Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on The Penny Hoarder.
Getting a college degree is an expensive proposition. Students can get a lot out of the college experience, and one of the returns for the cost is (hopefully) a decent job.
The choice of a college major has a lot to do with getting a good-paying job. Of course, everyone has to pick the course of study that suits them, but it might help to know about the best college majors. And by best, we mean the majors that result in higher salaries.
According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), the overall salary projection for the class of 2025 is $76,251, which is up 2% from $74,778 for the class of 2024. Those with majors in engineering and computer sciences are typically able to earn the highest entry-level salaries.
To break this down further, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicated that as of Oct. 2024, the median weekly earnings for workers with a high school diploma was $946. For those with a bachelor’s degree, it’s $1,533.
To help students pick a major, we looked at the top degrees that create sustainable careers.
Our calculations are based on the average starting salary, the median salary after five years in the field, the most in-demand majors, the projected job growth rate and whether undergraduate degree or postgraduate programs were needed.
We also wanted to know what the unemployment rate was for these fields and what the average cost of the college was. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is a great resource if you are interested in a college major not mentioned here.
How Much Does College Cost?
College costs vary widely from state to state and from private to public schools. The average tuition is $9,750 to about $58,628, not including room and board. Room and board can tack on up to $17,400.
The cost of college has skyrocketed, according to Education Data. The total cost of getting a bachelor’s degree has more than doubled in the 21st century, and the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of tuition is around 4.04% annually.
According to the 2024 Trends in College Pricing report, on average the price of tuition and fees in the 2024-25 academic year were:
- $43,350 at private colleges
- $11,610 at public colleges (in-state residents)
- $30,780 at public colleges (out-of-state residents)
It also reports that room and board runs:
- $15,250 at private colleges
- $13,310 at public colleges
In the 2023-24 school year, the average aid for each full-time equivalent student was $16,360 per undergraduate. That amount rose to $28,420 for graduate students. Overall, $256.7 billion of aid was distributed to both undergraduate and graduate students during this period.
In November 2022, the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) Simplification Act made it easier to apply for financial aid, including adding categories and expanding the Pell Grant eligibility.
For many degrees, you may be able to take basic courses at a community college and transfer to another college or university for your major. Tuition and fees for a public two-year college average between $1,440 to $8,660, depending on the state.
STEM Versus Liberal Arts
STEM, or science, technology, engineering and math, majors are most frequently mentioned as good college degrees for higher-earning career options than in the humanities.
Labor statistics continuously show steady or increased projected job growth in STEM fields.
While visual and performing arts might feed the soul, STEM careers often have a significantly higher entry salary than those in the liberal arts.
What Is the Best College Degree for You?
It is important you study something interesting to you that fits your natural aptitudes.
Make sure you study something that fits who you are, rather than changing yourself for the major. Your college major decision doesn’t have to lock you into one path for the rest of your life.
You might pick a college major as a freshman, then change it the next year. That is fine.
Good communication skills are important in every career. Critical thinking works whether you are doing project management or petroleum engineering.
When choosing a college major, pay attention to what keeps you engaged in a subject, and what turns you off. These are important cues for success on your career path.
Top 15 College Majors for Good-Paying Jobs
- Engineering
- Computer Engineering
- Computer Science
- Health Care Informatics
- Nursing
- Finance
- Cybersecurity
- Public Administration
- Economics
- Construction Management
- Logistics
- Physics
- Marketing
- Game Design
- Pharmacy
Keep in mind when looking at salaries listed for each major that there is a wide variation between states, regions, and urban and rural centers.
We looked at several employment websites to figure out the starting salary, and mainly used the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the median salary.
According to the BLS, there’s a 4% expected average job growth across all occupations between 2023-2033, which equals roughly 6.7 million new jobs.
Here are some valuable degrees that could be the best college major for you.
1. Engineering
There are a lot of engineering career paths. The beginning of those paths are pretty similar, but then you get to branch out.
There are electrical engineering, industrial engineering, civil engineering, architectural engineering, marine engineering, nuclear engineering, petroleum engineering and chemical engineering majors.
