Which College Degrees Lead to Financial Success?
The top ten majors, ranked by potential future salary.
I’ve written before about whether going to college is worth the debt that you’ll inevitably take on in order to graduate. The conclusion was that it at least partially depends on the type of degree you get, as that dictates your future salary. So which college degrees lead to financial success? Which majors earn the most money? And do any of them tie in with your talents and interests?
In an attempt to answer the first two of these questions, Payscale puts together an annual College Salary Report. In the 2020–2021 report, there were few surprises with specialist engineering majors taking not just the top spot, but four of the top ten (and 12 of the top 25). If you’re looking purely at Bachelor’s degrees in the U.S., here are the top ten majors, ranked by potential future salary. All figures quoted are based on median salary.
Best Bachelor’s Degrees For Financial Success
Petroleum Engineering
The median salary for Petroleum Engineering majors was $92,300 initially (during the first five years in the job market) rising to $182,000 for those with over ten years of industry experience.
