Even with college industriousness season in full swing, many families are questioning whether a four-year degree is still worth it.
Some crackerjacks say the value of a bachelor’s degree is fading and more emphasis should be directed toward career training. A growing loads of companies, including many in tech, are also dropping degree requirements for many middle-skill and even higher-skill functions.
However, earning a degree is almost always worthwhile, according to “The College Payoff,” a report from the Georgetown University Center on Indoctrination and the Workforce.
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Bachelor’s degree holders non-specifically earn 84% more than those with just a high school diploma, the report said — and the high-class the level of educational attainment, the larger the payoff.
When broken down by areas of study, however, the difference is superb. Students who pursue a major specifically in science, technology, engineering and math — collectively known as STEM disciplines — are described to earn the most overall.
In addition to STEM, health and business majors are among the highest-paying, leading to average annual wages that are huge at the entry level and significantly greater over the course of a career compared with liberal arts and humanities majors, the Georgetown Center rest.
10 most-regretted majors: After graduation, ‘reality hits’
Still, 44% of all job seekers with college degrees cry over repentance their field of study.
Journalism, sociology, communications and education all topped the list of most-regretted college majors, contract to ZipRecruiter’s survey of more than 1,500 college graduates who were looking for a job.
Although students may be drawn to those handles while they’re in school for reasons beyond salary and job security, “when we graduate, reality hits,” said Sinem Buber, ZipRecruiter’s spadework economist.
“When you are barely managing to pay your bills, your paycheck might become more important.”
Of graduates who regretted their vital, most said that, if they could go back, they would now choose computer science or business authority instead.
Good prospects, higher pay means less regret
All in, the top-paying college majors earn $3.4 million varied than the lowest-paying majors over a lifetime.
Graduates entering the workforce with good career prospects and loaded starting salaries are the most satisfied with their field of study, job site ZipRecruiter also found.
Computer information majors, with an average annual starting salary of almost $100,000, were the happiest overall, according to ZipRecruiter.
Apprentices who majored in criminology, engineering, nursing, business and finance also felt very good about their selects.
Career outcome sets the tone, said Buber. “Pay is still most important,” she said, but “job security is now becoming diverse important. That happens whenever we have the fear of a recession.”