The Huffington Post recently published an article on the 13 best-paying college majors. Note that 12 of the 13 require a strong physics and science background, and all 13 require strong math skills. Thanks to Louis Carusone of Eastridge High School for sharing this article and link. You can find the entire article online at the Huffington Post. I have summarized their data below:
|
Major |
Median Starting Pay |
Mid-Career Median Pay |
|
Petroleum Engineering |
$97,900 |
$155,000 |
|
Chemical Engineering |
$64,500 |
$109,000 |
|
Electrical Engineering |
$61,300 |
$103,000 |
|
Materials Science / Eng |
$60,400 |
$103,000 |
|
Aerospace Engineering |
$60,700 |
$102,000 |
|
Computer Engineering |
$61,800 |
$101,000 |
|
Physics |
$49,800 |
$101,000 |
|
Applied Mathematics |
$52,600 |
$98,600 |
|
Computer Science |
$56,600 |
$97,900 |
|
Nuclear Engineering |
$65,100 |
$97,800 |
|
Biomedical Engineering |
$53,800 |
$97,800 |
|
Economics |
$47,300 |
$94,700 |
|
Mechanical Engineering |
$58,400 |
$94,500 |
I am so curious about the physics major numbers. Are these physics majors ONLY (not physics double-major with something else), and where are they finding these high paying jobs with just a bachelor’s degree? That is certainly not what my physics major friends have experienced in the past decade or so.
Excellent question. I’m just summarizing the data as presented in the Huffington Post article, specifically noting the emphasis on engineering, science and mathematics. Links to the original article and source are included in the blog post for further information.