More American young people than ever are going to college due the demanding economy and availability of financial aid. Since there are so many people graduating with bachelor’s degrees, the competition for jobs and high starting salary is high. The bachelor’s degree is now the equivalent of what a high school diploma was several decades. That equivalency also holds true for salary. Many undergraduate degree holders have a starting salary of around 35,000 dollars when many of them have spent up to 200,000 dollars to earn their degree. Their salary does not go to far when they have a ton of student loans to pay. If you want to have the best chances of landing a job with a high starting salary upon completion of your undergraduate studies, you will need to choose your major wisely. Keep in mind that most of the highest paying college majors are related to science, technology, and mathematics due to the shortage of people wanting to go into those field.
The highest paying college majors include:
• Statistics
Society relies on statistics for many reasons (e.g. census bureau, property values, marketing, solving public health problems, offering social services, and even figuring out which career to go into based on the salary and demographic). While many people like knowing statistics, figuring them out is a whole different ball game. If you would like to be the people behind the numbers, majoring in statistics will prepare you for a job as a statistician.
The median starting pay is 60,000 dollars per year, and the median pay after ten years is 100,000 dollars per year.
• Economics
Society has been buying, selling, and trading since the beginning of time. The economy has a major influence on how Americans vote and make important decisions regarding money and business. If you are interested in the interworking’s and patterns of buying and selling, economics may be your calling. You can choose to work in politics or business. The median starting salary is 60,000 dollars per year, and the median salary after 10 years is 123,000 dollars per year.
• Computer Science
Society is currently in the middle of a technology revolution. People are turning to computers and other gadgets to work, learn, communicate, and entertain themselves. The increasing popularity of technology brings the need for people who can fix, improve, and develop new technology. If you are interested in the science and mathematics behind the wonderful machines and want to use it to benefit the greater good, majoring in computer science will offer you gratification and a starting pay of around 70,000 per year. Ten years down the road, you can be making around 110,000 dollars per year.
• Information Security
As technology progresses, criminals and terrorists are progressing as well. Technology is making it easier to commit crimes and compromise security, which is why people are needed to prevent these bad guys from prospering. Information security is the practice of preventing crimes and terrorists from committing crimes via computers. The median starting salary is 60,000 dollars, and the media salary after 10 years is 90,000 dollars.
• Radiation Therapy
Radiation is known for being a cancer treatment. Unfortunately, not many people think of giving radiation therapy for a living. If you are interested in saving cancer patient’s lives and being compassionate, friendly person for them to interact with, you can start out making around 64,000 dollars per year. After 10 years of care and compassion, you can around 84,000 dollars per year.
• Engineering
Engineering is the science of how things works. There are many types of engineering, including civil, mechanical, manufacturing, biomedical, chemical, etc. if you are interested in being the mastermind behind a working system, you can be cranking out around 65,000 dollars per year. After 10 years, you can be cranking out 120,000 dollars per year.
• Physician Assistant Studies
There is a current doctor shortage in this country due to the selectivity of the career and long education path. Physician assistants, who are also known as nurse practitioners or advanced practice nurses, are growing in prevalence in doctor’s offices and hospitals. The median starting salary is 87,000 dollars per year, and after 10 years, the median salary is 107,000 dollars per year. You can have a high pay and perform the same tasks and receive the same respect as a doctor without all of the years of schooling and the title.
• Cognitive Science
Psychology is a common undergraduate degree. Unfortunately, the bachelor’s degree does not offer a high pay or number of job opportunities. Cognitive science or psychological science is psychology with more of an emphasis on scientific research and mathematics. The median starting salary is around 55,000 dollars per year, and after 10 years, the median salary is around 122,000 dollars.
• Accounting
Everyone loves money. If you enjoy playing around with numbers to determine where the money will go, a career in accounting may ring a bell. The median starting salary is around 50,00 dollars, and the median salary after 10 years is 76,000 dollars.
Choosing the Right Major for You
While money cannot buy happiness and health, money can make getting through life easy. Identifying your goals, interests, and desired work-life balance is key to choosing the right major for you. While money is a major part of the equation, consider what will make you look forward to going to work each dayьф. It takes 4 years to earn a degree, but it takes about 40 years to retire.