Best and Worst Majors by Pay

Friday, 24 July 2009

While it's true your major does not necessarily reflect what kind of career you will go into, where your degree does matter is when it comes to average salary received. On average, the bachelor's degrees that end up paying off the most are the quantitative-related degrees of engineering, science, math and economics.

Here are the Top 10 majors ranked by median mid-career salary:

Top Majors by Pay

Major	Salary
1. Aerospace Engineering	$109,000
2. Chemical Engineering	$107,000
3. Computer Engineering	$105,000
4. Electrical Engineering	$102,000
5. Economics	$101,000
6. Physics	$98,800
7. Mechanical Engineering	$98,300
8. Computer Science	$97,400
9. Industrial Engineering	$95,000
10. Environmental Engineering	$94,500

On the contrary, here are the 10 worst majors that receive the lowest ranked pay:

Worst Majors by Pay

Major	Salary
1. Social Work	$41,600
2. Elementary Education	$42,400
3. Theology	$51,500
4. Music	$52,000
5. Spanish	$52,600
6. Horticulture	$53,400
7. Education	$54,100
8. Hospitality and Tourism	$54,300
9. Fine Arts	$56,300
10. Drama	$56,600

Methodology: Median mid-career annual pay for graduates with Bachelor's Degrees only.

Source: Payscale.com via NY Times

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