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Kiplinger Finance Magazine Names 10 Most Lucrative College Majors

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Is your college search underway or are you considering going back to school? Kiplinger, a Washington, D.C.-based finance publication, has some advice for which major or area of study to choose.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a worker with a bachelor’s degree or higher typically earns 79 percent more than someone with just a high school diploma. But as Kiplinger magazine points out, it’s what you major in that really matters.

For the magazine’s September issue, researchers analyzed data for 128 popular college majors and which ones lead to hefty paychecks both right out of school and down the road. The top majors listed by Kiplinger include nursing, civil engineering, computer science, actuarial mathematics, statistics, physics, finance, economics, software engineering, and management information systems.

As part of the research process, Kiplinger also looked for majors that are in high demand based on recent online job postings, as well as long-term growth expectations for related occupations.

Here is a list of salary information and job growth projections for the 10 most lucrative college majors and areas of study:

Nursing

Starting salary: $56,900 (median for all 128 majors: $41,600)

Mid-career salary: $73,600 (median for all 128 majors: $71,650)

Annual online job postings: 911,018

Best related job: Registered Nurse

Projected 10-year job growth: 16.3% (all occupations: 11.1%)

Actuarial Mathematics

Starting salary: $60,800

Mid-career salary: $119,600

Annual online job postings: 21,782

Best related job: Actuary

Projected 10-year job growth: 23.0%

Statistics

Starting salary: $54,900

Mid-career salary: $103,100

Annual online job postings: 103,270

Best related job: Statistician

Projected 10-year job growth: 24.1%

Computer Science

Starting salary: $61,600

Mid-career salary: $103,600

Annual online job postings: 1,874,509

Best related job: Computer and Information Research Scientist

Projected 10-year job growth: 15.9%

Civil Engineering

Starting salary: $55,100

Mid-career salary: $93,400

Annual online job postings: 152,412

Best related job: Civil Engineer

Projected 10-year job growth: 17.8%

Physics

Starting salary: $57,200

Mid-career salary: $105,100

Annual online job postings: 72,732

Best related job: Physicist

Projected 10-year job growth: 11.3%

Finance

Starting salary: $50,900

Mid-career salary: $89,300

Annual online job postings: 1,029,020

Best related job: Financial Analyst

Projected 10-year job growth: 16.0%

Economics

Starting salary: $51,400

Mid-career salary: $97,700

Annual online job postings: 799,117

Best related job: Economist

Projected 10-year job growth: 15.3%

Software Engineering

Starting salary: $61,700

Mid-career salary: $99,800

Annual online job postings: 735,513

Best related job: App Developer

Projected 10-year job growth: 23.4%

Management Information Systems

Starting salary: $56,300

Mid-career salary: $95,500

Annual online job postings: 2,306,724

Best related job: Computer and Information Systems Manager

Projected 10-year job growth: 16.7%

To read the story, visit www.kiplinger.com.


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