NetNews Offline 2/NetNews Offline Volume 2.iso/news/comp/lang/c++-part1/7962

Internet Message Format | 1996-08-05 | 3.6 KB

Path: news.trw.com!venice!usenet
From: "Matthew M. Lih" <[e-mail]>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.tcl,comp.lang.c,comp.lang.c++,comp.databases.sybase,comp.databases.oracle,comp.databases.informix,comp.databases.oracle
Subject: Re: ANNOUNCE: Vacant Job Positions
Date: Thu, 15 Feb 1996 11:48:50 -0800
Organization: TRW Data Technologies Division
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
References: <[e-mail]> <4fe3ov$[e-mail]> <4fifs0$[e-mail]> <[e-mail]> <4ftc3l$[e-mail]>
NNTP-Posting-Host: pat12251.sedd.trw.com
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
X-Mailer: Mozilla 2.0GoldB1 (WinNT; I)

Kevin Cline wrote:

> In article <[e-mail]>, Paul Dito  <[e-mail]> wrote:
> >>But consider this, how smart is someone who just spent 4 to 6 years of their
> >>life and their own money studing something when they have probably could have
> >>gotten a two year degree technical degree for a lot less money, gone to work
> >>for a company, and then had the company pay for their degree??  Or could have
> >>gone into the armed services for 4 years and had Uncle Sam pay for it??

> So after eight years you will be getting the salary you could have
> been getting four years ago.  Assume it costs $10K/year to attend a
> public college or a tech school, the US Army pays enlisted men $20K,
> tech school grads earn $30K, and new college grads earn $40K. Assume that
> good young employees receive an average of an 8% raise per year.

> After eight years the college boy has earned $10K + $40K + $43K + $46K + $51K
> = $194K and spent $40K for a net of $154K.

Uh, where did the initial $10K come from?

> G. I. Joe has earned 4 x $20K + $30K + $32K or $140K.  He is already
> $14K behind, and is losing ground every year.

Unless you can account for college boy's inital $10K, GI Joe is only $4K behind.

Another factor you have to include is the time value of money. GI Joe if he puts
$2K away in an IRA every year is *much* further ahead than college boy in terms
of retirement funding. Plus, that $2K is more likely to be non-taxable than
college boy's $2K when *he* starts retirement saving, because of the different
income brackets.

I don't have the time to do the math, but most retirement guides point out that if
you save $2K/year in the first ten years of your career and then stop saving (but
let your investments work for you), you'll be ahead of someone who starts saving
that $2K ten years after they start working and save for the rest of their career.

This is why if it's only money you're interested in, advanced degrees such as
doctorates work can work against you. The *possible* increase in salary usually
doesn't make up for the years of lost income. (There are other things in life
besides money, however.)

> Also, G.I. Joe has spent four years in the armed forces instead of four
> years in college.  I think most people would prefer the freedom
> of campus life.

Probably, but I sometimes wonder if I shouldn't have given the armed forces a
shot. Then again, you probably don't want me in command of an SSBN. :)

> If college boy lived at home while getting his degree, then college
> boy is even farther ahead because his total expenses would go down to
> about $5K / year.

Yeah, but then there goes your freedom! :)

> A technical degree at a public university is the bargain of the century.

Well, it used to be.

BTW, who the heck started this thread? We need to trim the followups.


Matthew M. Lih
Software Lead, SAIN Project
TRW Enterprise Solutions