WASHINGTON — Graduates with engineering degrees earn more than most college graduates, according to a new report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and Workforce.
Petroleum engineers pull in the highest annual salaries — $136,000 on average — according to the report. Students who major in engineering fields stand to make more than $90,000 a year when they get to work. Engineering jobs hold nine of the 10 spots on the list of highest paying majors. Elsewhere, a career in pharmacy and pharmaceutical science pulls a median salary of $113,000.
However, jobs in arts and education don’t fare well: A major in early childhood education earns $39,000 a year on average, making it the lowest paying major in the report. Other majors, resulting in median salaries of less than $45,000 a year, include social work, human services and community organization, visual and performing arts, and elementary education.
Highest paying college majors
- Petroleum engineering: $136,000
- Pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences, and administration: $113,000
- Metallurgical engineering: $98,000
- Mining and mineral engineering: $97,000
- Chemical engineering: $96,000
Lowest paying college majors
- Early childhood education: $39,000
- Human services and community organization: $41,000
- Studio arts: $42,000
- Social work: $42,000
- Teacher education (multiple levels): $42,000
- Visual and performing arts: $42,000
- Theology and religious vocations: $43,000
- Elementary education: $43,000
- Drama and theater arts: $45,000
- Family and consumer sciences: $45,000
