http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/05/10/the-10-most-profitable-college-majors/?icid=sphere_copyright
10 most profitable college majorsand highest paying college degrees
Jennifer B. Larson
May 10th 2010 at 8:00AM
... Part Two runs next week, with the least profitable careers for your academic investment.
See full article from WalletPop: http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/05/10/the-10-most-profitable-college-majors/?icid=sphere_copyright
Ten most profitable majors that turn into the highest paying college degrees:
1. Engineering. This includes (in order of highest first year salaries) aerospace engineering, chemical engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, environmental engineering, and civil engineering. Instead of making a list where seven of the 10 highest paying careers are in engineering, they are rolled into one mention. My cousin is an engineer at SEMCO. We graduated from college the same year and the first year on our own, he bought a $20,000 used Cadillac while I was scraping paychecks together to buy a bike.
Average first year salary: $59,000. Average mid-career salary: $101,000.
2. Economics.
3. Physics.
4. Computer Science
5. Statistics
6. Biochemistry
7. Mathematics
8. Construction management
9. Information systems
10. Geology
...
Average starting salary: $45,000. Average mid-career salary: $84,200.
Were those figures for bachelor's level only?
I don't doubt that engineers with advanced degrees also earn high salaries relative to many other disciplines, but some areas (e.g., law and medicine) enjoy a steep increase only after the advanced degree level.
For instance, when I was in grad school, all faculty salaries over $50,000 were made public each year. Pay was high for engineering prof's as well as econ prof's, but law prof's generally made more and medical prof's made a boat load. Obviously, these were academic positions rather than private sector jobs, but you have to assume that these same salary premiums must exist in the private sector as well since these professors use outside opportunities to bid up salaries.
Originally posted by telerionIn the Netherlands, the highest starting pay for people with Master's degrees is for people who studied dental care. The remainder of the "top 10", however, is occupied mainly by engineering professions.
Were those figures for bachelor's level only?
I don't doubt that engineers with advanced degrees also earn high salaries relative to many other disciplines, but some areas (e.g., law and medicine) enjoy a steep increase only after the advanced degree level.
For instance, when I was in grad school, all faculty salaries over $50,000 were made public e rivate sector as well since these professors use outside opportunities to bid up salaries.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/37151785
Here's another story that confirms my suspicions for the US. Medical professionals get paid the most, but they also have advanced degrees. Engineering does all right but is more in line with law and other professionals.
It seems like engineering pays a pretty nice premium at BA and maybe even MA level compared to most other fields, but once you reach the top (PhD or management), its more in line with other high-paying fields with medicine eclipsing all.
So if you are good at math and don't want to do a lot of graduate school, engineering seems like a great career to choose.
Originally posted by zeeblebotYeah, I think the original article was just for BA's. Then it makes sense. After all, how many medical doctors do you know that only have a bachelor's degree?
i was wondering about the lack of MDs in the top 10.
maybe they deduct student loans from the total 🙂.
Same goes for economics coming in a close second. At the BA level a lot of those kids go into business and good ones go to I-banking. That gives them a significant premium over their philosophy major counterparts. But if they continue in grad school to a PhD, then the average isn't so large in comparison. While highly successful research PhD's will make 200K-400K after 20 years or so, most start out between about 100K and 130K. Teaching prof's get paid quite a bit less usually. Compare that to an MBA from a top program who after 2 years of school gets about 110-150. After working those 4 extra years they generally make a lot more.