….Of course, much of college graduates’ success depends on what area of study they pursue.
“The return on the college investment is driven by the institution a student attends, the degree they earn, and their field of study,” Mark Schneider of the American Institute for Research told Business Insider. “As college has become a mass product, there are a lot more students attending schools with lower [returns on investment].”
The five lowest-paying majors are nearly all in the social service sector, while computer sciences and engineering programs continue to churn out high-paid workers. A recent PayScale study listed the median mid-career pay for a Petroleum Engineering major at $163,000 and the median mid-career pay for a Social Work major at just $45,300.
Some of these HS and college-age kids have been watching wa-a-a-ay too much “reality TV.” With pie-in-the-sky ideas about working in “glamorous” careers dressed in designer clothes, they need to shake off this mindset and go for the MONEY!
I got all duded up every morning to go to work in several high-rises with views of SD Bay in my lengthy “career.” That and 15 cents got me a cup of black coffee every morning and a very small pension.
Life can be short. To advise the younger Gen Y’s (males AND females), I vote to put your hard hat on, make plenty of money and take plenty of vacations to Cancun, the Bahamas, Aspen, etc, etc. All that dirt and dust from the field washes off … every night! Short of being a “celebrity” with regular “red carpet” duties, that’s about as “glamorous” as life gets. If you spend your time and money in college on a “soft” major so you can stay clean and “push buttons” all day, you may eventually be replaced by a worker in China, India or Eastern Europe.
Don’t think you’ll like living in “flyover country?” Join a frequent flyer program to get your Cali fix several times per year. Instead of paying MR thru the nose and forever lamenting about being “overtaxed” in the Golden State, you and your family will be able stay here:
