Salaries

Is a College Degree the Only Way to Riches?
Read on. You may be surprised!

It is generally accepted that the more education you have, the more you will earn in your lifetime. According to the United States Census Bureau, workers 18 and over will earn annually:

$18,734 With no High School Diploma
$27,915 With High School Diploma
$51,206 With Bachelors Degree
$74,602 With Advanced Degree

However, there is one point overlooked in these statistics: The type of college major makes a difference!

Check out the salaries associated with various types of degrees.
Chemical Engineering $53,500
Computer Engineering $51,300
Computer Science $49,000
Mechanical Engineering $48,600
Industrial/Manufacturing Engineering $46,000
Information Science $42,400
Civil Engineering $42,000
Management Information Systems $41,600
Accounting $41,000
Economics/finance $40,600
Nursing $38,900
Business administration $38,300
Marketing $34,700
Political Science $32,300
English $31,100
History $30,300
Liberal Arts $30,212
Elementary Education $30,100
Biological/life sciences $29,600
Psychology $28,200

Source: NACE Fall 2004 Salary Survey

Notice that the top 10 degrees in demand draw the top salaries!
Accounting
Electrical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Business Administration/Management
Economics/Finance
Computer Science
Computer Engineering
Marketing/Marketing Management
Chemical Engineering
Information Sciences and Systems

Source: NACE Job Outlook 2005

Compare the college degree salaries to these jobs which do not require a college degree.
Computer Systems Engineers $59,000
Computer Systems Managers $56,000
Computer Programmers $55,000
Network Systems Analysts $49,000
General/Operations Managers $48,000
Database Administrators $48,000

Virginia Employment Commission: Spring 2005

> back to info for parents