Picking the right college degree involves lots of preliminary considerations. Your interests, academic proclivities, and dream career all matter. When thinking about college majors, however, you’ll also have to consider some practical elements. The annual salary you’ll earn ranks among the most important ones.
So, who makes the most money and what should you be studying at college to enjoy your professional journey while also making a good living?
What Are College Majors and How to Choose One
A college major is essentially a field of study, such as a medical field, engineering field, or business field. This is the subject that a student will specialize in over the course of their college education program. It’s an academic discipline that results in a degree upon completion. Some common majors are electrical engineering, business administration, finance, and biology.
If you want to choose a good major that will result in a lucrative career, you’ll need to consider the following:
- Your priorities for the future
- Your interests, talents, and academic strengths
- Potential careers you can begin after obtaining your degree
- Academic intensity and rigorousness of the coursework
Fortunately, you don’t have to choose your major during your first year in college. This means you can get assistance from your academic advisor, and you can talk to other students before making up your mind. Discussing major choices with people who have already committed to a certain discipline will paint a clearer picture of what you could hope for in the future.
Which Fields of Study Guarantee the Highest Annual Salary?
School graduates can get a better idea about job prospects by going through official rankings. Updated regularly, these explore the career salary and growth opportunities various professional niches bring to the table. A lucrative salary is obviously just one element to consider when choosing your major. Still, it is an important one (especially for someone who’s just getting started with their student loan payments).
Based on 2022 data, here are the degrees that ensure the lowest unemployment rates and most enticing annual wage numbers.
Chemical Engineering
According to CNBC, this is the engineering discipline that ensures the highest average starting salary and the best growth prospects.
Chemical engineers enjoy a mid-career salary that’s double the amount they earn in the early stages.
While a chemical engineer starts with an average base salary of 75,000 dollars, the amount increases by 120,000 dollars per year mid-career.
The median salary for people who are three years into their chemical engineering career is 84,200 dollars per year. Biomolecular engineering guarantees similar median salary figures.
Petroleum Engineering
According to Payscale data, petroleum engineering is another major that ensures excellent salary-earning potential.
A degree in petroleum engineering ensures a median annual salary of 110,000 dollars. The most experienced petroleum engineers who have extensive know-how can anticipate earning as much as 200,000 dollars per year or even more.
As petroleum engineers design and oversee the methods for the extraction of oil and natural gas, the demand for such professionals is also anticipated to continue to increase in the years to come.
Industrial Engineering and Operations Research
Engineering and industrial management is a challenging degree that opens up an array of professional opportunities. An industrial engineering degree can be used to get a job such as a data analyst, data scientist, product manager in the IT realm, process engineer, industrial engineer, product analyst, etc.
An industrial engineer’s career salary is about 100,000 dollars per year. An operations research scientist can make up to 125,800 dollars per year and as years pass, that amount can be anticipated to grow.
Computer Science and Electrical Engineering
An EECS (electrical engineering and computer science) degree provides exceptional career opportunities. The average base salary for holders of this degree is 121,000 dollars per year, Payscale reports.
Someone who holds such a degree can choose among various lucrative careers, including software engineer, software developer, staff engineer, and front-end developer. Salaries range from 73,000 dollars to over 199,000 dollars per year.
Public Accounting
Accounting majors are an excellent choice for individuals who have mathematical skills. Because accounting majors result in the acquisition of highly specialized knowledge, they always guarantee professional demand for graduates.
Public accounting ranks among the best-paid degrees for 2022.
Someone with a degree in public accounting can get a job as a staff accountant, certified public accountant (CPA), tax associate, associate auditor, or tax manager.
The average base salary for this type of job is close to 70,000 dollars. An experienced certified public accountant can expect to earn as much as 128,000 dollars per year.
Business Analytics
Business majors have long been attractive for those interested in entrepreneurial and high-level corporate careers.
Business finance, business law, business management, and other business majors have always been well-paid. Business analysts, however, top the list when choosing the most attractive business majors.
College graduates who studied business analytics can expect to earn a median base salary of 66,000 dollars within five years of graduation.
This is one of the few non-engineering majors featured in the top 10 that CNBC presented at the beginning of 2023.
A Few Honorable Mentions
Average salaries give you a good idea about the attractiveness of certain academic and career choices. The examples presented above suggest that college students who choose engineering majors and science degrees are set for success.
Apart from the majors mentioned in our list, other well-paid fields of engineering include mechanical engineering, chemical engineering majors, aerospace engineering, materials engineering, software engineering, and others.
Students who don’t have a particular interest in the field of engineering or science majors can choose majors like interaction design, computer science, information technology, nursing, finance, management information systems, economics, and architecture.
Most students experience a lot of doubt before committing to a major. If you’d like to gain some clarity and certainty, get in touch with our college coaches. Together, we’ll identify your skills, priorities, and the academic disciplines best aligned with your professional goals. You’ll also get guidance on choosing the college with the best academic programs in your field of interest and assistance every step of the way for successful college applications.
Keep in mind that all the above information comes as a result of previous statistical analysis and cannot define your future; the only person that can do that is yourself. Define a major you are passionate about and work as hard as possible to conquer your goals! That is the most solid base for a successful career!
