If you’re in college and want to start earning money soon after graduating, you may want to study engineering. A new study from the New York Federal Reserve reveals the college majors that pay the most within five years of graduation and eight of the top 10 are in engineering.
Chemical engineering comes in first, as those grads earn an average salary of $75-thousand shortly after college. To compare, those with the lowest-paying major, theology and religion, make an average of $36-thousand within five years of graduating, less than half what the chemical engineers make. The only non-engineering majors that made the top 10 are computer science, in fourth and business analytics, ranked ninth.
The top 10 college majors that pay the most within five years of graduation:
(This includes full-time U.S. workers with bachelor’s degrees only)
- Chemical engineering - $75-thousand
- Computer engineering - $74-thousand
- Computer science - $73-thousand
- Aerospace engineering - $72-thousand
- Electrical engineering - $70-thousand
- Industrial engineering - $70-thousand
- Mechanical engineering - $70-thousand
- Miscellaneous engineering - $68-thousand
- Business analytics - 66-thousand
- Civil engineering - $65-thousand
Source: CNBC