College Majors With Good Job Outlook and Starting Salaries?

[HeatherC]

All the college threads got me thinking again. Which college majors today have a good job outlook and starting salary.....to help pay off all those student loans we have been talking about.

We have three kids...oldest will be a junior this year and we are just getting into the college decision making process. We were talking about it the other day and were wondering what majors or fields are in demand nowadays...not that they will be five years from now, but you get the point.

 

[Art 1]

Dermatology.

 

[Geoff_M]

Chemical Engineering. Our daughter's university has a 100% placement rate with an average starting rate of $65k. She graduated this May, and landed her job last Fall. She started the job a month after graduating and had her first "poaching" attempt by another company two weeks after that.

 

[HeatherC]

That is awesome! Congrats to your daughter!

 

[Tess]

Chemical Engineering. Our daughter's university has a 100% placement rate with an average starting rate of $65k. She graduated this May, and landed her job last Fall. She started the job a month after graduating and had her first "poaching" attempt by another company two weeks after that.

Michigan Tech Grad? Just curious--our future SIL graduates next May in Chem Eng. Our son is a chemist--we have two chemical geeks in the family.

Great news that there is a market out there, but did she manage to stay in MI or nearby?

 

[ez]

This is a toughy. What I mean by that is, you want to encourage your kids to do something they will love but also be able to earn a good living from. My oldest son doesn't even have his bachelors degree yet (he is working on it online) but already makes over 6 figures in the tech field. He is so talented at what he does no one cares about the degree, he works for a MAJOR company. My daughter was so strong in HS across the board. It was hard for her to decide on a major. Our dr actually talked her out of being a biology major unless she wants to go to med school and be a dr. Now she has her sights set on law school and is double majoring in political science and international affairs. She really loves these majors and is carrying a 4.0. I'm hoping between both majors and law school she will be offered some interesting opportunities that also pay well. She got to skip almost 2 years of college due to IB credits, so that is a help financially.

 

[RitaE]

Actuarial Science

Pretty much anything related to math or energy.

There is a neighbor kid here who is just finished his Junior year of a Robotics program and he already has job lined up. He's worked there this summer in their research lab, they provided him with an apartment. He returns to school for one year and then he gets a relocation package and a signing bonus post-graduation.

 

[Geoff_M]

Michigan Tech Grad? Just curious--our future SIL graduates next May in Chem Eng. Our son is a chemist--we have two chemical geeks in the family.

Great news that there is a market out there, but did she manage to stay in MI or nearby?

Yep, it's Tech. My wife and I went to Indiana U., but we've become rather enamored with Tech... and The Keweenaw. #2 is there now, though he's taking a different track with a small program that he hopes will eventually land him at Disney: Theater and Entertainment Technology.

Nope, our Daughter's job is in Indiana, but the company that recently called her is from Michigan. Ironically, she's now living in my old hometown. My parents are tickled.

 

[goofy4tink]

Certainly not a Theatre major, English Lit minor!!!! Oh well.

 

[lolainkent]

Certainly not a Theatre major, English Lit minor!!!! Oh well.

Add Classics and Art History to that one!

My dad is in university admin and he likes to harp on about the fact that the top 10 jobs 15 years from now haven't been invented yet. Who would have thought "app designer for smart phone" would be a career back in 1993?

 

[EMAW_KSU]

Engineering
Computer Science
Finance

 

[eliza61]

Health care administration is booming in the East coast, especially with the new health care law coming on board. Down side is most of the jobs are in major cities which have tons of hospitals.

Yahoo just had a decent article on this very topic.

Could this also be regional? Chemical engineers are a dime a dozen around here. Tons of them in the tri state areas

 

[LittleMissMagic]

If you're looking for something that will yield a high starting salary with a 4-year bachelor's degree, then engineering. And of that, chemical, biomedical, computer, mechanical, and nuclear have high starting salaries and many job opportunities.

But I think majoring in something purely because it has a high starting salary is a terrible idea. I know so many people who started in engineering just because of the money and ended up either hating it or failing out. Engineering takes a certain type of person - someone who enjoys math and science.

