Recent studies show the most popular majors do not always bring in the highest income.
Psychology, the second most popular major nationwide, according to the Princeton Review, barely scrapes in at No. 19 on the list of most lucrative majors, recently compiled online by Forbes Magazine, with an average starting salary of $34,700. Even finance, the most popular major at Boston College, with a mean of $46,900, ranks No. 6 on the list of careers overall.
There's no need to worry for the left-brained. Economics falls into second place with the average starting salary of $48,100. Three out of the top five careers on the list are engineering jobs, with mechanical engineering taking fifth, electrical engineering a comfortable third, and computer engineering running away in first with an average starting salary of $60,500 - jumping to over $100,000 after 10 to 20 years of experience.
Engineering's popularity is largely due to the specificity required by the job.
"Employers are willing to pay a sort of premium for ingrained skills," said Janet Costa Bates, associate director at the Career Center.
Christina Murphy, A&S '09 and an environmental geoscience major, agrees. "I think a lot of people choose their major based on job opportunities," she said.
Evidenced by the well-attended career fair on Tuesday in Conte Forum, students are very conscious of the goal of their educations. Plenty of individuals on campus are combining practicality with passion. For example, Murphy followed a desire to aid environmental issues, and then looked for career availability.
"I've always been a numbers guy," said Pat Shea, CSOM '10, a finance and information systems double major. "I think more people choose [their major] based on what they want to do, but I've definitely seen kids choose based on the amount of money they'll be making."
Andrew Blair, CSOM '10 and a finance major, said he too followed a passion for numbers, but has seen people choose majors with salary as their top priority.
Jenna Bee, A&S '09 and an international studies major, said her major is definitely passion-based and not salary-based.
"It seems pretty half and half, I guess, but there are definitely extremes," Bee said.
Lucrative majors are not limited strictly to those involving numbers-based majors. The top 15 highest-paying jobs directly after receiving an undergraduate degree include history, communication, and English.
Chris Hoy, a history major and A&S '09, and Caroline Ogonowski, an English language and literature major and A&S '09, will receive both the benefit of a profitable career and an enthusiasm for it.
"I was always told to choose my major based on what I loved doing, and I've always loved reading and writing," Ogonowski said.
And, Bates said, if students choose a major and have difficulty finding jobs, there is no need to fret. "Most alums go into a career which has little or no connection with their major," Ogonowski said.
Part of the goal of the liberal arts education, such as the one provided at BC, is to prepare students to adapt to any situation by providing a solid foundation of common skills.
"I think the first thing students need to figure out is themselves, and then start making connections with the working world," Bates said. "I tell students to study what you love to study."
Besides a visit to the Career Center, Bates encourages students to ask three very important questions: "What brings you joy? Are you good at it? Does the world need it?"
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