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Highest Paying Jobs With a Bachelor's Degree


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The College Salary Report shows that the best bachelor degrees are mostly STEM-focused. STEM (science, technology, engineering, or math) degrees continue to be some of the highest paying degrees on the College Salary Report year after year.

The report shows Early Career Pay, the median salary for alumni with 0-to-5 years of experience, Mid-Career Pay, the median salary for alumni with 10-plus years of experience, and Percentage High Meaning, the percentage of alumni who say their work makes the world a better place.

The following table shows the top 10 majors, and two other STEM degrees ranked in the top 25.

Rank Major Early Career Pay Mid-Career Pay % High Meaning
    1   Petroleum Engineering   $94,500   $176,900   72%
    2   Electrical Engineering & Computer Science    $88,000    $142,200    44%
    3    Applied Economics and Management    $58,900    $140,000    69%
    4    Operations Research    $77,900    $137,100    48%
    5    Political Economy    $57,600    $136,200    38%
    6    Actuarial Mathematics    $63,300    $135,100    46%
    7    Electrical Power Engineering    $72,400    $134,700    63%
    8    Business Analysis    $57,200    $133,200    50%
    9    Pharmacy    $79,600    $132,500    77%
   10    Aeronautics & Astronautics    $73,100    $131,600    59%
   21    Human Computer Interaction    $74,300    $126,200    40%
   24    Computer Systems Engineering    $74,100    $123,200    48%

From PayScale
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