Every type of engineering pays well, and even though the job growth isn’t especially high, unemployment is very low. Engineering is one of the safest degrees for job markets. College students have multiple career options with these majors.
Most engineering fields require at least a bachelor’s degree to get started. For example, environmental engineers can get work with their bachelor’s, but nuclear engineers usually need at least a master’s or doctorate to begin.
Here is a breakdown of salaries for a variety of engineering jobs from Michigan Tech.
- Starting salary: $41,956 for the lowest-paid engineers
- Median salary: $91,420
- Growth rate 2023–2033: About 195,000 new roles estimated each year
- Postgraduate degree needed: Not for all types of engineering jobs
2. Computer Science
For this degree, you study the design, development, theories and application of computer systems and software development. This can include careers such as computer systems analyst, information systems manager or computer systems analyst.
It is one of the best college majors because it can be applied to almost any field. Software engineering majors will always find work; unemployment hovers around 2%.
- Starting salary: $104,863
- Median salary: $130,160
- Growth rate 2023–2033: 17%
- Postgraduate degree needed: Some employers may prefer hiring people who have postgraduate degrees in this field.
3. Computer Engineering
Computer engineers also work on development, design and software, but focus more on computer architecture like hardware design, artificial intelligence and operating systems. There is a low unemployment rate for these college majors. Careers include app developers, IT specialists and firmware engineers.
- Starting salary: $30,000
- Median salary: $138,080
- Growth rate 2023–2033: 7%
- Postgraduate degree needed: Typically not
4. Health Care Informatics
This relatively new career field has one of the highest projected job growth rates, at 29% (the average is 5 to 8%).
This field combines health care and computer system knowledge to create digital systems for all medical fields.
Health care Informatics workers develop systems that do data analysis and processing, as well as digital communication between health care facilities and data security.
Health information privacy laws are partially driving this field’s rapid growth.
- Starting salary: $82,781
- Median salary: $110,680
- Growth rate 2023–2033: 29%
- Postgraduate degree needed: A bachelor’s degree is required, with some employers preferring to hire those with a postgraduate degree.
5. Nursing
Nursing as a college major combines STEM majors with people skills, which makes it a popular course of study. Health care professionals can branch off into multiple directions when they have a nursing degree.
The highest paying nursing jobs are nurse anesthetists and nurse midwives, who earn around $129,480 as a median salary.
It has become more common for nurses to train longer to become nurse practitioners. Nurse practitioners take on responsibilities similar to doctors.
Nurse practitioners return to school for either master’s or doctoral degrees and have to pass a national board-certified exam. The field is growing extremely quickly at 40%, and the average salary is $130,295.
- Starting salary (nurse anesthetist): $122,504
- Median salary: $129,480
- Growth rate 2023–2033: 40%
- Postgraduate degree needed: Yes, at least a master’s degree is required.
6. Finance
Business majors and accounting majors can find a lot of opportunities. You can work in business administration, financial analysis and financial planning or so many other jobs in the business world.
Management analysts, personal financial advisors and project management specialists earn the highest average salaries.
Finance majors also frequently work in real estate, and we can all see that the housing market can be rewarding. Business administration is one of the most popular college majors.
Unemployment in finance is less than 3%.
- Starting salary: $67,370
- Median salary: $99,890
- Growth rate 2023–2033: 9%
- Postgraduate degree needed: Not required for most roles
7. Cybersecurity
One of the best college majors for the current job market (and for job growth) is cybersecurity. It is one of the fastest-growing fields.
Not all colleges offer this degree, so you can look for information technology as a college major, or you can look into the other computer majors mentioned earlier.
A doctorate or master’s degree really pays off in this field. A Chief Information Security Officer can make over $341,265 annually.
- Starting salary: $96,652
- Median salary: $120,360
- Growth rate 2023–2033: 33%
- Postgraduate degree needed: Not required for most cybersecurity roles
8. Public Administration
College students getting political science or public administration degrees can go into government, nonprofit and academic careers.
