Posted on by Larry Litwin

Major that Pay You Back

[To comment: larry@larrylitwin.com
* Data represents those in the civilian labor force, not active service members.
** Results based on 2012 data due to insufficient data in 2013.
Majors by Salary Potential – Full List
1
Petroleum Engineering
$103,000
$160,000
2
Actuarial Mathematics
$58,700
$120,000
3
Nuclear Engineering
$67,600
$117,000
4
Chemical Engineering
$68,200
$115,000
5
Aerospace Engineering
$62,800
$109,000
6 – tie
Electrical Engineering (EE)
$64,300
$106,000
6 – tie
Computer Engineering (CE)
$65,300
$106,000
8
Computer Science (CS)
$59,800
$102,000
9
Physics
$53,100
$101,000
10
Mechanical Engineering (ME)
$60,900
$99,700
11
Materials Science & Engineering
$62,700
$99,500
12
Software Engineering
$60,500
$99,300
13
Statistics
$52,500
$98,900
14
Government
$43,200
$97,100
15
Economics
$50,100
$96,700
16
Applied Mathematics
$52,800
$96,200
17
Industrial Engineering (IE)
$61,100
$94,400
18
Management Information Systems (MIS)
$53,800
$92,200
19
Biomedical Engineering (BME)
$59,000
$91,700
20
Civil Engineering (CE)
$54,300
$91,100
21
Environmental Engineering
$49,400
$89,800
22 – tie
Construction Management
$51,500
$88,800
22 – tie
Mathematics
$49,400
$88,800
24
Electrical Engineering Technology (EET)
$57,900
$87,600
25
Computer Information Systems (CIS)
$50,800
$87,400
26
Information Systems (IS)
$51,900
$87,200
27
Finance
$49,200
$87,100
28
International Relations
$41,700
$85,700
29
Geology
$46,100
$85,300
30 – tie
Chemistry
$44,100
$84,100
30 – tie
Information Technology (IT)
$49,900
$84,100
32 – tie
Biotechnology
$48,700
$84,000
32 – tie
Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET)
$54,100
$84,000
34 – tie
Supply Chain Management
$52,800
$83,700
34 – tie
International Business
$43,800
$83,700
36
Industrial Design (ID)
$44,800
$82,200
37
Industrial Technology (IT)
$50,800
$81,500
38
Telecommunications
$43,100
$81,200
39
Food Science
$45,200
$80,500
40
Occupational Health and Safety
$50,500
$80,300
41 – tie
Biochemistry (BCH)
$42,900
$80,200
41 – tie
Marketing Management
$42,100
$80,200
43
Civil Engineering Technology (CET)
$49,200
$79,700
44
Advertising
$40,000
$79,400
45
Philosophy
$39,700
$78,300
46
Marketing & Communications
$40,200
$77,600
47
Fashion Design
$39,400
$77,100
48
Political Science (PolySci)
$41,700
$77,000
49
Linguistics
$39,700
$76,800
50
Molecular Biology
$40,400
$76,400
51
Architecture
$41,900
$75,800
52
Accounting
$45,300
$74,900
53
Agriculture
$38,500
$73,600
54
Microbiology
$40,800
$73,400
55
Global & International Studies
$39,600
$73,200
56
Urban Planning
$41,100
$72,200
57
Nursing
$55,400
$71,700
58
Environmental Science
$41,300
$71,500
59
English Literature
$40,800
$71,400
60 – tie
Business Administration
$43,500
$71,000
60 – tie
History
$39,700
$71,000
62
Film Production
$38,200
$70,900
63
Biology
$40,200
$70,800
64
Health Sciences
$38,400
$70,500
65
Hotel Management
$40,600
$69,800
66
Communication
$40,000
$69,600
67
Forestry
$40,000
$69,400
68
American Studies
$41,400
$69,000
69
Broadcast Journalism
$32,700
$68,800
70
Landscape Architecture
$41,200
$68,700
71
Speech Communication
$39,400
$68,100
72
Journalism
$38,100
$67,700
73
Zoology
$37,400
$67,600
74
Geography
$40,800
$67,200
75
Public Administration
$40,600
$66,900
76
French Language
$40,900
$66,700
77
English Language
$38,700
$65,200
78
German Language
$41,400
$65,000
79
Human Resources (HR)
$38,800
$63,900
80
Public Relations (PR)
$37,400
$63,300
81
Hospitality & Tourism
$35,700
$62,600
82
Humanities
$37,900
$61,800
83
Anthropology
$36,200
$61,400
84
Multimedia & Web Design
$41,600
$61,300
85
Psychology
$36,300
$60,700
86 – tie
Medical Technology
$48,900
$60,500
86 – tie
Liberal Arts
$36,600
$60,500
88 – tie
Kinesiology
$35,600
$60,400
88 – tie
Visual Communications
$37,300
$60,400
90
Organizational Management
$41,900
$60,300
91
Interior Design
$36,000
$59,300
92 – tie
Nutrition
$41,300
$59,100
92 – tie
Fashion Merchandising
$39,100
$59,100
94
Art History
$36,900
$59,000
95
Sociology
$37,400
$58,800
96 – tie
Health Care Administration
$39,300
$58,600
96 – tie
Theater
$36,200
$58,600
98
Criminal Justice
$35,300
$58,400
99
Radio & Television
$37,900
$58,300
100
Fine Arts
$37,400
$58,200
101
Religious Studies
$34,900
$57,900
102
Sports Medicine
$39,300
$57,400
103
Art
$36,100
$57,100
104
Classics
$38,700
$57,000
105
Dietetics
$44,200
$56,600
106
Public Health (PH)
$35,900
$56,500
107 – tie
Physical Education Teaching
$34,900
$56,300
107 – tie
Drama
$35,600
$56,300
109
Graphic Design
$37,000
$56,000
110
Photography
$36,200
$55,500
111
Sports Management
$37,000
$55,400
112 – tie
Education
$37,400
$55,200
112 – tie
Animal Science
$33,600
$55,200
114
Social Science
$37,300
$54,800
115
Interdisciplinary Studies (IS)
$37,600
$53,400
116
Paralegal Studies
$35,000
$53,000
117
Theology
$34,000
$52,200
118
Recreation & Leisure Studies
$35,000
$51,900
119
Music
$35,700
$51,400
120
Culinary Arts
$34,800
$51,100
121
Exercise Science
$32,600
$51,000
122
Horticulture
$35,200
$50,900
123
Biblical Studies
$35,400
$50,800
124
Special Education
$33,800
$49,600
125
Human Development
$35,900
$48,000
126
Athletic Training
$34,800
$46,900
127
Social Work (SW)
$33,000
$46,600
128
Elementary Education
$32,200
$45,300
129
Child & Family Studies
$30,300
$37,200
Methodology

This chart is based upon PayScale Salary Survey data for full-time employees in the United States who possess a bachelor’s degree and no higher degrees and have majored in the subjects listed above. These results may not represent all graduates with these degrees. More than 1,000 colleges and universities across the U.S. were included. As a result, median salary figures may be skewed toward large state universities, since these schools have the largest attendance. Salary is the sum of compensation from base salary, bonuses, profit sharing, commissions, and overtime, if applicable. Salary does not include equity (stock) compensation.