Engineering is the Career Path for Prosperity :Dave’s Diary

Graduation season is in full swing.  While high school seniors dream of college and a career, college seniors dream of student loan debt and hope they can find a job!  But if the college grad chose the right degree, the money to pay off those pricey student loans just might be there…especially in engineering.  

According to PayScale.com, which compiled information on the salaries of more than 1 million graduates who received a bachelor's degree from hundreds of universities and colleges, petroleum engineer offers the highest starting salary... Other majors that command top dollar are math, science, statistics and finance. While lucrative careers exist for history, English and foreign language majors, they're harder to find.

Top 10 college majors with the highest starting salaries:

1. Petroleum Engineering: $98,00
2. Chemical Engineering: $67,500
3. Nuclear Engineering: $66,800
4. Electrical Engineering: $63,400
5. Computer Engineering: $62,700
6. Aerospace Engineering: $62,500
7. Materials Science & Engineering and Mechanical Engineering (tie): $60,100
8. Industrial Engineering: $59,900
9. Software Engineering: $59,100

Top 10 college majors with the highest mid-career salaries:

1. Petroleum Engineering: $163,000
2. Aerospace Engineering: $118,000
3. Actuarial Mathematics: $112,000
4. Chemical Engineering: $111,000
5. Nuclear Engineering: $107,000
6. Electrical Engineering: $106,000
7. Computer Engineering: $105,000
8. Applied Mathematics: $102,000
9. Computer Science: $100,000
10. Statistics: $99,100

Top 10 college majors with the lowest mid-career salaries:

1. Child and Family Studies: $37,700
2. Social Work: $45,300
3. Elementary Education: $46,000
4. Human Development: $47,800
5. Special Education: $48,900
6. Culinary Arts: $49,700
7. Athletic Training: $49,800
8. Sports Medicine: $50,300
9. Theology: $50,700
10. Biblical Studies and Interdisciplinary Studies (tie): $51,000