Picking the right major isn’t easy: you want to study and ultimately have a career doing something you love, but at the same time, it’d be nice to be able to get a job and make some money as well. We’ve got you covered! We’ve put together lists of the most popular majors (meaning there’s a possibility of a lot more people competing for the same jobs), as well as lists of the majors that lead to the highest and lowest paying jobs, and the majors that have the highest and lowest unemployment rate.
These lists have all come from different sources (click the name of each list to access the original source), so the names of certain majors might vary from list to list, but even so this should help you determine the best path to take for the great income and opportunities!
MOST POPULAR MAJORS
| Computer Science |
| Nursing |
| Construction Management |
| Accounting |
| Economics |
| Biology |
| Finance |
| Business Management |
| Political Science |
| Marketing |
| History |
| Human Resources |
| Health Care Administration |
| Paralegal Studies |
| English |
| Sociology |
| General Education |
| Psychology |
| Criminal Justice |
| Graphic Design |
HIGHEST PAYING MAJORS
| HIGHEST PAYING COLLEGE MAJORS | STARTING SALARY |
| Petroleum Engineering | $103,000 |
| Chemical Engineering | $68,200 |
| Nuclear Engineering | $67,600 |
| Computer Engineering | $65,300 |
| Electrical Engineering | $64,300 |
| Aerospace Engineering | $62,800 |
| Materials Science & Engineering | $62,700 |
| Industrial Engineering | $61,100 |
| Mechanical Engineering | $60,900 |
| Software Engineer | $60,500 |
| Computer Science | $59,800 |
| Biomedical Engineering | $59,000 |
| Actuarial Mathematics | $58,700 |
| Electrical Engineering Technology | $57,900 |
| Nursing | $55,400 |
| Civil Engineering | $54,300 |
| Medical Engineering Technology | $54,100 |
| Management Information Systems | $53,800 |
| Physics | $53,100 |
| Supply Chain Management | $52,800 |
| Applied Mathematics | $52,800 |
| Statistics | $52,500 |
| Information Systems | $51,900 |
| Construction Management | $51,500 |
| Industrial Technology | $50,800 |
| Computer Information Systems | $50,800 |
| Occupational Health & Safety | $50,500 |
| Economics | $50,100 |
| Information Technology | $49,900 |
| Mathematics | $49,400 |
LOWEST PAYING MAJORS
| LOWEST PAYING COLLEGE MAJORS | STARTING SALARY |
| Child & Family Studies | $30,300 |
| Elementary Education | $32,200 |
| Exercise Science | $32,600 |
| Broadcast Journalism | $32,700 |
| Social Work | $33,000 |
| Animal Science | $33,600 |
| Special Education | $33,800 |
| Theology | $34,000 |
| Culinary Arts | $34,800 |
| Athletic Training | $34,800 |
| Religious Studies | $34,900 |
| Physical Education Training | $34,900 |
| Paralegal Studies | $35,000 |
| Recreation & Leisure Studies | $35,000 |
| Horticulture | $35,200 |
| Criminal Justice | $35,300 |
| Biblical Studies | $35,400 |
| Kinesiology | $35,600 |
| Drama | $35,600 |
| Hospitality & Tourism | $35,700 |
| Music | $35,700 |
| Public Health | $35,900 |
| Human Development | $35,900 |
| Interior Design | $36,000 |
| Art | $36,100 |
| Anthropology | $36,200 |
| Theater | $36,200 |
| Photography | $36,200 |
| Psychology | $36,300 |
| Liberal Arts | $36,900 |
MAJORS WITH LOWEST UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
| MAJORS WITH THE LOWEST UNEMPLOYMENT RATE | RATE |
| Medical Technology Technician | 1.40% |
| Nursing | 2.20% |
| Treatment Therapy | 2.60% |
| Medical Assisting | 2.90% |
| Agriculture Production & Mgmt | 3.00% |
| Industrial Production Technologies | 3.10% |
| Pharmacy | 3.20% |
| Communications & Disorders Sciences | 3.30% |
| Elementary Education | 3.60% |
| Special Needs Education | 3.60% |
| Miscellaneous Education | 3.70% |
| Mechanical Engineering | 3.80% |
| High School Education | 3.80% |
| Theology | 4.10% |
| Management Info Systems | 4.20% |
| General Education | 4.20% |
| Health & Medical Administration | 4.30% |
| Transportaton Science & Technologies | 4.40% |
| Finance | 4.50% |
| Physics | 4.50% |
| PE/Health Education | 4.50% |
| Criminal Justice | 4.70% |
| Recreation & Leisure Studies | 4.80% |
| Civil Engineering | 4.90% |
| Electrical Engineering | 5.00% |
MAJORS WITH THE HIGHEST UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
| MAJORS WITH THE HIGHEST UNEMPLOYMENT RATE | RATE |
| Clinical Psychology | 19.50% |
| Miscellaneous Fine Arts | 16.20% |
| History | 15.10% |
| Library Science | 15.00% |
| Military Technology | 10.90% |
| Educational Psychology | 10.90% |
| Architecture | 10.60% |
| Industrial & Organizational Psychology | 10.40% |
| Miscelaneous Psychology | 10.30% |
| Linguistics & Comparitive Literature | 10.20% |
| Visual & Performing Arts | 9.20% |
| Engineering & Industrial Management | 9.20% |
| Social Psychology | 8.80% |
| International Business | 8.50% |
| Humanities | 8.40% |
| General Social Sciences | 8.20% |
| Commercial Art & Graphic Design | 8.10% |
| Studio Art | 8.00% |
| Pre-Law & Legal Studies | 7.90% |
| Material Engineering | 7.70% |
| Liberal Arts | 7.60% |
| Fine Arts | 7.40% |
| Film, Video & Photography Arts | 7.30% |
| Culinary Arts | 7.30% |
| Sociology | 7.00% |