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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:
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No. 25 (tie) Structural Engineering
- Early career pay: $58,700
- Mid-career pay: $104,000
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No. 25 (tie) Industrial Engineering
- Early career pay: $63,800
- Mid-career pay: $104,000
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No. 25 (tie) Biomedical Engineering
- Early career pay: $62,700
- Mid-career pay: $104,000
- Early career pay: $49,600
- Mid-career pay: $105,000
- Early career pay: $65,400
- Mid-career pay: $106,000
- Early career pay: $70,200
- Mid-career pay: $107,000
- Early career pay: $56,800
- Mid-career pay: $107,000
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No. 19 (tie) Engineering
- Early career pay: $62,600
- Mid-career pay: $107,000
- Early career pay: $65,300
- Mid-career pay: $107,000
- Early career pay: $55,100
- Mid-career pay: $108,000
- Early career pay: $65,800
- Mid-career pay: $108,000
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No. 15 (tie) Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Early career pay: $67,000
- Mid-career pay: $110,000
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No. 15 (tie) Industrial and Systems Engineering
- Early career pay: $63,800
- Mid-career pay: $108,000
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No. 15 (tie) Electrical and Electronics Engineering
- Early career pay: $68,000
- Mid-career pay: $115,000
- Early career pay: $67,000
- Mid-career pay: $110,000
- Early career pay: $56,100
- Mid-career pay: $110,000
- Early career pay: $56,200
- Mid-career pay: $111,000
- Early career pay: $63,500
- Mid-career pay: $111,000
- Early career pay: $69,600
- Mid-career pay: $113,000
- Early career pay: $63,000
- Mid-career pay: $113,000
- Early career pay: $68,000
- Mid-career pay: $114,000
- Early career pay: $68,000
- Mid-career pay: $115,000
- Early career pay: $68,500
- Mid-career pay: $116,000
- Early career pay: $71,200
- Mid-career pay: $116,000
- Early career pay: $69,800
- Mid-career pay: $119,000
- Early career pay: $60,800
- Mid-career pay: $119,000
- Early career pay: $66,400
- Mid-career pay: $121,000
- Early career pay: $96,700
- Mid-career pay: $172,000