Computer Science In Cool Places! Florida vs California By: Tanner Reichard

Career: Computer Scientist! *

Florida!  For Florida, I wanted to pick what would be an exotic and satisfying job, so I looked up what the salary would be for a Computer Scientist for NASA.

Upper and Lower Levels of Expenditure

Tallied Expenses  Going with the lower end of the expenditure bracket before.  Florida has no state income tax, yay!  Total net income will be 121,768 – 38,354  $83,414

California!  Because it’s California and we’re on the path of computer science, clearly we want to work for Google as a software engineer.

Upper and Lower Levels of Expenditure

Tallied Expenses  Again, going with the lower amount of expenditure, as it is just myself I have to take care of.  For this salary in California, the tax bracket is at 9.3%  Total net income will be 155,630 – (155,630 x 0.093) – 50,501  $90,655.41

Findings  Believe it or not, despite the cost of living being significantly much cheaper in Florida, the extra salary in California surpasses the marginal cost of higher living expenses.  While I wanted to do further shopping like I did previously in the in-class version of this project and find the absolute cheapest deal on utilities and rent, I wanted to present a more realistic approach so the averages were more consistent to determine a true comparison.  However, this class and our readings have definitely told us that we make our own luck in finding cheap deals on rent, so always be on the lookout!

Grad School?  Not necessary, however, HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY reccomended  Computer Science is a rapidly evolving field that requires that operators stay on top of new technologies and methods, usually meaning that a worker will have to learn a new type of system at least once a decade, if not more.  What colleges teach are often the most universal and most recent iterations of computer technology, meaning that getting recertified or pursuing a Master’s Degree in Computer Science can only be a benefit to you as an employee.  The gap between entry levels of a position and senior levels of a position can be a difference of as much as $100,000 in design fields for software engineering.  The average cost of a Master’s Degree in Computer Science is around $150,000

Advancement opportunities  There are many different types of career paths stemming from computer science. Starting at the bottom are Computer Support Specialists, which only make around 40 K a year. However, an aspiring computer scientist may advance one day to an Information Systems Manager or Advanced Software Engineer, which, at entry level make around 95 K a year.  Adding to that, the Senior positions (those where having a graduate degree would help you to qualify for) make around 150K or more on average. This is a difference of around 55K a year for getting a graduate degree. Sounds like an even trade to me!

Job Titles and Earning Potential in Computer Science Job TitleSalary Computer Support Specialist$36,990---$62,530 Web Developer$44,860---$83,450 Software Engineer$70,850---$113,280 Computer Scientist$79,260---$122,960 Information Systems Manager$94,740---$152,380

Where do we go from here?  I think I would choose to go to work in sunny San Jose, California for Google. Although working for NASA would be a dream come true, NASA’s dealing with some budget cuts and Google is expanding. When it comes down to job security, Google is more stable, and provides a better paycheck. Next stop, California!

Sources  averages.aspx averages.aspx      SRCH_KO0,18.htm SRCH_KO0,18.htm