The 10 worst-paying college majors, five years after graduation

CNBC ^ | 03/02/2023 | Mike Winters

[SeekAndFind]

College graduates who studied liberal arts or education aren't likely to make a lot of money in their careers, but a degree in theology results in the lowest payout of all majors right after college, new data reveals.

Graduates who major in theology and religion earn median salaries of $36,000 five years after college, according to a New York Federal Reserve analysis. As an hourly wage for full-time work, that comes out to just over $17 per hour.

That's followed by family and consumer science, social service, psychology, performing arts and leisure and hospitality majors, who all make less than $40,000 five years after graduation.

Here's a look at how much graduates with the lowest-paying majors earn early in their careers:

Median pay for each of the majors on the list is at least $6,500 less than the median salary for all majors, which is $46,500.

While teachers tend to have good job security, summers off and pensions, they're mostly paid by state governments, which haven't kept wages in line with inflation over the years. Likewise, theology majors often work in educational roles that don't typically pay well.

In contrast, the highest-paying majors are all in STEM fields, an acronym for science, technology, engineering and math. STEM jobs are in high demand since they are expected to grow twice as fast as non-STEM jobs through 2031. The 10 best-paid majors five years after college are mostly subsets of engineering. Chemical engineers took the No. 1 spot with a median salary of $75,000.

Later on in their careers, the pay disparity nearly doubles, as graduates with the lowest-paying majors earn median salaries less than $60,000 while graduates with the highest-paying majors make over six figures.

[jettester]

No I did not have to. I actually have two degrees in other, non-education fields. The sad part of the story is that where I live (Illinois), they realized that they had so gutted the schools in the field I do teach (Construction, Drafting, Welding, etc.). that they could not find enough qualified teachers unless they modified the union’s stranglehold on the hiring process (that is, you could only teach unless you had the education degree “golden ticket”). Do you understand how the system has been gamed to keep the “indoctrinated flow” continuing?

[minnesota_bound]

Salary https://www.salary.com should be a starting point before anyone goes to college.

[GreyHoundSailor]

You win - these otherwise unemployable POCs work for non-profits and get jobs in childcare, schools and, more recently, on community ‘Equity, Diversity & Inclusion’ Committees. I’ll be fighting them every step of the way in my little community.