and which my scholarships covered. It further neglects working during school; I made $3,000/year - $5,000/year doing landscaping, maintenance, tutoring, and other odd jobs. That amount is about what a part-time (20 hours/week), minimum wage job would pay at that time. That cuts the opportunity cost down to $20,000 - $40,000 for the entire period, which is not much of a head start on a career that is going to pay me more than that in my first year after graduation.

geebee 13y ago

Payscale did a survey at the mid-career point http://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report-2014/best-schools-by-major/computer-science http://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report-2014/best-scho...