Salaries are just lower in the UK.
After a year, CS graduates earn a bit more but it doesn’t jump to 80K.
You could envision $65-70,000 if they’re good after about 5 years experience but I’m guessing it’s not very common.
If they’re really good they try to get to the US and get a Master’s degree then OPT. UK grads are well aware that salaries are much higher in the US.
OPT cannot be granted if a fair salary isn’t provided, so 40K for a CS graduate from Colgate would not be possible legally.
To keep things in perspective, $35,000-40,000 a year is considered a pretty good salary in the UK. That’s above what a newly qualified nurse would make, for instance (after 10 years, nurses make about $45,000) and would match what a business graduate would get in a managing position.
I agree U Edinburgh offers much more specialization and more advanced courses than Colgate in the last year in particular, but I still don’t think it’s worth getting into debt for it, especially when it’ll be possible for OP to get a one-year Master’s relatively cheaply afterwards.
The difference is specialization+debt+lower salary v. broader education+no debt+good salary.
Keeping in mind a CS graduate from Colgate should have no problem finding well paid internships then OPT employment.
I don’t think Hamilton is really relevant.
OP should be able to take lots of math classes in addition to CS classes at Colgate without needing Hamilton, and the study abroad offerings in CS are pretty good if OP wants to try CS in other countries.
Thanks for the information! I will be completing math courses (differential equations, linear algebra, calculus) along with Physics and Computer Science if I do go to Colgate.
With regards to Computer Science majors, do you know some of the employers that Colgate graduates go to?
From my understanding, isn’t the typical pathway this. Bachelors + Masters + pHD?
The highlighted quote indicates that the OPT (the 24-month internship) takes the place of the masters?
Here is my question on OPT. After finishing a bachelors in CS, I would have do enrol in the OPT program THEN masters if I were to go to the US right? Or would I extend my visa (if I stay in the US) and complete my masters THEN OPT?
in the US, there’s the terminal Master’s degree (which leads to a career jump) and the PHD program, where you get a Master’s degree after 2 years then if your work is sufficient continue on to the PHD. So, you apply for the PHD directly if you want a research Master’s degree.
So the typical PHD includes the Master’s degree.
You can get a bachelors in CS then OPT for 2 years, start your PHD program and get a Master’s degree then OPT, return for the PHD, or CS then OPT then Terminal master’s degree then OPT or CS degree then Master’s degree then OPT – but most CS graduates use the OPT opportunity to improve their skills and resume, not to mention their bank account 
before moving to either a PHD program or a Terminal Master’s degree.
Wow ok. So PHD programs are different in the US compared to UK (its masters + 3/4 years for pHD). And I guess for OPT I can “sandwich” it in between the masters. This sounds the more attractive option rn.
yes, OPT is a “sandwich” “year in industry” except employers are required to pay you a fair salary (ie., if you’re a CS graduate, your salary must be commensurate with all CS graduates’ salaries offered by the company.)
Lol, “CS with Sandwich” sounds really funny in US English.
Haha lol!
Yea I always naively thought people with PHD’s were 30 year olds yet to have experience in industry. But it seems to be like this healthy balance between academia/industry is very appealing. So altogether if I play this right (4 years bachelors + 2 years OPT + 5 year PHD program) should equate to really manageable debt.
Altogether, thanks for taking the time out of your day to explain this comprehensively in really good detail
Actually, any PHD worth completing is funded. Meaning you don’t have to pay for it
People may be younger or older when they start their PHD. Some American students go straight from Bachelor’s to PHD but almost no international does since OPT allows them to gain critical skills that they may not be able to get in their country and since without OPT there’s no job for them in the US, it’s either get these skills now through OPT … or never.
However you DO have to pay for a Terminal Master’s and unlike U Edinburgh’s, which is relatively cheap, some can be quite expensive in the US since the main goal is to improve career prospects. 
OP: Have you been accepted to Edinburgh ?
Note that US PhDs are a longer process, you will typically have substantial teaching obligations, which are the basis of your stipend and take time away from research.
Whereas in the UK you’ve done more in depth work at undergrad (hence 1 year masters instead of 2) and the PhD is what in US terms would be called a fellowship (ie teaching is not required, though a bit may be done for extra money) with funding strictly limited to 3 years.
Taking 6 years for the US masters plus PhD is very common, and some take much longer, because the teaching stipends are somewhat open ended (you are cheap labor for colleges). What supervisors really don’t want is for you to take the stipend then bail after the masters, but it certainly does happen, especially in a lucrative subject like CS.
I have a conditional offer.
OP: Is your goal to make money or to earn a PhD ?
Work in private industry or to work in academia ?
Or to find a way to stay in the US, which determines the path for a large number of overseas students.
Best advice would be to find an American spouse during your time here then the immigration issues will become moot.
It would be to work in private industry. I do want to be involved in research although this can be done in a private industry. I have read examples of the jobs I would be interested in.
For example at Facebook, a “research scientist” works in Machine Learning/AI/Neural networks. To do this, I would need a PHD.
To be honest, I don’t think I am that attached to staying in the US. If an opportunity comes to work overseas (outside US) I would not be opposed to it.
To answer the question, making money is important. I do want to do research in a private industry.
@Twoin18’s advice is (as usual) spot on- I’m just going to note that (esp in STEM areas) you can have teaching or research obligations. Pretty much every uni will require a term of teaching, but it depending on your preferences, program and supervisor the rest can be research.
Colgate tends to be recognized for its outcomes in general — as in the example of this Forbes article:
Also, you might find it interesting to see Colgate noted here as “one of the first colleges to introduce an independent computer science program”:
Which school did you decide to attend?
I have received my IB points score (41) and have decided to go to Colgate University.
A couple things that have swayed my opinion
- I have received assurances from international CS students at Colgate that summer research stipends is quite common, provided I show initiative and interest in a research area of interest. I will try to undertake 2 significant research experiences during the 4 years.
- Generous financial offer
- Based on your first answer (about machine learning), I will have to make sure to also major in Applied Mathematics, as they offer linear algebra, statistics, probability, Calculus and Logic. These are important mathematics fields in Machine Learning.
- Despite appearing as a heavily STEM focused student, I really do enjoy reading Russian Literature and History. Both of which I can do at Colgate.
I do plan to go on to Grad School and have figured that the undergraduate focused education at Colgate would really suit me. However, it all depends on me and whether I am able to maximise my opportunities.