You're guaranteed a return on investment with any degree you earn, but some majors yield higher dividends than others. Some of these aren't surprising -- business, computer science -- but research also points to a new money-making major: aerospace engineering. These fields boast high earning potential and often reward workers with hefty starting salaries -- and from there, there is nowhere to go but up.
Business
Business is one of the top degrees graduates pursue, with 307,000 bachelor's degrees awarded in 2004, according to the most recent data available from the National Center for Education Statistics.
This field has one of the highest intentions of hiring new employees -- 66 percent, according to a 2007 recruiting trends survey of 864 companies by Michigan State University. And, those who held a business degree in 2007 found themselves entering a job market where initial job offers increased over the last year, with business administration/management majors, for example, seeing average starting salary offers rise 3.9 percent to $43,701, according to Salary Survey, a quarterly report published by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).
Computer Science
Technology professionals are in demand again, particularly among smaller companies, according to MSU's report. The Bureau of Labor Statistics backs that up with the expectation that job demand in this field will increase by 27 percent through 2014. In NACE's Salary Survey, computer science disciplines posted increases across the board, and this year's increases were slightly higher than what the survey has revealed in the past.
In computers, salary varies depending on your specialty. Computer science graduates witnessed a 4.1 percent increase in pay to $53,396, compared with a 2.5 percent increase this past spring. Information sciences and systems graduates meanwhile, saw a 4.6 percent increase, bringing their average offer to $50,852. According to BLS data, earnings can reach into the six figures -- software publishers boasted an average annual salary of $107,870; system designers, an average of $103,850; and company IT managers, an average salary of $99,880 in May 2004, the most recent year data is available.
Aerospace Engineering
Engineering is by far one of the more profitable career paths; making the profession even more attractive is that job demand is high. The BLS predicts such jobs will grow much faster than average through 2014. NACE's Salary Survey found engineering graduates received some of the highest starting salary offers and, as a group, accounted for the most offers to 2007 bachelor's degree graduates.
Aerospace engineering, a descendant of the general field, can dole out starting salary offers of $55,612, according to NACE. Dig deeper and you'll find the earning potential only gets better. Air traffic controllers, for example, earned median annual salaries of $102,030 in May 2004, according to the most recent data available from the BLS, which also predicts that the employment rate will grow 9 to 17 percent through 2014.
Now that you've got the insight, it's decision time. Are you ready to take your degree --and your salary -- to the next level?
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