The Future of Work

These are the degrees that produce the highest earnings

CW Headley
July 22, 2020

 

This past Monday several prominent universities announced that they will begin their semesters with online courses.

Spelman College, The University of California at Berkley, Morehouse College, Clark Atlanta University, and Dickinson College are just a few of the institutions that rightly deemed populated campuses to pose a great risk of coronavirus infection.

“Under Lafayette’s plan, a limited number of students may receive permission to live on campus, including international students, those doing independent academic research or needing campus facilities,” US Education expert, Jacqueline Palochko reports.

“Other colleges nationally have made similar decisions. East Stroudsburg University made the decision last week to do online classes, but the majority of colleges in the Lehigh Valley have said they plan to bring students back in the fall. Most Lehigh Valley area colleges say they will forgo a fall break and end in-person classes before Thanksgiving, leaving final exams to be conducted remotely.”

These decisions don’t negate the usefulness of a degree however, as we prepare for a heightening wave of unemployment in the coming months.

Even without a pandemic or projected economic downturn, college applicants need to be critical when deciding upon a major.

In 2019, the total amount of outstanding student loans cleared $1.41 trillion, according to the credit reporting agency Experian. This marks a 6% increase from 2018 and a 33% increase from the figure reported by the agency back in 2014.

While loan forgiveness remains a liability in the mind of legislators, the best we can do is be prudent when picking fields of study.

When this in mind, Ladders explores a recent Glassdoor report on the amount much male and female professionals with the same college degree earned in the first five years of their career.

Major regrets

The majors listed below are associated with the highest-earnings on average

1. Computer Science

2. Electrical Engineering

3. Mechanical Engineering

4. Chemical Engineering

5. Industrial Engineering

6. Information Technology

7. Civil Engineering

8. Statistics

9. Nursing

10. Management Information Systems

According to the U.S. Department of Education women are less likely to pursue careers in education, applied arts, health services, and social work as compared to men.

Below are the industries that offer the most equal pay opportunities for female graduates:

1.Architecture

2. Pharmaceutical sciences

3. Information sciences

4. Chemical engineering

5. Computer science

6.Electrical engineering

7. Mechanical engineering

8. Computer engineering

9. Business economics

10. Civil engineering

11. Sports management

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