Deciding on whether to go to college, and which college to choose, is a big decision. It’s also a decision that impacts your future earning power, both on a short-term basis as a recent graduate, as well as longer-term over the lifetime of your career.
An extensive study by Payscale tracks the early and mid-career incomes of 3.5 million alumni based on factors such as college attended and academic major. The survey also points out common career pursuits by major and provides data on the relative sense of purpose experienced by graduates pursuing those options. In addition, the study reveals that some of the most lucrative majors are not as transferable into new fields as are liberal arts and general business majors.
All Colleges Aren’t Created Equal
Payscale found that income levels of alumni in the study varied significantly by college attended. The status of the institution, as well connections with employers and alumni, are likely to explain these differences. Colleges with the highest mid-career (10 or more years’ experience ) incomes were:
- Harvey Mudd College – $158,200
- MIT – $155,200
- Samuel Merritt University – $154,100
- United States Naval Academy – $152,800
- California Institute of Technology – $151,600
By contrast, the 10 colleges with the lowest mid-career pay averaged about $64,500 per year.
College Major Matters
Graduates who majored in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) garnered the highest mid-career salaries.
Top Ten Highest-Paying Majors
- Petroleum Engineering – $176,900
- Electrical Engineering and Computer Science – $142,200
- Applied Economics – $140,000
- Operations Research – $137,100
- Political Economy – $136,200
- Actuarial Mathematics – $135,100
- Electrical Power Engineering – $134,700
- Business Analysis – $133,200
- Pharmacy – $132,500
- Aeronautics – $131,600
Majors with Alumni Reporting High Levels of Meaning
Of course, money isn’t everything. The following majors had the largest percentage of alumni reporting that their work makes the world a better place.
- Cytotechnology – 91%
- Early Childhood Special Education – 91%
- Music Therapy – 90%
- Radiation Therapy – 90%
- Physical Therapy – 89%
- Occupational Therapy – 89%
- Medicine – 86%
- American Sign Language Interpreting – 85%
- Medical Laboratory Service – 85%
- Physician Assistant Studies – 85%
- Nursing – 85%
Most and Least-Flexible Majors
Many graduates will change careers in dramatic ways through a lifetime of work, so it is important to consider which majors will facilitate transferring from one career field to another. On this dimension, the more general disciplines like social studies, humanities and business had an advantage over the more-specialized STEM majors.
Here are the majors with the highest transferability scores.
- Business – 5.86
- Social Science – 5.85
- Humanities – 5.57
- Physical and Life Science – 5.32
- Communications – 5.31
- Art – 5.26
- Health Sciences – 5.24
By contrast, STEM careers received much lower rating. For example: Petroleum Engineering 1.08, Electrical Engineering 1.96, Actuarial Mathematics 1.80, and Pharmacy 1.41.
