BEST UNDERGRAD COLLEGE DEGREES BY SALARY, 2010-2011
| STARTING MEDIAN PAY | MID-CAREER MEDIAN PAY | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate Major | Amount | Rank | Amount | Rank |
| Petroleum Engineering | $93,000 | 1 | $157,000 | 1 |
| Chemical Engineering | $64,800 | 2 | $108,000 | 2 |
| Aerospace Engineering | $59,400 | 6 | $108,000 | 3 |
| Nuclear Engineering | $63,900 | 3 | $104,000 | 4 |
| Electrical Engineering | $60,800 | 5 | $104,000 | 5 |
| Applied Mathematics | $56,400 | 11 | $101,000 | 6 |
| Biomedical Engineering | $54,800 | 14 | $101,000 | 7 |
| Physics | $50,700 | 22 | $99,600 | 8 |
| Computer Engineering | $61,200 | 4 | $99,500 | 9 |
| Economics | $48,800 | 29 | $97,800 | 10 |
| Computer Science | $56,200 | 12 | $97,700 | 11 |
| Industrial Engineering | $58,200 | 9 | $97,600 | 12 |
| Mechanical Engineering | $58,300 | 8 | $97,400 | 13 |
| Building Construction | $52,900 | 17 | $94,500 | 14 |
| Materials Science & Engineering | $59,400 | 7 | $93,600 | 15 |
| Civil Engineering | $53,500 | 15 | $93,400 | 16 |
| Statistics | $50,000 | 24 | $92,900 | 17 |
| Finance | $47,500 | 33 | $91,500 | 18 |
| Software Engineering | $56,700 | 10 | $91,300 | 19 |
| Management Information Systems | $50,900 | 21 | $90,300 | 20 |
| Mathematics | $46,400 | 35 | $88,300 | 21 |
| Government | $41,500 | 49 | $87,300 | 22 |
| Information Systems | $49,300 | 28 | $87,100 | 23 |
| Construction Management | $50,400 | 23 | $87,000 | 24 |
| Environmental Engineering | $51,000 | 20 | $85,500 | 25 |
| Electrical Engineering Technology | $55,500 | 13 | $85,300 | 26 |
| Supply Chain Management | $49,400 | 26 | $84,500 | 27 |
| Mechanical Engineering Technology | $53,300 | 16 | $84,300 | 28 |
| Chemistry | $42,400 | 41 | $83,700 | 29 |
| Computer Information Systems | $48,300 | 31 | $83,100 | 30 |
| International Relations | $42,400 | 42 | $83,000 | 31 |
| Molecular Biology | $40,200 | 56 | $82,900 | 32 |
| Urban Planning | $41,600 | 47 | $82,800 | 33 |
| Industrial Design | $42,100 | 45 | $82,300 | 34 |
| Geology | $44,600 | 36 | $82,200 | 35 |
| Biochemistry | $39,800 | 60 | $82,000 | 36 |
| Political Science | $40,100 | 57 | $81,700 | 37 |
| Industrial Technology | $49,400 | 27 | $81,500 | 38 |
| Food Science | $48,500 | 30 | $81,100 | 39 |
| Information Technology | $49,600 | 25 | $79,300 | 40 |
| Architecture | $41,900 | 46 | $78,400 | 41 |
| Telecommunications | $40,000 | 59 | $78,300 | 42 |
| Film Production | $36,100 | 91 | $77,800 | 43 |
| Accounting | $44,600 | 37 | $77,500 | 44 |
| Marketing | $38,600 | 67 | $77,300 | 45 |
| Occupational Health and Safety | $52,300 | 19 | $77,000 | 46 |
| Civil Engineering Technology | $48,100 | 32 | $75,600 | 47 |
| International Business | $42,600 | 40 | $73,700 | 48 |
| Advertising | $37,800 | 77 | $73,200 | 49 |
| History | $38,500 | 69 | $73,000 | 50 |
| Philosophy | $39,100 | 65 | $72,900 | 51 |
| Biology | $38,400 | 70 | $72,800 | 52 |
| Microbiology | $40,600 | 54 | $72,600 | 53 |
| American Studies | $40,900 | 52 | $72,500 | 54 |
| Communications | $38,200 | 73 | $72,200 | 55 |
| Fashion Design | $37,700 | 80 | $72,200 | 56 |
| Environmental Science | $41,600 | 48 | $71,600 | 57 |
| Global & International Studies | $38,400 | 71 | $71,400 | 58 |
| Geography | $39,600 | 61 | $71,200 | 59 |
