Majors That Pay You Back
Your choice of major can have a big impact on your post-graduation earnings and income. See PayScale’s list of college majors by salary potential.
Top 10 Majors by Salary Potential
 |
Methodology
Annual pay for bachelor’s graduates without higher degrees. Typical starting graduates have two years of experience; mid-career graduates have 15 years. See full methodology. |
Majors by Salary Potential – Full List
|
1
|
Petroleum Engineering
|
$98,000
|
$163,000
|
|
2
|
Aerospace Engineering
|
$62,500
|
$118,000
|
|
3
|
Actuarial Mathematics
|
$56,100
|
$112,000
|
|
4
|
Chemical Engineering
|
$67,500
|
$111,000
|
|
5
|
Nuclear Engineering
|
$66,800
|
$107,000
|
|
6
|
Electrical Engineering (EE)
|
$63,400
|
$106,000
|
|
7
|
Computer Engineering (CE)
|
$62,700
|
$105,000
|
|
8
|
Applied Mathematics
|
$50,800
|
$102,000
|
|
9
|
Computer Science (CS)
|
$58,400
|
$100,000
|
|
10
|
Statistics
|
$49,300
|
$99,500
|
|
11
|
Physics
|
$51,200
|
$99,100
|
|
12
|
Mechanical Engineering (ME)
|
$60,100
|
$98,400
|
|
13
|
Biomedical Engineering (BME)
|
$54,900
|
$98,200
|
|
14
|
Government
|
$42,000
|
$95,600
|
|
15
|
Economics
|
$48,500
|
$94,900
|
|
16
|
International Relations
|
$40,600
|
$93,000
|
|
17
|
Materials Science & Engineering
|
$60,100
|
$91,900
|
|
18
|
Industrial Engineering (IE)
|
$59,900
|
$91,200
|
|
19
|
Software Engineering
|
$59,100
|
$90,700
|
|
20
|
Environmental Engineering
|
$47,900
|
$89,700
|
|
21
|
Geology
|
$45,000
|
$89,400
|
|
22
|
Civil Engineering (CE)
|
$53,800
|
$88,800
|
|
23
|
Management Information Systems (MIS)
|
$51,600
|
$88,600
|
|
24
|
Biochemistry (BCH)
|
$43,200
|
$88,500
|
|
25
|
Chemistry
|
$44,700
|
$87,500
|
|
26
|
Electrical Engineering Technology (EET)
|
$58,400
|
$86,900
|
|
27
|
Information Systems (IS)
|
$50,900
|
$86,700
|
|
28
|
Construction Management
|
$49,500
|
$86,100
|
|
29
|
Mathematics
|
$48,500
|
$85,800
|
|
30
|
Finance
|
$47,700
|
$85,400
|
|
31
|
Molecular Biology
|
$40,100
|
$84,900
|
|
32
|
Computer Information Systems (CIS)
|
$49,000
|
$84,800
|
|
33
|
Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET)
|
$52,900
|
$83,400
|
|
34
|
Biotechnology
|
$41,400
|
$82,800
|
|
35
|
Information Technology (IT)
|
$48,900
|
$81,700
|
|
36
|
Industrial Technology (IT)
|
$49,700
|
$81,300
|
|
37
|
Food Science
|
$44,000
|
$81,100
|
|
38
|
Civil Engineering Technology (CET)
|
$49,500
|
$80,500
|
|
39
|
Industrial Design (ID)
|
$43,600
|
$80,300
|
|
40
|
Urban Planning
|
$39,000
|
$79,900
|
|
41
|
Advertising
|
$37,800
|
$77,100
|
|
42 – tie
|
Film Production
|
$37,500
|
$76,700
|
|
42 – tie
|
Supply Chain Management
|
$50,500
|
$76,700
|
|
44 – tie
|
Marketing Management
|
$40,700
|
$76,600
|
|
44 – tie
|
Telecommunications
|
$41,600
|
$76,600
|
|
44 – tie
|
International Business
|
$42,500
|
$76,600
|
|
47
|
Global & International Studies
|
$40,200
|
$76,500
|
|
48
|
Microbiology
|
$39,700
|
$76,200
|
|
49
|
Occupational Health and Safety
|
$49,600
|
$76,000
|
|
50
|
Classics
|
$35,300
|
$75,900
|
|
51
|
Architecture
|
$41,900
|
$75,200
|
|
52
|
Linguistics
|
$38,300
|
$74,900
|
|
53
|
Political Science (PolySci)
|
$40,300
|
$74,700
|
|
54
|
Accounting
|
$44,300
|
$74,500
|
|
55
|
Marketing & Communications
|
$39,100
|
$73,900
|
|
56
|
Environmental Science
|
$39,800
|
$73,600
|
|
57
|
American Studies
|
$40,900
|
$72,800
|
|
58
|
Philosophy
|
$38,300
|
$72,600
|
|
