Misc
Which College Degrees Get the Highest Salaries?
Which College Degrees Get the Highest Salaries?
If you’re a college graduate, you likely went to school to pursue an important passion of yours.
But as we all know, what we major in has consequences that extend far beyond the foundation of knowledge we build in our early years. Any program we choose to enroll in also sets up a track to meet future friends, career opportunities, and connections.
Even further, the college degree you choose will partially dictate your future earning potential – especially in the first decade after school. If jobs in your field are in high demand, it can even set you up for long-term financial success, enabling you to pay off costly student loans and build up savings potential.
Data Backgrounder
Today’s chart comes to us from Reddit user /r/SportsAnalyticsGuy, and it’s based on PayScale’s year-long survey of 1.2 million users that graduated only with a bachelor degree in the United States. You can access the full set of data here.
The data covers two different salary categories:
Starting median salary: The median of what people were earning after they graduated with their degree.
Mid-career Percentiles: Salary data from 10 years after graduation, sorted by percentile (10th, 25th, Median, 75th, and 90th)
In other words, the starting median salary represents what people started making after they graduated, and the rest of the chart depicts the range that people were making 10 years after they got their degree. Lower earners (10th percentile) are the lower bound, and higher earners (90th) are the upper bound.
College Degrees, by Salary
What college majors win out?
Here’s all 50 majors from the data set, sorted by mid-career median salary (10 years in):
| Rank | Undergraduate Major | Starting Median | Mid-Career Median | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Chemical Engineering | $63,200 | $107,000 | 69.3% |
| #2 | Computer Engineering | $61,400 | $105,000 | 71.0% |
| #3 | Electrical Engineering | $60,900 | $103,000 | 69.1% |
| #4 | Aerospace Engineering | $57,700 | $101,000 | 75.0% |
| #5 | Economics | $50,100 | $98,600 | 96.8% |
| #6 | Physics | $50,300 | $97,300 | 93.4% |
| #7 | Computer Science | $55,900 | $95,500 | 70.8% |
| #8 | Industrial Engineering | $57,700 | $94,700 | 64.1% |
| #9 | Mechanical Engineering | $57,900 | $93,600 | 61.7% |
| #10 | Math | $45,400 | $92,400 | 103.5% |
| #11 | Physician Assistant | $74,300 | $91,700 | 23.4% |
| #12 | Civil Engineering | $53,900 | $90,500 | 67.9% |
| #13 | Construction | $53,700 | $88,900 | 65.5% |
| #14 | Finance | $47,900 | $88,300 | 84.3% |
| #15 | Management Information Systems (MIS) | $49,200 | $82,300 | 67.3% |
| #16 | Philosophy | $39,900 | $81,200 | 103.5% |
| #17 | International Relations | $40,900 | $80,900 | 97.8% |
| #18 | Chemistry | $42,600 | $79,900 | 87.6% |
| #19 | Marketing | $40,800 | $79,600 | 95.1% |
| #20 | Geology | $43,500 | $79,500 | 82.8% |
| #21 | Political Science | $40,800 | $78,200 | 91.7% |
| #22 | Accounting | $46,000 | $77,100 | 67.6% |
| #23 | Architecture | $41,600 | $76,800 | 84.6% |
| #24 | Information Technology (IT) | $49,100 | $74,800 | 52.3% |
| #25 | Business Management | $43,000 | $72,100 | 67.7% |
| #26 | Agriculture | $42,600 | $71,900 | 68.8% |
| #27 | History | $39,200 | $71,000 | 81.1% |
| #28 | Communications | $38,100 | $70,000 | 83.7% |
| #29 | Film | $37,900 | $68,500 | 80.7% |
| #30 | Nursing | $54,200 | $67,000 | 23.6% |
| #31 | Journalism | $35,600 | $66,700 | 87.4% |
| #32 | Geography | $41,200 | $65,500 | 59.0% |
| #33 | Art History | $35,800 | $64,900 | 81.3% |
| #34 | Biology | $38,800 | $64,800 | 67.0% |
