Which Degrees Come with the Highest Starting Salaries?

Deciding on a major in college is challenging, to say the least.  Throw in the added stress of the cost of attending college and the pressure is only compounded. Engineering degrees offer the best bang for your educational buck, with an average starting salary of $63,000 a year in 2013. In fact, 4 of the top 5 highest starting salaries are engineering professions.  Computer science, business, and the health sciences are a few other areas of study that might prove to be a good return on investment, especially when considering that the average cost for a single year of college is $21,657.  But buyers beware – areas of study with the highest starting salaries are not immune to the unemployment woes plaguing recent graduates.  Overall, unemployment for recent college grads is 7.9% – which is still half that of individuals with only a high school diploma.  Other good news – things are looking up in some areas of study, like the health sciences, which have seen the highest increase in starting salary this year at 9.4%.

Check out the infographic below to see which degrees may come with the highest starting salaries, and if you’re still wondering which career best suits you, take our free career test.

Sources:

“College Degrees With the Highest Starting Salaries,” Forbes, April 2013

“2012-2014 PayScale College Salary Report,” PayScale, 2013

“Following the Money: Calculating the Net Worth of a College Degree,” NY Times, August 2013

“Hard Times: College Majors, Unemployment and Earnings,” Georgetown Public Policy Institute, May 2013

Please see the infographic for a full list of sources.

This infographic was originally published on CareerColleges.com