A lot goes into figuring out what you want to be when you grow up. Money is far from everything, but it’s definitely a factor, especially if you know you’re going to be graduating with a substantial amount of student debt and need an income that will allow you to pay it back. For all the parents out there reading this, payscale.com ranks college majors by median starting salary and gives an indication of median mid-career salary as well (list included below for your reference). No surprise in that engineering, math, and science dominate the top of the list. Also on their site, you can find the Best Schools By Major, Best Schools By Region, advice on choosing a major, and a copious amount of other information. Check it out as just one more resource to help coach college bound seniors and younger children to make important choices that may determine their career, earning potential, and happiness in adulthood.
| RANK | MAJOR | STARTING SALARY | MID-CAREER SALARY |
| 1 | Petroleum Engineering | $103,000 | $160,000 |
| 2 | Actuarial Mathematics | $58,700 | $120,000 |
| 3 | Nuclear Engineering | $67,600 | $117,000 |
| 4 | Chemical Engineering | $68,200 | $115,000 |
| 5 | Aerospace Engineering | $62,800 | $109,000 |
| 6 – tie | Electrical Engineering (EE) | $64,300 | $106,000 |
| 6 – tie | Computer Engineering (CE) | $65,300 | $106,000 |
| 8 | Computer Science (CS) | $59,800 | $102,000 |
| 9 | Physics | $53,100 | $101,000 |
| 10 | Mechanical Engineering (ME) | $60,900 | $99,700 |
| 11 | Materials Science & Engineering | $62,700 | $99,500 |
| 12 | Software Engineering | $60,500 | $99,300 |
| 13 | Statistics | $52,500 | $98,900 |
| 14 | Government | $43,200 | $97,100 |
| 15 | Economics | $50,100 | $96,700 |
| 16 | Applied Mathematics | $52,800 | $96,200 |
| 17 | Industrial Engineering (IE) | $61,100 | $94,400 |
| 18 | Management Information Systems (MIS) | $53,800 | $92,200 |
| 19 | Biomedical Engineering (BME) | $59,000 | $91,700 |
| 20 | Civil Engineering (CE) | $54,300 | $91,100 |
| 21 | Environmental Engineering | $49,400 | $89,800 |
| 22 – tie | Construction Management | $51,500 | $88,800 |
| 22 – tie | Mathematics | $49,400 | $88,800 |
| 24 | Electrical Engineering Technology (EET) | $57,900 | $87,600 |
| 25 | Computer Information Systems (CIS) | $50,800 | $87,400 |
| 26 | Information Systems (IS) | $51,900 | $87,200 |
| 27 | Finance | $49,200 | $87,100 |
| 28 | International Relations | $41,700 | $85,700 |
| 29 | Geology | $46,100 | $85,300 |
| 30 – tie | Chemistry | $44,100 | $84,100 |
| 30 – tie | Information Technology (IT) | $49,900 | $84,100 |
| 32 – tie | Biotechnology | $48,700 | $84,000 |
| 32 – tie | Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET) | $54,100 | $84,000 |
| 34 – tie | Supply Chain Management | $52,800 | $83,700 |
| 34 – tie | International Business | $43,800 | $83,700 |
| 36 | Industrial Design (ID) | $44,800 | $82,200 |
| 37 | Industrial Technology (IT) | $50,800 | $81,500 |
| 38 | Telecommunications | $43,100 | $81,200 |
| 39 | Food Science | $45,200 | $80,500 |
| 40 | Occupational Health and Safety | $50,500 | $80,300 |
| 41 – tie | Biochemistry (BCH) | $42,900 | $80,200 |
| 41 – tie | Marketing Management | $42,100 | $80,200 |
| 43 | Civil Engineering Technology (CET) | $49,200 | $79,700 |
| 44 | Advertising | $40,000 | $79,400 |
| 45 | Philosophy | $39,700 | $78,300 |
| 46 | Marketing & Communications | $40,200 | $77,600 |
| 47 | Fashion Design | $39,400 | $77,100 |
| 48 | Political Science (PolySci) | $41,700 | $77,000 |
| 49 | Linguistics | $39,700 | $76,800 |
| 50 | Molecular Biology | $40,400 | $76,400 |
| 51 | Architecture | $41,900 | $75,800 |
| 52 | Accounting | $45,300 | $74,900 |
