For years it has been impressed upon students the value of a college degree, and now there’s proof to back it up—however, the news may be bittersweet to some.
According to a new breakthrough study by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, it is no longer just enough to get a college degree. When aiming for that degree, students should take into account their major, for as Georgetown found out, different majors have significantly different earning potential.
The study analyzed 171 majors across 15 categories and offers insight to what range of pay graduates can look forward to—depending upon their major.
So who can rest easy with dreams of high salaries? Who will wake up in a cold sweat within a tiny basement studio barely filled with free roadside furnishings?
Basically, if your major includes the term “engineer,” you will most likely be set for life. Petroleum engineers pull in the highest medium income out of all majors included in the study raking in $120,000. Pharmaceutical sciences and administration ($105,000) and mathematics and computer sciences ($98,000)—the only two non-engineer titles—follow in the top ten most-earning majors. Aerospace engineering ($87,000) barely beats out chemical engineering ($86,000) and electrical engineering ($85,000). Next comes naval architecture and marine engineering ($82,000). The final top earning majors all share a medium income of $80,000—mechanical engineering, metallurgical engineering and mining and mineral engineering.
For those students with dreams of contributing to and bettering society and culture, you might want to skip the rest of this article.
It seems that those with the best intentions to give back won’t find much of a rewarding career—monetarily speaking, that is.
According to the study, drama and theater arts, studio arts, communication disorders sciences and services, visual and performing arts and health and medical preparatory programs can all expect around $40,000 a year coming their way. Social work earns $39,000, just ahead of human services and community organizations along with theology and religious vocations with $38,000. Those heading into early childhood education will pull in $36,000.
What major rounds out the top ten list of lowest earning degrees and is the lowest earning major in the country? This is your last chance to turn back…
According to the study, counseling and psychology majors earn around $29,000 a year. I warned you.
Whichever direction you took, the choice to obtain a college degree is still an excellent and rewarding decision. The study out of Georgetown University noted that on average, college graduates still earn more overall in their lifetime than those without. ?