where'd you hear that... programmers usually cap around 80 or 90... and thats with many years of experience

 

i guess it depends where you are.

many programmers i know here make about 110k/year + about 10-20k/year in bonuses. these are all sr. software engineers with about 5 yrs professional exp.

then again, this is san francisco, where living costs suck.

the highest base salary i've personally seen for a pure technical position (ie: not technical project manager, etc) is 130k/year.

a few networking guys i know make a good living too (in the 130-150k range) but their job seems really hard to me. on-call 24/7, they get most of the heat in critical situations, etc. they also have advanced certifications in networking (i think up to CCNP level)

to OP:
like a lot of people said, just take a lot of courses and figure out what you like.

regarding programming jobs, i agree with one of the comments that it really depends on your job. co-workers, flexibility in hours, what type of programming you do, whether or not you can waste time on s2ki during work - these all factor in to how much you'll like programming.

 

Don't expect to learn anything good in school. All your learning will happen on the job, college is a waste of time and only good for a piece of paper that somehow proves you can do the job. Don't worry about certs, those are pointless too. I've met so many monkeys with these "Godly" certs that couldn't tell DNS from OSPF.

Try to find junior-level part time jobs in the IT field while in college.

Good luck.

 

+1.

Based on the salary guidelines that my company posts annually, for an experienced software designer (i.e., 5-10 yrs experience), the median salary is right at 100K. Slightly higher for certain high-cost metro areas. Architects make more.

 

I started out in MIS, then switched to CS. Soon after I decided how much I hated programming and now I'm focusing more on networking/security. In my area degrees aren't nearly as important as references and certificates. I'd take a wide array of IT classes first to figure out which direction you like most, then go from there. Programming and general IT help positions seem to be moving overseas, but not all of them. That seems to be only for major corporations. Private firms are usually nicer to work for anyways.

On another note, I've found that it doesn't so much matter what you do that makes work enjoyable. It's who you work with/for. You could have a dream job, but it won't be worth it if you get shit on everyday by your boss and fellow workers.

Lastly, GET IN A CO-OP!

 

From some one at McAfee who started at that without any degrees or certs but had experience... I guess when you are good you are good, however it ain't me!