They might be city managers, nonprofit directors or public health managers who work in human resources.
Public policy director jobs pay very well, with a salary range of $131,000 to $229,000. There is a great deal of variety in salaries in this field.
Degrees in public administration are good for people interested in going to law school. You can combine a desire to make the world better with a career that pays well.
This is an area with extremely low unemployment.
- Starting salary: $35,610
- Median salary: $104,900
- Growth rate 2023–2033: 6%
- Postgraduate degree needed: Not typically
9. Economics
An economics major is different from finance because it is one of the social sciences, rather than a business degree.
College graduates with this degree can become economists, financial analysts, management consultants, data scientists and more. It is a high-earning field that pays people with postgraduate degrees best.
Almost 10% of CEOs of Fortune 500 companies hold undergraduate degrees in economics.
- Starting salary: $76,500
- Median salary: $115,730
- Growth rate 2023–2033: 5%
- Postgraduate degree needed: Yes
10. Construction Management
Construction management is a great degree for someone who is interested in buildings, has good communication skills and can understand both the cost analysis and materials science of a project.
It is one of the best career options for bachelor’s degree holders who don’t want to go on to get a master’s.
Salaries vary widely in construction management, heavily influenced by experience and special skills. Residential construction generally pays the least, and civil or heavy-duty projects pay the most.
- Starting salary: $47,831
- Median salary: $104,900
- Growth rate 2023–2033: 9%
- Postgraduate degree needed: Most jobs require bachelor’s degrees, not postgraduate
11. Logistics
Logistics majors typically start with an associate’s degree with a vocational emphasis.
The bachelor’s degree emphasizes transportation management, systems design, accounting and statistics and supply chain management with a human resources component.
Logistics is another quickly growing field. Here’s what you can expect.
- Starting salary: $67,881
- Median salary: $79,400
- Growth rate 2023–2033: 19%
- Postgraduate degree needed: Not typically
12. Physics
A physics major gives college students many job opportunities, as long as they are willing to go through graduate programs.
Astronomy, meteorology, photonics (the science of using light, such as in bar codes and lasers), climate science, education, robotics, gaming and other majors are all in this field.
Physics is the study of how everything functions, including space, time and energy.
As a field it has a huge amount of flexibility, allowing you to work in academia, research, business and science settings.
- Starting salary $94,805
- Median salary $149,530
- Growth rate 2022-2032: 5%
- Postgraduate degree needed: Yes, at least 67% of people in physics-related occupations have advanced degrees. Most jobs require a doctorate.
13. Marketing
Marketing, advertising and public relations careers are non-STEM majors that provide good salaries, relatively low unemployment and no requirement for an advanced degree. It promotes and advertises goods and services.
People can start working in the field with a high school diploma, though a bachelor’s degree is needed for advancement.
The starting salary isn’t that high, but marketing managers are well paid. A few years of experience makes a big difference.
- Starting salary: $53,158
- Median salary: $156,580
- Growth rate 2023–2033: 8%
- Postgraduate degree needed: Not typically
14. Game Design
Game design is a relatively new college major and isn’t offered everywhere. Other college majors for game design are software development and graphic design.
Game design can be used in multiple careers. For example, journalism and education fields are increasingly using game design principles in reporting and teaching.
- Starting salary: $47,000
- Median salary: $149,118
- Growth rate 2023-2033: 8%
- Postgraduate degree needed: Not typically
15. Pharmaceutical Sciences
Bachelor’s degrees in pharmaceutical sciences lead to many jobs, though a graduate degree is needed to become a pharmacist.
One of the most lucrative jobs for someone with this bachelor’s is in pharmaceutical sales, earning an average of $63,000 a year.
Being a pharmacist requires a doctor of pharmacy degree, also called a Pharm.D. Pharmacists work in hospitals, medical research, retail locations, and academics.
While there isn’t high job growth, the median salary has grown 64% over the last 20 years.
- Starting salary: $88,899
- Median salary: $136,030
- Growth rate 2023-2033: 5%
- Postgraduate degree needed: Yes
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