When you’ve paid thousands of dollars toward your college education, it’s only natural to want to know which majors pay the highest starting salaries. The higher your starting salary, the sooner you begin earning income, the sooner you’ll be able to start paying off those student loans.
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Before discussing which degrees promise the highest starting salaries, we’d like to stress that a high starting salary should not be your only goal for choosing a major. While money is undoubtedly an important factor, job satisfaction and fulfillment are just as important when deciding on career path. In an ideal scenario, you should be looking for a job that gives you all three of the above.
A survey on the labor market for recent college graduates published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York revealed some interesting insights into median wages early career for various majors. A look through the list reveals that overall, Engineering tops the list of industries with highest starting salaries. Within engineering, computer engineering tops the list of highest paid highest median wage early career followed very closely by chemical engineering.
Here’s a more detailed look at majors with the highest paid starting salaries with details on the job description, job outlook, and top colleges to earn a bachelor’s degree for each major.
1. Computer Hardware Engineering
Median wage early career: $80,000
Typical entry-level education:
Job outlook 2022- 2023: 5%
Computer hardware engineers usually work in research laboratories, manufacturing, or computer systems design services where they are responsible for building and testing different computer models. In this role you would spend your work day researching, designing, developing, and testing computer systems and components such as circuit boards, processors, routers, and memory devices.
A bachelor’s degree in computer engineering or a related field such as computer and information technology is the minimum requirement for this role. A solid background in math and science will prepare you for this highly technical major.
Best college to earn a bachelor’s degree in computer hardware engineering
2. Chemical Engineering
Median wage early career: $79,000
Typical entry-level education: Bachelor’s degree
Job outlook 2022- 2023: 8% growth
Chemical engineers use their advanced knowledge of engineering, chemistry, and physics to design and develop improved equipment and processes for manufacturing a wide range of products. They are also responsible for monitoring and troubleshooting problems in production processes, and ensuring that all manufacturing equipment and processes comply with environmental and safety regulations.
While a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering or a related field is sufficient to gain entry in this field, most employers prefer to hire chemical engineers who have had some practical experience either through an internship or a cooperative education program.
Top 10 colleges to earn a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering.
3. Computer & Information Research Science
Median wage early career: $78,000
Typical entry-level education: Master’s degree
Job outlook 2022- 2023: 23%
Computer and information research scientists are also known as computer scientists, or computer specialists. These professionals are responsible for studying and solving complex problems in computing and developing theories and solutions to address these problems. They also determine computing and system requirements, test the operation of software systems, and improve on existing software systems and computing languages.
Computer scientists may also specialize in robotics or programming.
This is an advanced career field requiring a master’s degree in computer science or a related field as the minimum qualification. A bachelor’s degree may qualify you for some entry-level positions in the federal government.
Top 10 colleges to earn a bachelor’s degree in computer science
4. Aerospace Engineering
Median wage early career: $74,000
Typical entry-level education: Bachelor’s degree
Job outlook 2022- 2023: 6%
Aerospace engineers specialize in designing, developing, and testing various technologies and aero-vehicles including aircrafts, satellites, spacecraft, and missiles. As part of their job, these specialist engineers assess designs to determine whether the completed product complies with customer requirements, engineering principles, and environmental regulations.
Aerospace engineers may choose to focus on aeronautical engineering or astronautical engineering. Aeronautical engineers specialize in the designing and aerodynamic performance of aircrafts. Astronautical engineers specialize in the science and technology of spacecraft and satellites.
A bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering or a related field is the minimum requirement to enter this field. You will need a strong foundation in advanced math topics, trigonometry, and calculus to succeed in this major.
Top 10 colleges to earn a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering.
5. Electrical Engineering
Median wage early career: $72,000
Typical entry-level education: Bachelor’s degree
Job outlook 2022- 2023: 5%
Electrical engineers are responsible for designing, developing and testing advanced electrical equipment such as power generation equipment, radar and navigation systems, electric motors, and communication systems. They are also involved in designing the electrical systems of aircraft and automobiles. Ensuring that products comply with specifications and codes, and evaluating and resolving problems are also part of an electrical engineer’s job function.
The path to becoming an electrical engineer starts with a strong foundation in math and engineering. You will need bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or a related field to enter this field.
Top 10 colleges to earn a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering.
