College costs are on the rise and student loan debt in the United States is now estimated at $1.4 trillion. Because college is such a large investment, choosing a college major should be part of the financial planning process.
Money isn’t everything, but student debt can be such a burden, it affects quality of life. According to Experian, the average outstanding college loan balance in 2017 was $34,144. According to a survey by student loan repayment platform Gradifi, college graduates in the workforce said student loans have affected their ability to go on vacation, buy a car, pay rent or even get necessities like food and clothing.
And the reality is, future earnings are tied to which major students choose.
PayScale’s 2018 College Salary report gathered compensation data from 2.3 million U.S. employees and ranked 489 bachelor's degree majors to identify the ones that pay the best.
It may not be much of a surprise to find that S.T.E.M fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) earned top spots for highest-paying post-graduation jobs.
Here are the top 10 college majors that literally pay off.
Petroleum engineering- Median pay after 0-5 years:$94,600
Median pay after 10+ years:$175,500
Physician assistant studies- Median pay after 0-5 years:$87,800
Median pay after 10+ years:$107,600
Metallurgical engineering- Median pay after 0-5 years:$75,300
Median pay after 10+ years:$105,100
Marine engineering- Median pay after 0-5 years:$73,900
Median pay after 10+ years:$123,200
Computer systems engineer- Median pay after 0-5 years:$72,000
Median pay after 10+ years:$118,000
Mining engineering- Median pay after 0-5 years:$71,300
Median pay after 10+ years:$108.500
Computer science & engineering- Median pay after 0-5 years:$70,900
Median pay after 10+ years:$116,800
Chemical engineering- Median pay after 0-5 years:$70,300
Median pay after 10+ years:$124,500
Computer engineering- Median pay after 0-5 years:$70,300
Median pay after 10+ years:$116,000
Electrical & computer engineering- Median pay after 0-5 years:$69,000
Median pay after 10+ years:$118,800
