Top 10 Best-Paying College Majors
With the cost of tuition continuing to rise, it pays for today's college students to be prudent about their choice of study. A bachelor's degree in a technical major compared to one in liberal arts may result in as much as $1.6 million more in earnings during a lifetime, a recent Census Bureau report shows.
So which college majors earn the most? According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the bulk of the Top 10 highest paying college majors are in engineering fields. But too few U.S. students choose to major in such studies, even though employers are desperate to hire them.
So, it's not surprising that graduates with degrees in technical majors command some of the highest average-starting salaries upon graduation, NACE says. Results from NACE's most recent survey, showing the highest starting salaries among recent college graduates, are shown below.
Take a look and tell us what you think: Are any of these careers for you?
10. Information Sciences Systems:
- Average starting salary: $56,100.
- Forecast job growth through 2020: 19 percent (average).
9. Construction Science/Management:
- Average starting salary: $56,600.
- Forecast job growth through 2020: 17 percent (average).
8. Finance:
- Average starting salary: $57,300.
- Forecast job growth through 2020: Varies from slower than average to faster than average depending on the specific career.
7. Civil Engineering:
- Average starting salary: $57,600.
- Forecast job growth through 2020: 19 percent (average).
6. Electric/Electronics and Communications Engineering:
- Average starting salary: $62,300.
- Forecast job growth through 2020: 6 percent (slower than average).
5. Mechanical Engineering:
- Average starting salary: $62,900.
- Forecast job growth through 2020: 9 percent (slower than average).
4. Aerospace/Aeronautics/Aeronautical Engineering:
- Average starting salary: $64,000
- Forecast job growth through 2020: 5 percent (slower than average).
Find a job in aerospace, aeronautics or aeronautical engineering.
3. Computer Science:
- Average starting salary: $64,400.
- Forecast job growth through 2020: 19 percent (average).
2. Chemical Engineering:
- Average starting salary: $66,400.
- Forecast job growth through 2020: 6 percent (slower than average).
1. Computer Engineering:
- Average starting salary: $70,400.
- Forecast job growth through 2020: 30 percent (must faster than average).
Find a job in computer engineering.
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David Schepp
David Schepp has spent more than a dozen years covering business news for the electronic and print media, including Dow Jones Newswires, BBC News, Gannett Co., and most recently at AOL's DailyFinance. Nearly 10 years ago, he started writing a weekly People@Work column, looking in depth at issues facing workers in today's workplace. Follow David on Twitter. Email David at david.schepp@huffingtonpost.com. Add David to your Google+ circles.
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