Fields of study that have higher work-life earnings than the average for all people with bachelor’s degree include engineering, computers and math, science and engineering-related majors, business, physical sciences and social science. Furthermore, people more likely to be employed full-time and year-round are those who majored in a science and engineering field or business.
The lowest earning majors for those who had a bachelor’s degree included visual and performing arts, communications, education and psychology, with median annual earnings of $55,000 or less.
Engineering majors earned more than people in any other bachelor’s degree field of study, with median earnings at $92,000 per year in 2011, according to one of the reports. What’s more, engineering majors in management earn $4.1 million during their work-life, compared to the estimated $1.3 million that arts majors and education majors who were service workers make over the course of their career.