| #35 | English | $38,000 | $64,700 | 70.3% |
| #36 | Forestry | $39,100 | $62,600 | 60.1% |
| #37 | Anthropology | $36,800 | $61,500 | 67.1% |
| #38 | Health Care Administration | $38,800 | $60,600 | 56.2% |
| #39 | Psychology | $35,900 | $60,400 | 68.2% |
| #40 | Graphic Design | $35,700 | $59,800 | 67.5% |
| #41 | Sociology | $36,500 | $58,200 | 59.5% |
| #42 | Hospitality & Tourism | $37,800 | $57,500 | 52.1% |
| #43 | Drama | $35,900 | $56,900 | 58.5% |
| #44 | Criminal Justice | $35,000 | $56,300 | 60.9% |
| #45 | Nutrition | $39,900 | $55,300 | 38.6% |
| #46 | Music | $35,900 | $55,000 | 53.2% |
| #47 | Interior Design | $36,100 | $53,200 | 47.4% |
| #48 | Spanish | $34,000 | $53,100 | 56.2% |
| #49 | Education | $34,900 | $52,000 | 49.0% |
| #50 | Religion | $34,100 | $52,000 | 52.5% |
Based on this data, there are a few interesting things to point out.
The top earning specialization out of college is for Physician Assistants, with a median starting salary of $74,300. The downside of this degree is that earning potential levels out quickly, only showing a 23.4% increase in earning power 10 years in.
In contrast, the biggest increases in earning power go to Math, Philosophy, Economics, Marketing, Physics, Political Science, and International Relations majors. All these degrees see a 90% or higher increase from median starting salary to median mid-career salary.
In absolute terms, the majors that saw the highest median mid-career salaries were all along the engineering spectrum: chemical engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering, and aerospace engineering all came in above $100,000. They also generally had very high starting salaries.
As a final note, it’s important to recognize that this data does not necessarily correlate to today’s degrees or job market. The data set is based on people that graduated at least a decade ago – and therefore, it does not necessarily represent what grads may experience as they are starting their careers today.
Demographics
Mapped: The World’s Minority Indigenous Peoples
This map by shows the population distribution of the roughly 476 million minority Indigenous groups around the world.
Creator Program
Mapped: The World’s Minority Indigenous Peoples
Humanity has spread to almost every corner of Earth, and while some peoples have continued to move, others have grown roots in one region.
Generally the term indigenous peoples refers to social or cultural groups with strong ancestral ties to their land of origin. Many times these are tied to ethnicity and still live in their land of origin, but some have been displaced, diluted, or become minorities in their lands.
This map by Bhabna Banerjee uses data from the Indigenous World 2022 report to show the population distribution of the roughly 476 million minority Indigenous groups around the world. When 2022 data was unavailable, the latest available data was used.
Methodology: Indigenous vs. Minority Indigenous
Before diving in, it’s important to note that this map looks at minority Indigenous peoples as defined by the United Nations. This refers to groups of people who are not in a dominant position in their respective countries, or have a history of oppression or displacement by settlers.
Because of this, ethnic groups like the Han people in China, the Turks in Turkey, or the Scots in Scotland were not included in the dataset.
On the flip side, groups like Greenland’s Inuit were included, because of their long history of colonial control as well as Danish influence.
Indigenous Minority Populations Worldwide
Of all the countries included in the report, China has the highest number of minority Indigenous, with an estimated population of 125.3 million.
