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what is the highest paying major, fresh out of college?

#majors #money

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Subject: Career question for you

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John’s Answer

It's hard to give an exact answer for a question like this. There are so many factors like the current market, country/city you live in, and the exact job that you'd be working after getting your degree. This is because you can work any number of jobs with one degree. I would suggest using a site like Glassdoor (https://www.glassdoor.com/index.htm). Sites like Glassdoor are basically an anonymous form of social media for professionals to discuss salaries and the workplace environment.

John recommends the following next steps:

Visit Glassdoor! (https://www.glassdoor.com/index.htm)
Search for jobs that meet your required pay rate.
Read about other people's experiences and see salary ranges.
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Rebecca’s Answer

Hi Isaiah,

I'm assuming you're looking for highest-paying majors with just a bachelor's degree, in which case, engineering continues to dominate the field. According to US News, these are the top 10 highest paying jobs as of September 2020: Computer engineering; Petroleum engineering; Electrical, electronics and communications engineering; Industrial engineering; Chemical engineering; Computer science; Materials engineering; Nuclear engineering; Mechanical engineering; Aerospace, aeronautical and astronautical engineering.

But more than just looking at a list of top-paying majors, you should also think about job prospects & career growth opportunities. For example, as the world continues to shift more towards green energy, the demand for petroleum engineers may decline over the next 20-30 years so specializing in that field could be a riskier choice.

Whichever program you decide to pursue - engineering or otherwise - I'd also recommend taking a look at the coursework and thinking about if it's something you'll enjoy. These are the classes you'll be living through for the next four years and enjoying them makes it easier to get through the challenging parts.

Best of luck!

Rebecca recommends the following next steps:

Research top paying majors (here's the US News article I mentioned: https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/slideshows/10-college-majors-with-the-highest-starting-salaries)
After identifying a few options, research long-term career growth opportunities for each of your top choices (a career or school counselor can help you)
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Paul Anthony’s Answer

Be careful not to confuse "job" with "major". If you're talking strictly about money, there are many high paying fields engineering, software development, actuarial that all have high average pay, but just having a major in one of those reflated fields doesn't mean you'll be any good at your job. If you're not good at your job, you won't be making any money really fast (especially in those fields). Some of the highest-paying, but biggest make/break it jobs are in sales, which isn't major specific. If have sales skills and don't mind working on commissions, you can make considerable money. Insurance agencies are full of highly paid producers, but they all had to build up a book of business. If making money motivates you and you can sell, you can make it work. If you're lazy and just want someone to give you money, you'll wash out really quickly.
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