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U.S. Census Bureau
Your chioce of college major can have major financial implications.
Think carefully about your college major: A bad decision could cost you $1 million.
A new Census Bureau report finds that engineering majors can make over $1 million more in the course of a lifetime than those who major in fields like psychology and education.
The median, or midpoint, of earnings for engineering majors who work full-time, year-round, was $91,611 per year, the report found. Education majors had the lowest median earnings among the degree categories included in the survey, at $50,902 per year.
Business majors fell somewhere in the middle, with median full-time earnings of $66,605.
Men had higher earnings than women in every degree category. Those who worked in the private sector also tended to make more than those who work in government. Many education majors work for the government as public school teachers.
The report is based on 2011 American Community Survey, an annual sample of more than 3 million American households, and looked at people ages 25 and over with a bachelor’s degree or higher.
It comes as many Americans are heading to college – or back to college – in the hopes of improving their job prospects amid a tight job market.
In general, experts say that’s a smart move: A college degree usually puts you on the path to higher earnings and more job security over the course of a lifetime.
Still, in recent years it’s also left many Americans burdened with debt. That’s why experts say it’s more important than ever to make sure you choose a field of study that is likely to lead to a good job.
Of course, not everyone has a passion for, or ability to do, work in the more lucrative fields of science and engineering.
For those with a passion for education, there may be a silver lining. A separate report released this year by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce found that education majors enjoyed among the strongest job prospects because the unemployment rate is low in the teaching profession.
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Its not so much what you major in unless it is a technical or specialized major like engineering, accounting, computer science/technology...it is about what you do with your education. Someone with curiousity, drive, ambition and a willingness to do what it takes to success will do so. There are people with engineering degrees who earn mediocre salaries.
Anybody can get a job, find one that you love going to and enjoy all day long. Life is too short to do something you hate. The amount of money a job pays shouldn't be the determining factor.
You are both right. The thing with engineering though is it gives you a lot of options as the skills are transferable to a wide range of jobs.
I've loved what I do for over 35 years. I'm old enough to retire but don't want to quite yet. Majored in Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering (Double Major) with an MBA 10 years later. I would do it all over again the same way.
I picked my major to get through college and get a degree. I got out and found that I couldn't make money doing it or hated the job. I found out which field made money and started working in it. I don't love my job but I love what I can buy with my money and where I can go on vacation from my job :)
I'd be too dangerous with a college degree. I say that light heartedly. Six figures providing a compassionate, appreciated service demanding less than 20hrs a week is acceptable to me right now. At 43, I'm not terribly old.
On the other hand, I will likely never experience the full potential of my brain considering I'm not surrounded by colleagues in a highly educated field.
We all make choices.
I had a successful career with a degree in plant science, and my daughter is set to do the same. She will graduate in May, there are job offers all over the place for her.
My youngest kid picked a major based on the lifestyle she will have to adapt to. She will never drive, as she has seizures that are mostly--but not entirely--under control by meds. She was raised in the rural suburbs where public transportation is non-existant. She chose a major where she will most likely find work in an urban setting, and can take a bus or train or even walk to work. So far, so good, as she has a job on campus that is directly related to her major, and she's only in her second year.
Stay away from psychology, social work, counseling, etc. unless you don't care about money. It can be potentially rewarding knowing you're helping people 'find themselves' or whatever, but it has major downsides too which can be draining (e.g. substance abuse, child services, etc.). Cuts in funding and managed care have ruined the helping profession. Stick with Computer sciences, IT, business, engineering, or the health care field if you want to make a million.
Let it be known that the lucrative healthcare professions do not equate to veterinary medicine. A shame really.
What's your definition of lucrative Atheist? Just curious as I have no idea what they make. I don't know any vets that can't get work in their field though and there is a very large shortage of farm animal vets (those willing to live in the country and work with horses, cows and the like).
Vets are highly employable. They make relatively crap wages unless they go on for advanced degrees in various boards. My ex-wife was an equine vet. Made about 40k a year. The public simply doesn't respect veterinary medicine despite it being a scientific profession that is tied to public health as well. Every dog owner complains about a 500.00 open abdominal surgery for their dog who swallowed a corncob. Yet open a human abdomen for under 15K and that's a bargain, same skill sets.
Vets don't go into the profession for money, this is widely known. Of course there will be some large hospitals with outliers in the field, but it's one of the lowest doctoral paid medical professions if not the lowest.
I hear that! And because there are so few veterinary schools, it's a ridiculously competetive field to get into. I have a physician friend who went to med school because it was an easier admission process. It's a shame-he's a competent physician but would have been a terrific vet.
Sometimes its not your major. My major was Geology/Geography. I minored in Art and Music appreciation. After a few twists and turns I ended up in the entertainment business because of my minor (go figure).
Great money, weird hours, frustrating, and yet a lot of fun!
And my plumber makes more than any of them!!!! And no college degree.... Go to a technical college and pass your tests for running a wastewater treatment plant... and then you'll find that in larger areas (not middle of country) you can be making large amounts of money without a college degree... and at very little costs..
You need to find a new plumber, he is way overcharging you.
