With the influx of new freshmen and classes starting again, many students are feeling the pressure to declare a major from nearly everyone: parents, advisors, professors and even friends. But in 2013, it’s no longer as simple as doing something you love.
With the downturn of the economy and the job market, students are looking to go into a field that will give them and their future families the stability that their parents were able to provide when they were growing up, or even more.
Payscale.com recently collected data on the starting and mid-career salaries of more than 100 college majors. The top five majors with the highest mid-career salaries are Petroleum Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Actuarial Mathematics, Chemical Engineering and Nuclear Engineering, each earning over $100,000 a year. A degree in Child and Family Studies will only earn you $37,700 a year, which is just about $14,000 over the national poverty line for a family of four.
So what does this mean for students? Should you ditch your fine arts degree to pursue engineering?
In short: no. These are annual reports that change every year, and it’s possible that you’ll see your major move up in the list in the near future. This is also not a guarantee as to what a future employer will pay; it’s merely a national average.
Nobody wants to be living with their parents for the rest of their life, and chances are, you won’t be. Simply being in college and earning a bachelor’s degree gives you an advantage over at least 60 percent of the population. Going to graduate school and earning a master’s degree opens up even more possibilities.
But don’t shy away from asking for help every once in awhile. Even the most educated people are sometimes forced to swallow their pride a take a year or two off to live at home to save money.
So don’t switch your major yet. If you love acting, don’t be afraid to stick with theatre. If teaching is your passion, keep working toward a degree in education. College is supposed to be fun, and you should be having the time of your life doing what you love with people you love to be with. You don’t need to spend the next four years planning your entire life; focus on your happiness. That’s all that really matters in the end.
Photo credit: http://www2.ku.edu/~features/c…