Hey all, I graduated from university last year ago and have been working in a company in Florida as a machine learning engineer. I make 76k a year. This company offers tuition reimbursement for masters degree. Typically, how much of a pay increase do you get after getting your masters?
Follow up question: would getting a masters from an online university (I would still be working full time) be any less prestigious than going in person?
Please, if you’re comfortable, would anyone mind also sharing their personal salary numbers straight out of college and how it’s progressed throughout their career?
Can I dm you I have some questions I started my MS CS this fall with research area ML?
Masters doesn’t really increase your salary per se. What it does do is qualify you for some jobs that have a higher bar because they do more research and modeling.
Yup, degrees alone don’t do it.
Meta if you have a masters and then get 5 years experience 200k - 500k. After 10 years, maybe 700k on how well you do and how popular ML is then. ML is hugely popular right now at FANNG. Although you have to do well in the interview and have interesting research.
If you’re doing actual MLE work, you’re very under paid.
How much would be the reasonable salary for someone freshly grad and in Florida?
At least 110k-125k
Glassdoor.com Salary.com Levels.fyi (have to create a free account and give a salary data entry to get the full range pf the website rather than the baseline version)
I also work in Florida and I’ll let you decide if a masters degree was worth it.
Data Analyst $45k to 58k (2015-2017) Masters Degree (2017-2018) while working Data Scientist 80k-85k (2018-2020) Lead Data Scientist (2020-2023)($120k to $220k)
Was the salary boost from data analyst to data scientist within the same company or did you switch companies?
Is the 120-220k range assuming a 100k bonus and stock options?
I’m curious to know how you got a MLE position. I’ve been wanting to transition into that very role - currently a data analyst with a masters in information systems and making less than $55k (I know I’m underpaid)
I did ML research in college and then got really lucky at one of my college’s career fairs. I met the company through career fair and then applied and was recommended through the person I talked to in the fair
The masters is unlikely to help you, OP. It’s just coursework and will likely have little practical upside. If you want education that is guaranteed to help you professionally, join a lab and work towards a PhD. Notice I did not say complete a PhD. :)
Unfortunately most programs would require OP to quit job?
Not require but doing both would be very difficult
Yep, for many the PhD alone is enough.
Typically a master’s doesn’t come with a salary increase. It may make you more competitive for other jobs that have a higher salary. I am sure your company hopes it makes you better at your current job, and it might, but I doubt they intend to pay you more.
I don’t know of any prestigious online Universities. I don’t think it matters much unless your school isn’t even accredited, except a top tier University (e.g. MIT, Stanford, etc) will be worth more monetarily. In my experience, a masters from the 20th best rank University will be seen in industry the same as the lowest ranked accredited school. If you go on towards a PhD, this will be different.
Machine Learning has always been cyclical, it is very high now, and the top jobs are giving top salaries. I remember shortly after 9/11 when an expert on Machine Learning was as in demand as an expert on Bigfoot or UFOs. We saw a big up with Siri, then a down until the current high with ChatGPT. It will go back down and a lot very well paid people are going to be laid off and flood the market. If you are only in it for the money, either stay at your position for a paid master’s or take advantage and move to a position that pays more. When I’ve moved for money, I typically target 20% - anything less is not worth leaving my current job and companies are rarely willing to go higher when they see your current salary. Absolutely nothing wrong with staying a position you like when you can leave for more pay.
You’re being underpaid. I started working as an MLE right after college and was getting paid $130k at a startup. Now (5 years later) I’m a senior MLE and getting paid $230k at another startup
What state were you in and did you have working experience before?
I was in California, and still am, but now I’m fully remote. I can work anywhere in the US and my pay wouldn’t change.
I had a few internships under my belt before my first job
Did you pursue higher education between your jobs? If so, what was the salary difference before with just BS and after getting MS if you don’t sharing?
Using nerdwallet cost of living converter, 130k in San Francisco is equivalent to 71k in Orlando (45% lower cost of living). It’s still not an apples-to-apples comparison, but I don’t think OP is as underpaid as a 130k CA salary seems to suggest, although I dont think this calculator is perfect either.
How did you become a ML engineer? What’s courses, books, online resources you used?