News + Features
2015-16 25 Best-Paying College Majors
November 2, 2015·By BLAC Editorial
STEM fields dominate a list compiled by PayScale.com of college majors with the highest beginning salaries.
November 2, 2015
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nterested in a career in engineering? You might be after reading this list.
PayScale.com recently collected data from 1,000 universities and 207 bachelor's degrees in order to form a ranking of the highest-paying college majors based on salary potential.
Not surprisingly, PayScale's annual College Salary Report found some of the highest-paying careers came from college majors in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields. A bachelor's degree in industrial design was the highest-paying art major listed-and a bachelor's in philosophy offered the highest mid-career salary among humanities degrees.
"Earning potential is just one piece of information that college applicants should consider when evaluating school and major choice, but it's certainly not the only factor that matters," Lydia Frank, senior editorial director of PayScale, said in a press release. "However, we want to see fewer college graduates struggling with student debt after graduation. Part of the solution is financial literacy and helping students understand their ability to pay back student debt. And part of the solution lies with schools and policymakers to ensure that education is not out of reach for a large percentage of the nation's youth."
Here's a look at the 25 specific bachelor's degree majors that offer the highest salaries.
Petroleum Engineering
Early career pay: $101,000
Mid-career pay: $168,000
Nuclear Engineering
Early career pay: $68,200
Mid-career pay: $121,000
Actuarial Mathematics
Early career pay: $58,800
Mid-career pay: $119,000
Chemical Engineering
Early career pay: $69,500
Mid-career pay: $118,000
Electronics & Communications Engineering
Early career pay: $65,000
Mid-career pay: $116,000
Computer Science (CS) & Engineering
Early career pay: $69,100
Mid-career pay: $115,000
Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE)
Early career pay: $67,000
Mid-career pay: $114,000
Systems Engineering
Early career pay: $67,100
Mid-career pay: $114,000
Aeronautical Engineering
Early career pay: $65,100
Mid-career pay: $113,000
Computer Engineering (CE)
Early career pay: $68,400
Mid-career pay: $109,000
Mining Engineering
Early career pay: $71,500
Mid-career pay: $109,000
Electrical Engineering (EE)
Early career pay: $66,500
Mid-career pay: $108,000
Mechanical & Aeronautical Engineering
Early career pay: $61,100
Mid-career pay: $108,000
Aerospace Engineering
Early career pay: $64,800
Mid-career pay: $107,000
Computer Science (CS) & Mathematics
Early career pay: $62,900
Mid-career pay: $107,000
Industrial Distribution
Early career pay: $58,100
Mid-career pay: $106,000
Physics
Early career pay: $55,500
Mid-career pay: $106,000
Computer Science (CS)
Early career pay: $63,100
Mid-career pay: $105,000
Materials Science & Engineering
Early career pay: $64,600
Mid-career pay: $105,000
Applied Mathematics
Early career pay: $55,800
Mid-career pay: $102,000
Cognitive Science
Early career pay: $51,400
Mid-career pay: $102,000
Government
Early career pay: $46,900
Mid-career pay: $102,000
Mechanical Engineering (ME)
Early career pay: $62,500
Mid-career pay: $102,000
Finance & Economics
Early career pay: $55,700
Mid-career pay: $101,000
Physics & Mathematics
Early career pay: $50,900
Mid-career pay: $101,000
10 High-Paying Non-STEM College Majors
Don't be discouraged if you're not interested in a career in science, technology, engineering or math. Here are some of the top-paying non-STEM majors on PayScale's list.
Government
Early career pay: $46,900
Mid-career pay: $102,000
Construction Management
Early career pay: $55,600
Mid-career pay: $91,700
Government & Politics
Early career pay: $42,600
Mid-career pay: $88,200
Risk Management & Insurance
Early career pay: $50,700
Mid-career pay: $87,000
Project Management
Early career pay: $52,400
Mid-career pay: $86,500
International Business
Early career pay: $47,200
Mid-career pay: $86,100
International & Comparative Politics
Early career pay: $40,300
Mid-career pay: $85,600
Marketing & International Business
Early career pay: $45,000
Mid-career pay: $85,400
Philosophy
Early career pay: $42,200
Mid-career pay: $85,000
Marketing & Management
Early career pay: $44,100
Mid-career pay: $84,100
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