The Top Money Making STEM Majors and How to Find Them

As the working world continues to become revolutionized by enormous technological advancements, we have witnessed drastic changes in the top “money-making” college STEM majors. At the start of the millennium, the world saw a large influx of medical professionals. Nursing careers started to spring up, while the rest of the world saw jobs disappearing in other fields. Yet, a recent study by Georgetown University concluded that architecture and engineering majors are now holding the highest return on investment – maintaining a median annual salary of $50,000 within the first three years after graduating.

While this is great news to current and aspiring engineering majors, there is still a large amount of potential for a handful of other majors within today’s job market. Let’s take a look at what this study uncovered about these career opportunities.

• Architecture & Engineering Majors – $50,000/year
• Computers, Statistics, and Mathematics Majors – $43,000/year
• Health Majors – $41,000/year
• Business Majors – $37,000/year
• Social Sciences Majors – 33,000/year

Remember, these are just the median annual salaries within the first three years after graduation. The study later uncovers that engineering and architecture majors will see an average wage increase of 66% as they progress throughout their career. Additionally, computers, statistics, and mathematics majors see increases of 76%. Even business majors have shown wage increases of 75%.

Now, How Do We Find The Right College Major for Us?

Thankfully, today’s education world harbors a plethora of options for college students. Each of the majors mentioned above have a seemingly endless amount of opportunities to branch out and customize your studies to fit the exact line of work you wish to pursue. Of course, this can be a rigorous task, so we wanted to show you how to map out a plan to find the right college major.

Identify Your Career Interests

It is important to major in a field that interests you; otherwise you may find yourself unmotivated and unhappy with the outcome of your education. Furthermore, do not be afraid to change your major if you find that it is not exactly what you are looking for – many college students do this. The National Center for Education Statistics concluded that nearly 80% of American college students have changed their major throughout their stay in college. Identifying your interests and finding what drives you to succeed can bring enormous successes both during and after college.

Map Out a Plan for College

Once your interests have been found, it is vital to create a plan for your time in college. Sitting down with a mentor can be incredibly helpful in this situation, as they have the knowledge to find what courses you will need to graduate with the exact skills needed for your career goals.

Take Your Education Above and Beyond

As the world becomes increasingly run by new technologies, there is a growing skills gap issue between the college and career worlds. This is especially apparent in states that suffer from low graduation rates. For example, cities like Dallas, Texas have been significantly impacted by their low graduation rates, and motivated students have been working to combat this by hiring tutors in Dallas in order to set themselves apart from the competition. It is important to go above and beyond in college. Doing this can lead a new graduate into a sea of career opportunities.