New Study Shows the Impact of College Degree Choices on Earnings

Employee Relations, Jobs, Skills and Training

College graduates earn about $1 million over their lifetimes more than someone without a college degree, but a new study shows the difference in lifetime earnings between the highest-paid college majors and the lowest-paid is even larger—$3.4 million dollars.  The new report from Georgetown's Center on Education and the Workforce—"The Economic Value of College Majors"—shows that, on average, Bachelor's degrees pay off, but the economic risks and returns to Bachelor's degrees vary greatly among the majors.  STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), health, and business majors are the highest paying, leading to average annual wages of $37,000 or more at the entry level and an average of $65,000 or more annually over the course of a recipient's career.  Among the 15 major groups reviewed in the study, architecture and engineering majors are paid the most and education majors are paid the least.  College graduates who major in architecture or engineering earn an average salary of $83,000 per year, while education majors earn $45,000 per year.  Among the 136 major subgroups studied, petroleum engineering majors are paid the most and early childhood education majors pay the least.  College graduates who majored in petroleum engineering earn an average annual salary of $136,000 over the course of their careers, while those who majored in early childhood education earn $39,000 annually.