It’s worth noting that the Chinese government does not officially acknowledge the existence of Indigenous peoples. However, they do recognize 55 different ethnic minority groups across the nation, including the Zhuang, Mongolians, and the Hui.
| Country | Minority Indigenous Population | Year of Data |
|---|---|---|
| China | 125,332,335 | 2022 |
| India | 104,000,000 | 2022 |
| Indonesia | 60,000,000 | 2022 |
| Pakistan | 35,000,000 | 2010 |
| Mexico | 16,933,283 | 2022 |
| Ethiopia | 16,500,000 | 2022 |
| Myanmmar | 14,400,000 | 2010 |
| Vietnam | 14,100,000 | 2022 |
| Algeria | 12,000,000 | 2022 |
| Nepal | 10,872,000 | 2022 |
| Morocoo | 10,000,000 | 2022 |
| Phillippines | 10,000,000 | 2022 |
| Kenya | 9,650,000 | 2021 |
| Bolivia | 7,000,000 | 2013 |
| United States | 6,600,000 | 2022 |
| Guatemala | 6,500,000 | 2022 |
| Thailand | 6,100,000 | 2022 |
| Malaysia | 4,683,000 | 2022 |
| Peru | 4,000,000 | 2022 |
| Laos | 3,500,000 | 2022 |
| Niger | 2,690,000 | 2022 |
| Namibia | 2,678,191 | 2022 |
| Chile | 2,185,792 | 2022 |
| Colombia | 1,905,617 | 2022 |
| Canada | 1,673,785 | 2022 |
| Iran | 1,617,000 | 2021 |
| Bangladesh | 1,586,141 | 2022 |
| Japan | 1,400,000 | 2021 |
| Mali | 1,200,000 | 2016 |
| Uganda | 1,138,239 | 2022 |
| Ecuador | 1,100,000 | 2022 |
| Cameroon | 1,044,300 | 2022 |
| Libya | 1,000,000 | 2022 |
| Tunisia | 1,000,000 | 2022 |
| Argentina | 955,032 | 2022 |
| Brazil | 896,900 | 2022 |
| Venzuela | 896,000 | 2022 |
| Australia | 881,600 | 2022 |
| New Zealand | 775,500 | 2022 |
| DRC | 700,000 | 2022 |
| Nicaragua | 612,000 | 2022 |
| SouthAfrica | 590,000 | 2022 |
| Taiwan | 580,758 | 2022 |
| Tanzania | 524,246 | 2022 |
| Panama | 417,559 | 2022 |
| Israel | 300,000 | 2022 |
| Russia | 260,000 | 2022 |
| Cambodia | 250,000 | 2022 |
| French Polynesia | 222,400 | 2022 |
| Paraguay | 122,461 | 2022 |
| Costa Rica | 104,143 | 2022 |
| Guyana | 78,500 | 2022 |
| Burundi | 78,071 | 2022 |
| Iraq | 78,000 | 2007 |
| Botswana | 73,100 | 2022 |
| Greenland | 56,523 | 2022 |
| Norway | 50,000 | 2021 |
| Rep. of Congo | 43,378 | 2022 |
| CAR | 39,299 | 2022 |
| Jordan | 27,000 | 2021 |
| Rwanda | 25,000 | 2022 |
| Angola | 24,300 | 2022 |
| Suriname | 20,344 | 2022 |
| Sweden | 20,000 | 2021 |
| Gabon | 16,162 | 2020 |
| French Guiana | 10,000 | 2022 |
| Finland | 8000 | 2021 |
| Zimbabwe | 4533 | 2022 |
| Sri Lanka | 1229 | 2012 |
After China, India has the second largest Indigenous populations, with over 700 officially recognized ethnic groups. Many of these ethnic minorities are concentrated in the north-eastern region of India, from Rajasthan to West Bengal.
While different countries and territories have varying numbers of Indigenous peoples, one thing remains consistent across the board—on average, the world’s minority Indigenous populations typically face greater economic and social challenges than their non-Indigenous (or non-minority) counterparts.
Disadvantages Faced by Indigenous Peoples
Research by the UN’s International Labour Organization (ILO) found that, while minority Indigenous peoples make up only 6% of the world’s total population, they account for nearly 20% of the world’s extreme poor.
In addition, Indigenous peoples also have much lower average life expectancies than non-Indigenous people, according to a report by the United Nations.
Some countries and governments around the world are starting to implement laws and policies to support and recognize Indigenous communities, but there’s still work to be done.
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