| 53 | Agriculture | $38,500 | $73,600 |
| 54 | Microbiology | $40,800 | $73,400 |
| 55 | Global & International Studies | $39,600 | $73,200 |
| 56 | Urban Planning | $41,100 | $72,200 |
| 57 | Nursing | $55,400 | $71,700 |
| 58 | Environmental Science | $41,300 | $71,500 |
| 59 | English Literature | $40,800 | $71,400 |
| 60 – tie | Business Administration | $43,500 | $71,000 |
| 60 – tie | History | $39,700 | $71,000 |
| 62 | Film Production | $38,200 | $70,900 |
| 63 | Biology | $40,200 | $70,800 |
| 64 | Health Sciences | $38,400 | $70,500 |
| 65 | Hotel Management | $40,600 | $69,800 |
| 66 | Communication | $40,000 | $69,600 |
| 67 | Forestry | $40,000 | $69,400 |
| 68 | American Studies | $41,400 | $69,000 |
| 69 | Broadcast Journalism | $32,700 | $68,800 |
| 70 | Landscape Architecture | $41,200 | $68,700 |
| 71 | Speech Communication | $39,400 | $68,100 |
| 72 | Journalism | $38,100 | $67,700 |
| 73 | Zoology | $37,400 | $67,600 |
| 74 | Geography | $40,800 | $67,200 |
| 75 | Public Administration | $40,600 | $66,900 |
| 76 | French Language | $40,900 | $66,700 |
| 77 | English Language | $38,700 | $65,200 |
| 78 | German Language | $41,400 | $65,000 |
| 79 | Human Resources (HR) | $38,800 | $63,900 |
| 80 | Public Relations (PR) | $37,400 | $63,300 |
| 81 | Hospitality & Tourism | $35,700 | $62,600 |
| 82 | Humanities | $37,900 | $61,800 |
| 83 | Anthropology | $36,200 | $61,400 |
| 84 | Multimedia & Web Design | $41,600 | $61,300 |
| 85 | Psychology | $36,300 | $60,700 |
| 86 – tie | Medical Technology | $48,900 | $60,500 |
| 86 – tie | Liberal Arts | $36,600 | $60,500 |
| 88 – tie | Kinesiology | $35,600 | $60,400 |
| 88 – tie | Visual Communications | $37,300 | $60,400 |
| 90 | Organizational Management | $41,900 | $60,300 |
| 91 | Interior Design | $36,000 | $59,300 |
| 92 – tie | Nutrition | $41,300 | $59,100 |
| 92 – tie | Fashion Merchandising | $39,100 | $59,100 |
| 94 | Art History | $36,900 | $59,000 |
| 95 | Sociology | $37,400 | $58,800 |
| 96 – tie | Health Care Administration | $39,300 | $58,600 |
| 96 – tie | Theater | $36,200 | $58,600 |
| 98 | Criminal Justice | $35,300 | $58,400 |
| 99 | Radio & Television | $37,900 | $58,300 |
| 100 | Fine Arts | $37,400 | $58,200 |
| 101 | Religious Studies | $34,900 | $57,900 |
| 102 | Sports Medicine | $39,300 | $57,400 |
| 103 | Art | $36,100 | $57,100 |
| 104 | Classics | $38,700 | $57,000 |
| 105 | Dietetics | $44,200 | $56,600 |
| 106 | Public Health (PH) | $35,900 | $56,500 |
| 107 – tie | Physical Education Teaching | $34,900 | $56,300 |
| 107 – tie | Drama | $35,600 | $56,300 |
| 109 | Graphic Design | $37,000 | $56,000 |
| 110 | Photography | $36,200 | $55,500 |
| 111 | Sports Management | $37,000 | $55,400 |
| 112 – tie | Education | $37,400 | $55,200 |
| 112 – tie | Animal Science | $33,600 | $55,200 |
| 114 | Social Science | $37,300 | $54,800 |
| 115 | Interdisciplinary Studies (IS) | $37,600 | $53,400 |
| 116 | Paralegal Studies | $35,000 | $53,000 |
| 117 | Theology | $34,000 | $52,200 |
| 118 | Recreation & Leisure Studies | $35,000 | $51,900 |
| 119 | Music | $35,700 | $51,400 |
| 120 | Culinary Arts | $34,800 | $51,100 |
| 121 | Exercise Science | $32,600 | $51,000 |
| 122 | Horticulture | $35,200 | $50,900 |
| 123 | Biblical Studies | $35,400 | $50,800 |
| 124 | Special Education | $33,800 | $49,600 |
| 125 | Human Development | $35,900 | $48,000 |
| 126 | Athletic Training | $34,800 | $46,900 |
| 127 | Social Work (SW) | $33,000 | $46,600 |
| 128 | Elementary Education | $32,200 | $45,300 |
| 129 | Child & Family Studies | $30,300 | $37,200 |
PWA Financial Tastings Blog 
I majored in Psychology so I should be starting out at $36,300. Wooo