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What's It Worth?: The Economic Value of College Majors
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What’s It Worth? e Economic Value of College Majors Anthony P. Carnevale, Jeff Strohl, and Michelle Melton May 24, 2011
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Transcript of What's It Worth?: The Economic Value of College Majors
What’s It Worth? The Economic Value of College Majors Anthony P. Carnevale, Jeff Strohl, and Michelle Melton
May 24, 2011
Overview • Some undergraduate majors pay off a lot more than
others. The difference in earnings potential between one major and another can be more than 300 percent.
• Majors tend to be highly segregated by race/ethnicity and gender.
• White men are concentrated in the highest-earning majors, while women tend to be concentrated in the lowest-earning majors.
The top 10 majors with the highest median earnings
The 10 majors with the lowest median earnings
Race and gender earnings gaps still exist • Even in their highest paid major (electrical
engineering), African Americans still earn $22,000 less than whites and $12,000 less than Asians with the same major.
• Women tend to hold the majority of degrees in many of the lower-paying fields, such as education. But, even women with degrees in the higher-paying field of chemical engineering earn $20,000 less than equally-educated men.
Lowest and highest unemployment • The lowest unemployment rates: Geological and
Geophysical Engineering; Military Technologies; Pharmacology, and School Student Counseling.
• The highest unemployment rates: Social Psychology (16 percent); Nuclear Engineering (11 percent) and Educational Administration and Supervision (11 percent).
Conclusion • Obtaining a graduate degree leads to higher earnings,
but the amount of additional earnings is driven by field of study.
• The highest earnings for graduate degree holders can be found in fields related to healthcare and biological sciences.
• The majors where students have the lowest earnings boost from advanced degrees are: Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Studio Arts and Petroleum Engineering.
For more information: See the full report at: cew.georgetown.edu/WIW
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