 

[FireDancer]

I can only speak for business and tech majors because that is my field but it isn't just your major that matters or the school that gave it to you. I hire for my department and while degrees are important I also look at what real world experience you have to go along with it. I want to see you in professional groups (social or technical) and see what else you did while you were in college. I have not yet hired anyone who didn't work a "real" job while in college and by that I mean one that applies to their career, not just some summer job that you take to make some beer money. I started much higher than most people with an MIS major because I was promoted to a position inside the company I worked for while I was going to college. It would have almost impossible to get the job I had right out of college if I didn't also have real full time experience and a foot in the door to go with the degree.

About 3 months ago I had a position to fill. I was looking for someone with at least 5 years of well rounded IT experience (networking, web development, some database background, etc) and a bachelor's degree. The person we hired only had one year and an associate's degree. He jumped the other candidates because he worked two jobs to put himself through school and was going to continue on to a bachelor's while working here, was a member of one of the local young professional groups I also belong to, and had a personality that fit our department. I knew I could teach him the skills he didn't have yet but the ambition, drive, and personality he demonstrated by how he got to this point you can't teach.

I'd highly recommend people in the business fields start to look at the non-degree intangibles that make them stand out as opposed to showing up with just a degree and hoping that is enough.

 

[Pigeon]

In addition to the engineering degrees and actuarial science mentioned earlier, accounting is good. I work at a university and our accounting majors typically have job offers upon graduating.

Many of the allied health fields are good. Many require graduate school, but for some a bachelors or even an associates are adequate.

 

[elaine amj]

My husband is a nurse and feels secure that he will always have a job. Yes, there are always layoffs and the field isn't booming like in the glory days of 10- 15 years ago when there were recruitment bonuses and huge sign up bonuses, etc. But he feels that he can always find a job somewhere. It doesn't pay great, but it pays decent.

He just got his Masters in Nursing Informatics which is a very specialized field that is bound to become more necessary in the coming years.

 

[eliza61]

http://education.yahoo.net/articles/six_in_demand_degrees.htm

#1 - Health Care Degree

Graduates with recession-proof degrees in health care could find great success, according to Challenger. In fact, more than one in four (26.3 percent) HR professionals picked health care as the best bet for job security. Nurses are receiving the most employment offers in this category.

Desirable Degrees:
Nursing
Physical Therapy
Pharmacy
Medical Technician

Average Starting Pay:
Nursing: $52,178
Health & Related Sciences: $35,869

#2 - Business Administration Degree

It's no coincidence that business is booming for graduates with a business degree...it's the most popular bachelor's degree in the country.

Graduating with a degree in business administration puts job seekers in the second strongest position overall, just behind health care, according to the Challenger survey.

Desirable Degrees:
Business
Business Administration
Business Administrative Support

Average Starting Pay:
Business Administration: $44,171

#3 - Computer Science Degree

Computers are an indispensable part of the economy, and so are graduates who study computer science, which ranks as the third most valuable degree in today's employment market.

Desirable Degrees:
Computer Science
Technology Support
Information Technology and Systems

Average Starting Pay:
Computer Science: $61,783
Information Sciences & Systems: $49,318

 

[Patience]

Not law school. Forbes published an article in June, 2012 entitled "Why Attending Law School is the Worst Decision You'll Ever Make" and I agree completely.

Engineering and health care management are two degrees that have a good outlook for grads.

 

[mom2rtk]

But I think majoring in something purely because it has a high starting salary is a terrible idea. I know so many people who started in engineering just because of the money and ended up either hating it or failing out. Engineering takes a certain type of person - someone who enjoys math and science.

I wouldn't take someone who hates math and science and suggest they pursue engineering just for the pay. But unless one comes from family money, it DOES need to be a piece of the equation.

How many philosophy majors now wish they had looked at the job and pay prospects before choosing a major?

 

[Hollywoodhaha]

Anyone have any ideas on hospitality management? It seems to be one of the constant ones.