Reply To: “I’m Angry About My Future Financial Situation”

What STEM fields are you talking about and are they from a college of at least moderate-level quality? I know that some B.S. degrees in biological fields don’t pay well and lead to beginning technician-level work, as an advanced degree is considered the professional threshold and jobs are scarce in general in these STEM areas. Even still, an entry-level technician job should pay more than $14/hr. Are you working for small nonprofits? There is a big pay differential among the many ‘STEM’ fields and there are mail-order degrees from not well regarded programs. Something seems amiss here. Please give more info. Btw, many professional societies compile annual tables of average salaries by degree, years of service, and type of employer. I found the American Chemical Society’s surveys for Chemists and Chemical Engineers to be very helpful over the course of my career. Such lists provide a valuable benchmark against which to compare your own situation.