10 college majors to check out if you want to make a lot of money—without becoming an engineer
If you're looking for a high-paying college major, engineering degrees, including electrical and computer engineering, consistently rank as some of the options that can earn you the most money.
But engineering isn't for everyone.
You shouldn't force yourself into any major — or career path — you're not interested in just for the money. You may not always be able to do a job that you love, but why set yourself up for a career that bores you?
Broader science, technology and math majors earn a decent amount, too. Pharmacy and computer science are the best-paying nonengineering college degrees, according to a recent Bankrate analysis, which found those degree holders earn median salaries of $100,000 a year.
Using the latest American Community Survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bankrate ranked majors by median salary among bachelor's degree holders between the ages of 18 and 77 who were in the labor force and are either employed or seeking work.
Here are the 10 highest-paying college degrees that aren't engineering:
1. TIE: Pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences and administration
- Median salary: $100,000
1. TIE: Computer science
- Median salary: $100,000
3. Physics
- Median salary: $90,000
4. Management information systems and statistics
- Median salary: $89,000
5. Health and medical preparatory programs
- Median salary: $87,000
6. TIE: Applied mathematics
- Median salary: $85,000
6. TIE: Economics
- Median salary: $85,000
6. TIE: Transportation sciences and technologies
- Median salary: $85,000
9. TIE: Statistics and decision science
- Median salary: $84,000
9. TIE: Information sciences
- Median salary: $84,000
While you have to complete a doctoral degree to work as a full-fledged pharmacist, a bachelor's degree in pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences and administration may still land you a well-paying job in research, clinical trials or another part of the field.
You could wind up in a software engineering position after earning a computer science degree, but you'll likely be a good fit for other nonengineering roles as well, such as a data scientist or IT specialist.
Your major doesn't have to define your career path. But if you have your heart set on a certain job or industry, it's wise to explore common job requirements to see if a certain major is ideal or if there are other ways to acquire the necessary skills.
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