{"id":3740,"date":"2023-05-31T15:20:37","date_gmt":"2023-05-31T15:20:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.com\/blog\/?p=3740"},"modified":"2023-05-31T15:29:24","modified_gmt":"2023-05-31T15:29:24","slug":"top-5-college-majors-with-the-highest-earning-potentials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.com\/blog\/top-5-college-majors-with-the-highest-earning-potentials\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 5 college majors with the highest earning potentials"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, we revealed the<\/span> best colleges<\/span><\/a> to go to if you want to get a bigger paycheck than your peers five years after graduation. This week, we look at the most valuable degrees.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our methodology is the same as last week. Based on an analysis of over 40,000 jobseeker resumes uploaded to Adzuna\u2019s tool ValueMyResume between 2019 and 2023, we used text mining and machine learning technology to look at the career pathways taken by recent grads and the jobs they are working in 5 years after graduation. This then revealed average earnings across different college majors.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are five majors in the US that produce the highest earning graduates and five degrees to avoid.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The most valuable majors<\/h2>\n

1. Data Science<\/span><\/h3>\n

Average salary, 5 years after graduation: $94,881<\/strong><\/p>\n

Common careers: Data Scientist<\/a>, Data Engineer<\/a>, Business Analyst<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Graduates with a degree in data science earn an impressive salary of $94,881 on average five years after graduation \u2013 way above the US average salary of $60,575. As these graduates completed their degrees before the official launch of AI tools like ChatGPT and DALL-2, we won\u2019t be surprised to see data science continuing to dominate the list of college majors that lead to top-paying careers in the next few years.<\/span><\/p>\n

As this degree covers an interdisciplinary field of study including data analysis, statistics, computer programming, and business, graduates can explore careers in various fields. The most popular jobs are data scientist, data engineer, business analyst, and machine learning engineer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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2. Agricultural Economics\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Average salary, 5 years after graduation: $91,827<\/strong><\/p>\n

Common careers: Wholesale Buyer<\/a>, Supply Chain Manager<\/a>, Risk Manager\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Since the agriculture industry has been a key driver of economic growth in the US, agricultural economics takes the second spot on our list. Graduates boast an average salary of $91,827 five years after graduation.<\/span><\/p>\n

This degree equips students with the necessary knowledge about the agricultural industry and also financial management skills, making graduates a great fit for potential careers such as wholesale buyer, supply chain manager, risk manager, commodity trader, economic analyst, environment economist, and farm manager.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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3. Banking and Finance<\/span><\/h3>\n

Average salary, 5 years after graduation: $86,986<\/strong><\/p>\n

Common careers: Accountant<\/a>, Investment Banker<\/a>, Underwriter<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Those who watched Martin Scorsese\u2019s black comedy <\/span>The Wolf of Wall Street<\/span><\/i> might not be surprised that banking and finance graduates are earning big pay packets, as the film depicts the extravagant and glamorous lifestyle of a stockbroker. Unlike Leonardo DiCaprio\u2019s character, many stockbrokers and investment bankers do have a bachelor\u2019s degree in finance.<\/span><\/p>\n

These graduates earn an average salary of $86,986 five years post-graduation, making it the third-most valuable degree. Apart from being a banker, many banking and finance graduates go for roles such as financial adviser, underwriter, accountant, business analyst, and banking consultant.<\/span><\/p>\n