| Business | $41,100 | 51 | $70,600 | 60 |
| Public Administration | $39,000 | 66 | $70,600 | 61 |
| Landscape Architecture | $43,200 | 39 | $70,300 | 62 |
| Biotechnology | $47,500 | 34 | $70,100 | 63 |
| Zoology | $34,600 | 110 | $68,800 | 64 |
| Drama | $40,700 | 53 | $68,300 | 65 |
| Nursing | $52,700 | 18 | $68,200 | 66 |
| Health Sciences | $38,300 | 72 | $68,100 | 67 |
| Radio & Television | $39,200 | 64 | $67,800 | 68 |
| Hotel Management | $37,900 | 76 | $67,600 | 69 |
| English | $37,800 | 78 | $67,500 | 70 |
| Forestry | $37,000 | 85 | $67,200 | 71 |
| Journalism | $35,800 | 94 | $66,600 | 72 |
| Hospitality & Tourism | $36,200 | 89 | $65,800 | 73 |
| Public Health | $37,800 | 79 | $65,700 | 74 |
| Literature | $37,500 | 82 | $65,700 | 75 |
| Liberal Arts | $35,700 | 95 | $63,900 | 76 |
| Public Relations | $35,700 | 96 | $63,400 | 77 |
| Anthropology | $36,200 | 90 | $62,900 | 78 |
| Psychology | $35,300 | 101 | $62,500 | 79 |
| Sociology | $36,600 | 88 | $62,100 | 80 |
| Animal Science | $34,600 | 111 | $62,100 | 81 |
| Human Resources | $38,100 | 74 | $61,900 | 82 |
| Kinesiology | $34,400 | 112 | $61,600 | 83 |
| French | $39,600 | 62 | $61,400 | 84 |
| Multimedia & Web Design | $40,100 | 58 | $61,200 | 85 |
| Photography | $35,100 | 103 | $61,200 | 86 |
| Health Care Administration | $37,700 | 81 | $60,800 | 87 |
| Organizational Management | $41,500 | 50 | $60,500 | 88 |
| Fine Arts | $35,400 | 99 | $60,300 | 89 |
| Humanities | $38,600 | 68 | $60,100 | 90 |
| Sports Management | $37,300 | 83 | $59,800 | 91 |
| Agriculture | $42,300 | 43 | $59,700 | 92 |
| Theater | $35,300 | 102 | $59,600 | 93 |
| Medical Technology | $43,800 | 38 | $59,300 | 94 |
| Fashion Merchandising | $35,000 | 106 | $59,300 | 95 |
| Exercise Science | $32,800 | 116 | $59,000 | 96 |
| Spanish | $37,100 | 84 | $58,200 | 97 |
| Criminal Justice | $35,600 | 97 | $58,000 | 98 |
| Visual Communication | $36,800 | 86 | $57,700 | 99 |
| Social Science | $38,100 | 75 | $57,200 | 100 |
| Art History | $39,400 | 63 | $57,100 | 101 |
| Music | $36,700 | 87 | $57,000 | 102 |
| Graphic Design | $35,400 | 100 | $56,800 | 103 |
| Nutrition | $42,200 | 44 | $56,700 | 104 |
| Interior Design | $34,400 | 113 | $56,600 | 105 |
| Interdisciplinary Studies | $35,600 | 98 | $55,700 | 106 |
| Education | $35,100 | 104 | $54,900 | 107 |
| Art | $33,500 | 114 | $54,800 | 108 |
| Religious Studies | $34,700 | 108 | $54,400 | 109 |
| Dietetics | $40,400 | 55 | $54,200 | 110 |
| Special Education | $36,000 | 92 | $53,800 | 111 |
| Recreation & Leisure Studies | $33,300 | 115 | $53,200 | 112 |
| Paralegal Studies/Law | $35,100 | 105 | $51,300 | 113 |
| Theology | $34,700 | 109 | $51,300 | 114 |
| Horticulture | $35,000 | 107 | $50,800 | 115 |
| Culinary Arts | $35,900 | 93 | $50,600 | 116 |
| Athletic Training | $32,800 | 117 | $45,700 | 117 |
| Social Work | $31,800 | 118 | $44,900 | 118 |
| Elementary Education | $31,600 | 119 | $44,400 | 119 |
| Child and Family Studies | $29,500 | 120 | $38,400 | 120 |
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. All colleges and universities across the nation 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: PayScale 2010-2011 College Salary Report (http://www.payscale.com/best-colleges/degrees.asp)