BS Oceanographic Technology '80, Florida Institute of Technology. Always had a better than average paying job in Marine Engineering & Power Gen fields. Currently approx 1.4x median. Get an engineering degree and go to FIT to get it you won't be disappointed. Go Panthers....!!!
There needs to be another look at the statistics between private sector and public sector workers because this doesn't properly account for benefits AFTER retirement. For folks who work in the private sector, health care typically is personally funded during and after employment whereas for public sector workers, many plans provide continuing health care benefits for the worker and spouse until death. Not having to pay for healthcare for you and your spouse for 20 -25 years after retiring can be a HUGE game changer as far as "true income" is concerned. Someone with an economics degree needs to do a bit more research.
True that! Plus, after retiring at a relatively early, the government retiree can take their benefit package and work for someone else as a private contractor and continue to make $$, enjoy flexibility and have security. But those days are probably coming to an end.
I have a BS in Construction Management. Best decesion ever! You can get the exact same jobs as Cilvil Engineers and the like. The money is much better than what this study suggests. Right out of college I was making $80k. Sorry about your luck communications majors!
Not matter what your major you should also have a minor, a Plan B, especially a trade to fall back on. If you are a poet also be a plumber, if you are a philosopher also learn to be a barber, daughter wanted studio arts and photography major but had a minor in accounting which is what got her a job with paycheck. Most medical fields (nursing, pharmacy), engineering, bioscience or agri-sciences, accounting, you can more likely get a job, communications or art history or English maybe not easy to find gainful employment. Huge part of becoming an "adult" is understanding that what you want to do is not always the same as what you have to do to earn a living.
I have a degree in theoretical chemistry. I suppose I'm a bit more focused than is good, but I enjoy it, and I'm looking for new employment, as my postdoc contract ends in about six months. We'll see where I go from here, but I have a pretty positive outlook on things.
Now if only they would double the funding from the federal government from 1% of the budget for scientific research to 2%... imagine what we could do...
Choosing a career should also be based on figuring out where your talents lie. Not everyone is cut out to be an engineer or a mathematician. Not everyone is cut out to be an artist, either. Money is not always everything. I'd rather be happy in a job where I don't make a lot of money, than be miserable in a job that makes a lot of money.
We spend more hours of our lives working than not - so it might as well be on something we enjoy and can do well.
I am a good writer and speaker. Though I enrolled in college in an engineering program, I ended up double majoring in technical writing and political science, with minors in chemistry and mathematics. My chosen career is in the legal profession and I find that my varied academic background has been of great help.
Median income data means nothing for new grads. I got my B.S. in biochemistry in 2006 when median salary was $55K but what do you know? I started at $31K/year in CA. After paying taxes, rent and expenses there's nothing left for anything else. You have to be one in a few hundred to land a job with nice pay. After 3 years of job hopping maximum I was able to get was $40-42K/yr which is still not enough for comfortable living. Oh, yes don't forget there was close to 10% inflation(or dollar deflation *cough cough*). I'm now happily out of this field and self employed
If you -or your children- are nearing college decisions, or high school academic elective courses, I strongly urge math, science, or medical related fields if you want them to have the best chances of steady, above-average incomes in their lives. If their dream is to play Chopin on stage with a symphony orchestra or to create a major work of sculpture, make sure they have something to fall back on: a double major or education. And they better be on TOP of their class if they want to succeed in fine arts.
I majored in chemistry in the 70's, my sister got her B.S. in nursing in 1981, and my sister-in-law got her B.S. in accounting (U. of Maryland, night school) in 2010. These are not the easy majors, and not necessarily the majors by which you'll get rich. But they will keep you employed in good-paying jobs. I retired comfortably, as have or will most of my extended family because they had MATH or medical-related skills.
Of course the median, etc. salaries from the table are not very informative of real pay relationships. Most teachers bachelor's degrees are required to work toward their masters or masters equivalent from day 1, so the "median" teacher is getting masters pay. And chemists tend to be paid more than biologists. Etc.
But the math/science/medicine fields are where the good college-grad jobs will be in the future.
No degree here. Couldn't afford to go to college. But I built myself into a very successful systems engineer and manager anyway. I have a friend who, after four years, got his engineering degree and couldn't engineer his way out of a wet paper bag and went into sales.
A degree is a tool... being successful is the person.
the jobs of the 21st century is going to be self employment and small business entrepreneurs. as a graphic designer it was 100% easier to create my own company, design catalog, and reach out to clients rather than sit on the web a submit applications for jobs.
College degrees are not only about income. They are also about using your talents and skills. If you are terrible at math, you will not do well in an engineering major, and, therefore, you may not be qualified to get a good engineering job. Likewise, if you are awful at science, medical school is probably not a good option.
You need to find a field where your particular skills are welcomed and properly compensated.
An art degree may not lead to good jobs if you plan to be an artist. However, if you choose to be a curator at a major museum ( the Met, the Smithsonian, the Chicago Institute of Art, etc.,), you could do quite well financially.
A music degree might not be lucrative if you plan to be a musician, but working in the music industry as an agent, the director of a recording studio, or in the film/television industry can give you a comfortable living.