Recent data has shown the best and worst college majors to bring home the big bucks — just as it was reported that millions of Americans are financially unable to retire.
The lowest-paying college majors are in such areas as early childhood education, elementary education, theology and religion, general education and social services, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
The majors that pay off the most are those in STEM disciplines — science, technology, engineering and math.
The top six highest-paying college majors are listed as chemical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering and electrical engineering.
People who graduated with a degree in theology and religion began their careers making an average of $36,000 and went on to bring home about $52,000 midway through their careers — when workers are 35 to 45 years old. Those who earned a degree in chemical engineering were hired with an average yearly salary of $75,000 and rose to make an average of $120,000 in their 30s and 40s.
Choosing a higher-paying college major could help you avoid becoming one of the millions of older Americans who are financially unprepared to retire.
About 50% of women and 47% of men between the ages of 55 and 66 have no retirement savings, data from the US Census Bureau indicated.
While some may consider those stats when choosing their college courses, others are opting out of higher education entirely.
College enrollment has been declining in recent years with the number of bachelor’s degrees being pursued in America dropping 19% from the 2000-2001 to 2019-2020 school year, according to the Pew Research Center.
Of those studious students who do decide to enroll in college, the majority are women.
The US has been seeing an increasing gender gap between men and women in both college enrollment and graduation rates, another Pew study shows.
About a third of men without a bachelor’s degree simply said they “just didn’t want to” enter or complete college, while others struggled with the financial burden of higher education.
College-level studies are an important tool for women, as research continues to show obstacles many American women face, including the gender pay gap, getting passed over for promotions, being taken less seriously at work and being forced out of workplaces due to a childcare shortage.
However, some millennial and Gen Z women are out-earning their male counterparts. Young women earn as much or more than their young male co-workers in 22 cities across the country, according to US Census Bureau data.
Single women also are outpacing men in homeownership in 48 of the 50 states.