Paid Intern for General Electric. Salary: $10,000 

You just flunked your Fundamentals of Engineering exam. Bummer. You studied engineering for four years. You have a degree in engineering. You're $30,000 in debt from that degree. How can you not know the fundamentals? Back to the intern life...

Full employee at GE. Salary: $64,000 

Your most recent presentation really impressed the metallurgy department, and you were promoted to a full employee. The cash is starting to come in, and getting to put "General Electric" on your résumé is totally worth it.

R&D Engineer. Salary: $85,000 

You spilled coffee on the prototype of a new microwave that you're presenting today. Thankfully, you designed the microwave to be liquid-resistant, and the company higher-ups loved your work all the more. Now you're cookin'.

Project Manager. Salary: $95,000 

Based on your success with the Microwave 3000, you're now in charge of the entire Microwave Division. Your days are longer and more stressful, but when you see that paycheck it all seems like a breeze.

Senior Engineer. Salary: $110,000 

This is it. There's nowhere higher for you to go. You're a senior engineer at General Electric with a whole team of engineers, junior engineers, and interns to do your bidding. So grab the nearest intern and make sure they quickly bring you the materials you need: coffee and bagel. Go.