Nor, I’d venture to say, was her quality of life.
“Yes, but CS majors often DO make that after several years in the job market.”
Actually, CS majors can make far more than that, even as a starting salary.
However, it is very much based upon skill set, the CS degree is no magic ticket and may teach little as far as marketable skills… There are many golden tickets out there in the CS field, however it is very competitive and the jobs are not that easy to get.
One other thing to consider is whether this is something you and dad always intended you will do and whether there are other siblings that also expect to be working and getting a similar salary from dad. If you and dad expect that eventually you may want to take over the firm someday, you should train as hard as you can, which includes interning at competitors and larger firms to gain more experience and perspective to add value.
One of my clients went to U of MI to get an MBA so he could come home and take over the family dairy farm. He ran it as a business and was able to use his business skills to make it the most profitable dairy farm in the state before he ultimately sold it. He researched the best mixture of feed, ideal conditions housing and milking the cows, and all other issues to optimize the care and milk production of the cows. He brought a low of value to the dairy farm and allowed them to grow and thrive while other dairies struggled.
It is nice to have a family business you might fit well into. I’d try to get some business management courses and general business courses if you can fit them into your schedule, including finance and accounting, just so you have a better idea of issues in business and how to run them (if that is a goal for the future).
Another option that S and likely others do is have a full-time job that pays OK and also a part-time hobby that also brings in money (sometimes more than the full-time salary). For this to succeed, you need a job that has pretty predictable hours and doesn’t require 16+ hour days or you will have no time and energy to devote to your hobby to grow it and make $$$$. 
I think it’s pretty good. Starting salaries for at least some computer programmers at Google are in the six figures. But I I think it’s a great starting salary.
Another question worth considering might be “Is working for one’s dad good for a 22-year-old?”
I never could have done it…but that’s just me.
Also to consider: what is the advancement potential?
Sounds like your dad has agreed to overpay you as an incentive to get you to get a certain degree. If you’re fine with that, then do it.
The OP’s dad may be struggling to attract cyber-security talent, as many companies are. He probably figures THIS employee is pretty much guaranteed to come and stay…
And if dad can get this kiddo a government security clearance, this kiddo will be quite marketable.
Wait, is this the bragging thread?
To the OP. This is a great salary…but you have to be sure you want to work for your father. How large is this company? Will it be awkward for you to be in this position with other non-family employees?
We have known folks who loved working in the family business. We have also know others where it just didn’t work out.
Yes, it’s nice to think about a rewarding salary. But you have to want to do the job.
I worked in a position for years which had fabulous working conditions. I was offered the opportunity to change for higher paying positions a number of times…but the work environment would not have been as good.
So…yes, at this point, $100,000 is a good starting salary. But think about the other aspects of working in a family owned business.
Madison,
Maybe this is the prompt for an essay topic: " What is your career fantasy and how would you work toward achieving it"
Right, or what are the pros and cons of working in the family business starting at 100k per year?
Whatever you and your dad decide about you working for the family company, I’d suggest you get some good skills in college that you can turn into a job in case you and he decide your working for the company doesn’t work out as you expected in the future. Family businesses can be tough or wonderful, depending on personalities, the economy, matching skills and personalities, etc. When things work well, hurrah! When things go poorly, you can lose your family AND your job!
Some of my S’s friends in game design had 6 figure offers from companies in the pacific Northwest. Expensive to live there, which may figure into the starting salaries. Job security is always a concern, but they have good programming skills to fall back on.
One thing to consider, if you got into info sec, you have no idea for certain what you would get paid in the outside world. You might get a high paying job, you might not. In this situation, you are guaranteed ahead of time that if you get this degree, you will have a good salary. That is definitely not how the rest of the world works, in any other situation you would have to prove yourself—interviews, applications, grades, experience, internships. It sounds like you would get this offer from your dad even if you were terrible in this field. On one hand, that’s a pretty good deal, as there are few guarantees in the job market. On the other hand, for future employers, you might not want to let them know it was a family company.
Most people at the middle of their lives do not make that much.
Middle?! I would say MOST people NEVER make that much in a year.
The median salary in 2012 for an information security analyst was $86,170. http://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/information-security-analysts.htm
I make half that and do okay. Manage expenses, know where to spend money. It seems a ridiculous amount for a 22 year old to make…
I think DS will likely make half that 1.5 year from now (if he gets a “job”.)
Not sure how much we still need to subsidize him if he happens to live in a high COL area.
Some of DS’s college friends could receive that amount of money from his parents every year for the rest of his life, without even having to work at all.