<p>Since i-banking seems to be tanking, here’s a few other alternatives:</p>
<p>[The</a> Quickest Route to a Six-Figure Job](<a href=“http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/career-articles-the_quickest_route_to_a_six_figure_job-518]The”>http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/career-articles-the_quickest_route_to_a_six_figure_job-518)</p>
<p>I am skeptical of the claims about software engineers (being one myself). I make a great salary (for someone one year out of school) and get great benefits. I came out of a top 5 university (both overall and in the relevant field), and this is an area with a high cost of living (so salaries tend to be a little higher). I <em>definitely</em> don’t make 90K. And my starting salary was above average for people from my school in my graduating class and field.</p>
<p>There are a few companies that I would expect to pay 90K for new software engineers, but you have to be extremely good to be hired at those companies. “But to grab the top-end $130,850 salaries earned in 2007, you’ll probably need a bachelor’s degree, on-the-job experience, and some professional certifications.” Uh, you’re going to need more than that to do that. You’re going to have to be a experienced superstar, preferably from a prestigious school (or a true leading light from a non-prestigious school or without a degree) with an advanced degree. Those are the sorts of people who get hired by companies that pay that sort of salary for jobs that pay that sort of salary. A newbie with the two-year online degree that they describe would be lucky to make a fraction of that salary at a crappy codemonkey job. Around here, with the glut of tech people, they’d be lucky to get a job in the field at all.</p>
<p>I find this article misleading in general. They are advertising quick routes to lucrative jobs, but notice how many of the jobs listed are management of some sort - not the sort of job that they give to people straight out of undergrad.</p>
<p>This article is completely bogus. Quickest way? No they just share some surprising median salaries…likely those getting the median salaries are in the middle of their career…not exactly quick. </p>
<p>Tons and tons of occupations have similar or higher incomes, but they aren’t noted here because they are too obvious. They also play with stats here, in some cases mentioning ‘the highest tier’ (which in many occupations is meaningless…actors probably make a very low median but the ‘highest tier’ we know are in the gabillions).</p>
<p>What a bunch of hooey.</p>
<p>The fastest way to earning 6 figures is probably sales.</p>
<p>0-6yr pharmd=$100,000 and job security.</p>
<p>Working for a start-up is a high-risk, high-(potential)reward way to earn a lot as a new graduate. Here in Silicon Valley, I’ve seen many friends with ordinary jobs get very wealthy with stock options from successful start-ups. I’ve also seen many people get nothing in the end or lose all of their paper wealth over time, before their options vested. I still think it’s a reasonable risk for a 20-something.</p>
<p>I wonder why all these lists never show any skilled manual labor jobs? Plumbers, electricians, mechanics, Heating/Air Conditioning, Auto Body Repair, contractors. There is a HUGE demand for people to do this sort of work, and they can demand a huge salary… plus training is shorter and cheaper than a basic 4 year college education.</p>
<p>That brings up a memory of a young fellow who replaced an A/C unit in my home many summers ago. Turns out he was doing that as a summer job while home from school studying engineering. A couple of years later, when I had some maintenance done, I heard he had decided to work there full time after he finished his degree. I guess it pays pretty well…</p>
<p>The quickest way for college grads to earn six figures?</p>
<p>Get a job as a Vice President at a company where your informal name for the CEO is “Dad.”</p>
<p>Get an undergraduate degree in a science or technology related field, then go to law school. When finished with law school, practice as a patent attorney( one piece of intellectual property). New associates right our of law school in the south generally earn 160K a year to start, if working for a large firm.</p>