6. Industrial Engineering
Median wage early career: $71,000
Typical entry-level education: Bachelor’s degree
Job outlook 2022- 2023: 12%
Industrial engineering is an interesting engineering sub-field that focuses on devising systems to eliminate wastefulness and maximize efficiency in manufacturing processes.
Industrial engineers apply their advanced knowledge of engineering, science and mathematics to streamline complex procedures and operations, reducing any waste of time, energy, money, materials, and other commodities. As part of their job, industrial engineers review engineering specifications, production planning and process flows to minimize costs while still ensuring that products meet quality standards.
A bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering or industrial engineering technologies is the minimum qualification to enter this profession. To succeed in this major, you must have a strong foundation in algebra, calculus, trigonometry and sciences such as physics and chemistry.
Top 10 colleges to earn a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering.
7. Mechanical Engineering
Median wage early career: $70,000
Typical entry-level education: Bachelor’s degree
Job outlook 2022- 2023: 10% (Much faster than average)
Mechanical engineering is a broad engineering field that involves the design and development of a wide variety of mechanical products ranging from simple batteries to complex medical devices and elevators. Mechanical engineers typically focus on one of three main areas – heating and cooling systems, robotics, or auto research.
Regardless of the area of specialization, these professionals rely heavily on computer-aided design to create and evaluate designs. They also use computers extensively to run simulations and test how efficiently various machines are likely to work and interact with connected systems.
You will need a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering or mechanical engineering technology to enter this field. In most states, mechanical engineers who sell services to the public must be licensed.
Top 10 colleges to earn a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.
8. Financial Analyst
Median wage early career: $66,000
Typical entry-level education: Bachelor’s degree
Job outlook 2022- 2023: 8%
The primary responsibility of a financial analyst involves evaluating opportunities and making decisions about committing money to generate profit. They spend a major part of their work day studying business and economic trends and assessing the performance of different types of investments including stocks and bonds.
Financial analysts may work with businesses or individuals. They may be employed by a company and work in an office or self-employed and work from home. They may work as buy-side analysts, which involves developing investment strategies for well-funded companies or sell-side analysts, which involves advising financial service sales agents who sell bonds, stocks, and other investments.
While you need a bachelor’s degree in business to enter this occupation, larger companies prefer to employ candidates with a master’s degree. There are several advancement opportunities in this field.
Top 10 colleges to earn a bachelor’s degree in business/managerial economics.
9. Business/Management Analytics
Median wage early career: $65,000
Typical entry-level education: Bachelor’s degree
Job outlook 2022- 2023: 10%
Business analysts are responsible for making recommendations for improving an organization’s efficiency. They are also called management analysts or management consultants. These professionals spend their work day analyzing a company’s financial and other data such as revenue and expenditure and advising managers on how to boost profitability by increasing revenue and cutting down on costs.
Business analysts may be employed full-time by an organization hired as a consultant on contract to boost the organization’s profitability and develop strategies for remaining competitive in the market. Frequent travel to meet with clients is common in this role.
Most companies prefer to hire a business analyst with a bachelor’s degree at the minimum and several years of related work experience. Some of the larger companies may require a master’s degree in business administration.
Top 10 colleges to earn a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management.
10. Civil Engineering
Median wage early career: $65,000
Typical entry-level education: Bachelor’s degree
Job outlook 2022- 2023: 5%
Civil engineers work on all types of building and infrastructure projects including roads, bridges, water and sewage systems, tunnels, and other facilities. They are responsible for all aspects of planning and designing of a specific project, whether it involves construction or maintenance. As part of the job, civil engineers analyze surveys, plans, and maps, test building materials, and consider on-site conditions to evaluate the feasibility of a project.
Civil engineers work full time and typically split their time between construction sites and an office setting.
A a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering or a related field is the minimum qualification to enter this field.
Top 10 colleges to earn a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering.
A degree in finance, mathematics, biomedical engineering, accounting and economics are a few others majors that offer significantly high salaries for entry-level positions.
Remember, a high paying starting salary is not the only thing to consider when deciding on a major. Job satisfaction and fulfillment are equally important factors to weigh when choosing a major and a career path. If none of the majors listed above spark your interest, use College Raptor’s Career Finder tool to explore various careers and discover colleges that are a great fit for a particular career. You’ll also find information on typical salaries, number of job openings, and job outlook for each career.
