Blog

The 25 Bachelor’s Degrees With The Highest Salary Potential In 2016-2017

Photo credit: Shutterstock

By: Kathryn Dill

As college students head–or return–to campuses around the country, many will be faced with the dilemma of choosing a major. Which fields of study guarantee students healthy starting salaries that will continue to grow?

As part of their 2016 – 2017 College Salary Report, PayScale asked survey respondents whose culminating degree is a bachelor’s, who graduated from schools in the U.S., work full-time in the U.S., and are not on active military duty to answer questions about their current employment and compensation.

Here are the bachelor’s degrees with the highest salary potential:

No. 25 (tie) Structural Engineering

  • Early career pay: $58,700
  • Mid-career pay: $104,000

No. 25 (tie) Industrial Engineering

  • Early career pay: $63,800
  • Mid-career pay: $104,000

No. 25 (tie) Biomedical Engineering

  • Early career pay: $62,700
  • Mid-career pay: $104,000

5-no-24-government

  • Early career pay: $49,600
  • Mid-career pay: $105,000

6-no-23-aerospace-engineering

  • Early career pay: $65,400
  • Mid-career pay: $106,000

7-no-19-tie-mining-engineering

  • Early career pay: $70,200
  • Mid-career pay: $107,000

8-no-19-tie-industrial-distribution

  • Early career pay: $56,800
  • Mid-career pay: $107,000

No. 19 (tie) Engineering

  • Early career pay: $62,600
  • Mid-career pay: $107,000

10-no-19-tie-computer-science

  • Early career pay: $65,300
  • Mid-career pay: $107,000

11-no-15-tie-physics

  • Early career pay: $55,100
  • Mid-career pay: $108,000

12-no-15-tie-materials-science-_-engineering

  • Early career pay: $65,800
  • Mid-career pay: $108,000

No. 15 (tie) Electrical and Computer Engineering

  • Early career pay: $67,000
  • Mid-career pay: $110,000

No. 15 (tie) Industrial and Systems Engineering

  • Early career pay: $63,800
  • Mid-career pay: $108,000

No. 15 (tie) Electrical and Electronics Engineering

  • Early career pay: $68,000
  • Mid-career pay: $115,000

16-no-13-tie-electrical-engineering

  • Early career pay: $67,000
  • Mid-career pay: $110,000

17-no-13-tie-applied-mathematics

  • Early career pay: $56,100
  • Mid-career pay: $110,000

18-no-11-tie-physics-_-mathematics

  • Early career pay: $56,200
  • Mid-career pay: $111,000

19-no-11-tie-computer-science-_-mathematics

  • Early career pay: $63,500
  • Mid-career pay: $111,000

20-no-9-tie-computer-engineering

  • Early career pay: $69,600
  • Mid-career pay: $113,000

21-no-9-tie-aeronautical-engineering

  • Early career pay: $63,000
  • Mid-career pay: $113,000

22-no-8-electrical-_-computer-engineering

  • Early career pay: $68,000
  • Mid-career pay: $114,000

23-no-7-electronics-_-communications-engineering

  • Early career pay: $68,000
  • Mid-career pay: $115,000

24-no-5-tie-nuclear-engineering

  • Early career pay: $68,500
  • Mid-career pay: $116,000

25-no-5-tie-computer-science-_-engineering

  • Early career pay: $71,200
  • Mid-career pay: $116,000

26-no-3-tie-chemical-engineering

  • Early career pay: $69,800
  • Mid-career pay: $119,000

27-no-3-tie-actuarial-science

  • Early career pay: $60,800
  • Mid-career pay: $119,000

28-no-2-systems-engineering

  • Early career pay: $66,400
  • Mid-career pay: $121,000

29-no-1-petroleum-engineering

  • Early career pay: $96,700
  • Mid-career pay: $172,000

 

http://www3.forbes.com/leadership/the-25-bachelors-degrees-with-the-highest-salary-potential-in-2016-2017/29/

The 25 Bachelor’s Degrees With The Highest Salary Potential In 2016-2017