59
|
Biology
|
$39,100
|
$72,200
|
|
60
|
Literature
|
$39,200
|
$72,000
|
|
61 – tie
|
History
|
$39,000
|
$70,200
|
|
61 – tie
|
Nursing
|
$54,100
|
$70,200
|
|
63
|
Business
|
$41,400
|
$70,000
|
|
64
|
Zoology
|
$36,500
|
$69,700
|
|
65
|
Agriculture
|
$38,000
|
$69,300
|
|
66
|
Health Sciences
|
$39,000
|
$68,700
|
|
67
|
German
|
$41,300
|
$68,500
|
|
68
|
Communications
|
$38,900
|
$68,400
|
|
69
|
Geography
|
$39,800
|
$67,400
|
|
70
|
Landscape Architecture
|
$40,600
|
$66,300
|
|
71
|
Spanish
|
$35,900
|
$65,900
|
|
72
|
Hotel Management
|
$40,400
|
$65,800
|
|
73 – tie
|
English
|
$38,100
|
$65,500
|
|
73 – tie
|
Forestry
|
$42,000
|
$65,500
|
|
75
|
French
|
$39,500
|
$65,100
|
|
76
|
Public Relations (PR)
|
$36,500
|
$65,000
|
|
77
|
Multimedia and Web Design
|
$40,500
|
$64,900
|
|
78
|
Journalism
|
$36,800
|
$64,700
|
|
79 – tie
|
Speech Communication
|
$38,700
|
$64,400
|
|
79 – tie
|
Radio & Television
|
$35,900
|
$64,400
|
|
81
|
Fashion Design
|
$36,300
|
$63,900
|
|
82
|
Liberal Arts
|
$35,300
|
$62,500
|
|
83
|
Hospitality & Tourism
|
$36,400
|
$62,300
|
|
84
|
Anthropology
|
$36,000
|
$61,400
|
|
85
|
Human Resources (HR)
|
$39,200
|
$61,200
|
|
86 – tie
|
Medical Technology
|
$49,600
|
$60,200
|
|
86 – tie
|
Psychology
|
$35,200
|
$60,200
|
|
88
|
Humanities
|
$35,600
|
$60,100
|
|
89
|
Public Administration
|
$41,500
|
$59,700
|
|
90
|
Drama
|
$39,300
|
$58,900
|
|
91
|
Visual Communication
|
$36,700
|
$58,700
|
|
92 – tie
|
Religious Studies
|
$34,900
|
$58,400
|
|
92 – tie
|
Organizational Management (OM)
|
$40,700
|
$58,400
|
|
94
|
Broadcasting
|
$31,800
|
$58,300
|
|
95
|
Fashion Merchandising
|
$37,600
|
$58,100
|
|
96
|
Nutrition
|
$40,600
|
$57,900
|
|
97
|
Health Care Administration
|
$39,600
|
$57,800
|
|
98
|
Sports Management
|
$35,300
|
$57,600
|
|
99
|
Interior Design
|
$35,300
|
$57,500
|
|
100 – tie
|
Art
|
$34,400
|
$56,700
|
|
100 – tie
|
Criminal Justice
|
$35,200
|
$56,700
|
|
100 – tie
|
Sociology
|
$36,000
|
$56,700
|
|
103
|
Social Science
|
$37,600
|
$56,300
|
|
104
|
Kinesiology
|
$34,100
|
$56,000
|
|
105 – tie
|
Photography
|
$35,700
|
$55,600
|
|
105 – tie
|
Theater
|
$33,200
|
$55,600
|
|
107
|
Graphic Design
|
$35,500
|
$55,500
|
|
108
|
Recreation & Leisure Studies
|
$34,900
|
$55,300
|
|
109
|
Horticulture
|
$36,800
|
$55,100
|
|
110
|
Education
|
$37,200
|
$55,000
|
|
111
|
Exercise Science
|
$31,300
|
$54,400
|
|
112
|
Dietetics
|
$44,100
|
$54,300
|
|
113
|
Art History
|
$36,400
|
$54,000
|
|
114
|
Physical Education
|
$33,400
|
$53,900
|
|
115
|
Fine Arts
|
$31,800
|
$53,700
|
|
116
|
Animal Science
|
$33,300
|
$53,200
|
|
117
|
Paralegal/Law
|
$36,500
|
$52,100
|
|
118
|
Public Health (PH)
|
$35,000
|
$51,300
|
|
119
|
Music
|
$34,600
|
$51,100
|
|
120 – tie
|
Biblical Studies
|
$32,500
|
$51,000
|
|
120 – tie
|
Interdisciplinary Studies (IS)
|
$37,500
|
$51,000
|
|
122
|
Theology
|
$32,400
|
$50,700
|
|
123
|
Sports Medicine
|
$35,700
|
$50,300
|
|
124
|
Athletic Training
|
$34,400
|
$49,800
|
|
125
|
Culinary Arts
|
$31,000
|
$49,700
|
|
126
|
Special Education
|
$33,900
|
$48,900
|
|
127
|
Human Development
|
$33,100
|
$47,800
|
|
128
|
Elementary Education
|
$31,400
|
$46,000
|
|
129
|
Social Work (SW)
|
$33,100
|
$45,300
|
|
130
|
Child and Family Studies
|
$29,300
|
$37,700
|
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.
Source for definitions: Dictionary.com