8 College Majors That Lead to Great Starting Salaries

A college degree adds considerable value to your resume and your salary level. In “Do the Benefits of College Still Outweigh the Costs?”, Federal Reserve Bank of New York analysts studied the economic benefits of bachelor’s and associate’s degrees since 1970 and found that “both degrees earn[ed] a return of about 15% over the past decade." Candidates with a bachelor’s degree now have a 75% wage premium over those with only a high school education.

The growing trend of specialization is one reason for the disparity in salary and number of employment opportunities. An MBA graduate who specializes in exotic derivatives will have a better chance of getting a higher salary at an investment bank, compared to someone with a bachelor's degree in education who finds employment as a school teacher.

Here are eight majors that offer plenty of job opportunities and have some of the most appealing starting salaries in the USA. The following list is arranged in alphabetical order. The quoted salary figures are sourced from the First Destinations survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

Actuarial science offers a mix of finance and mathematics, which is an attractive combination right now. Given the ongoing global financial turmoil since the global recession of 2008-09, actuaries are in high demand, particularly for performing financial risk assessments for banks and insurance firms. Skilled actuaries often can secure well-paid jobs soon after getting their bachelor's degree, and the median starting salary is $85,000 at the bachelor’s degree level.

The increasing importance of technology in today's medical sector has significantly improved opportunities for graduates who are knowledgeable in both medicine and technology. The biomedical stream offers the best of both worlds, with a median starting salary of approximately $60,000. 

A rapidly increasing population and a push for further urbanization are fueling demand for more high-scale infrastructure development, particularly in the developing world. From design architects to civil engineers, this sector offers job opportunities at various levels – and in a wide range of global locations. Median starting salary is in the $55,000 range.

(See related: Best Websites to Find a Job in Engineering.)

Finance continues to offer a variety of jobs across multiple sectors, ranging from accounting, sales, and trading to research and high-profile investment banking. Graduates with accounting, economics, finance and management background are preferred.

The median starting salary is $54,000 but compensation packages tend to be significantly higher with variable performance-based bonuses, allowances, and perks. However, finance jobs are also typically high-risk, high-return and usually require intensive workloads.

(See related: 7 Courses Finance Students Should Take.)

IT encompasses a variety of skill sets, including programming, system administration, infrastructure management and process management. With the rapid move towards cloud computing, cybersecurity and server administration are now essential roles in the IT world. Mobile phone app development is also red-hot. Candidates with IT specialization in emerging technologies and software engineering will remain in high demand, with a median starting salary estimated at $62,000.

The geosciences stream includes a wide variety of studies spread across geographical analysis, territorial surveys, exploration for oil, gas and other minerals, as well as other territorial operations. Riding high on the back of technologies like fracking and other exploration developments, this sector continues to post a high number of employment opportunities. Starting salaries are in the range of $55,000 and above.

With an increasingly aging U.S. population, the healthcare and nursing sectors should have growing employment opportunities. The median starting salary in nursing is $50,879 for those with a bachelor's degree, while master's degree holders can expect more than $80,000 a year. These degrees typically require courses on health assessment, anatomy and general nursing. Candidates often need to pass a qualifying exam before getting a nursing license.

A degree from a premier management institute can land a graduate in a number of well-paying sectors, including finance, consultancy and marketing. However, given the typically high cost of getting a management degree, the greatest returns are realized at the master's degree level. The median starting salary is in the $75,000 range.

As the economic cycle progresses, various sectors expand and contract in the number of job opportunities with attractive salaries. So it's important for those in college now to select a major that has a strong potential for future growth and offers the prospect of justifying the high cost of secondary education.

(For more, see: What Education Do You Need to Become a Billionaire?)