DegreeCalc

College Majors — Salary, ROI & Career Guide

Compare salary potential, return on investment, and career outcomes for 150+ college majors. Find the best degree for your goals and budget.

150+
Majors Analyzed
17
Categories
$53K
Avg Starting Salary
4.5 yrs
Avg ROI Payback

Agriculture

(5 majors)

Agricultural Science

Bachelor's

$50K starting

4 yr ROI

Agricultural Business

Bachelor's

$52K starting

3 yr ROI

Forestry & Natural Resources

Bachelor's

$50K starting

4.5 yr ROI

Animal Science

Bachelor's

$50K starting

5 yr ROI

Veterinary Technology

Bachelor's

$50K starting

4.5 yr ROI

Arts

(1 majors)

Cinematography

Bachelor's

$55K starting

4 yr ROI

Arts & Design

(10 majors)

UX Design

Bachelor's

$50K starting

3.2 yr ROI

Architecture

Bachelor's

$58K starting

5.5 yr ROI

Animation & Game Design

Bachelor's

$50K starting

4.8 yr ROI

Industrial Design

Bachelor's

$50K starting

4.8 yr ROI

Graphic Design

Bachelor's

$48K starting

5.5 yr ROI

Interior Design

Bachelor's

$50K starting

5.8 yr ROI

Fashion Design

Bachelor's

$50K starting

6.5 yr ROI

Film & Media Studies

Bachelor's

$50K starting

7.5 yr ROI

Fine Arts

Bachelor's

$50K starting

9 yr ROI

Photography

Bachelor's

$50K starting

8.5 yr ROI

Arts & Technology

(1 majors)

Game Design & Development

Bachelor's

$50K starting

4 yr ROI

Business

(17 majors)

Business Analytics

Bachelor's/Master's

$78K starting

2 yr ROI

Finance

Bachelor's

$70K starting

3.5 yr ROI

Economics

Bachelor's

$65K starting

4 yr ROI

Information Systems

Bachelor's

$50K starting

3.3 yr ROI

Supply Chain Management

Bachelor's

$50K starting

3.5 yr ROI

Operations Management

Bachelor's

$50K starting

3.8 yr ROI

Accounting

Bachelor's

$62K starting

3.8 yr ROI

Real Estate

Bachelor's

$50K starting

4 yr ROI

Business Administration

Bachelor's

$58K starting

4.2 yr ROI

International Business

Bachelor's

$50K starting

4.5 yr ROI

Marketing

Bachelor's

$55K starting

4.5 yr ROI

Management

Bachelor's

$56K starting

4.5 yr ROI

Entrepreneurship

Bachelor's

$50K starting

5 yr ROI

Human Resources

Bachelor's

$50K starting

4.5 yr ROI

Hospitality Management

Bachelor's

$50K starting

5.5 yr ROI

Sports Management

Bachelor's

$50K starting

5.5 yr ROI

MBA

masters

$0 starting

0 yr ROI

Communications

(6 majors)

Technical Writing

Bachelor's

$50K starting

3.5 yr ROI

Advertising

Bachelor's

$50K starting

5 yr ROI

Digital Media

Bachelor's

$50K starting

4.8 yr ROI

Public Relations

Bachelor's

$50K starting

5 yr ROI

Communications

Bachelor's

$46K starting

5.2 yr ROI

Journalism

Bachelor's

$44K starting

6 yr ROI

Education

(9 majors)

Instructional Design & Technology

Bachelor's

$50K starting

3.8 yr ROI

Educational Psychology

Bachelor's

$50K starting

5 yr ROI

Higher Education Administration

Bachelor's

$50K starting

5.2 yr ROI

Elementary Education

Bachelor's

$50K starting

5 yr ROI

Special Education

Bachelor's

$50K starting

4.8 yr ROI

Music Education

Bachelor's

$50K starting

6 yr ROI

Physical Education

Bachelor's

$50K starting

5 yr ROI

Early Childhood Education

Bachelor's

$50K starting

6 yr ROI

Education

bachelors

$0 starting

0 yr ROI

Engineering

(16 majors)

Petroleum Engineering

Bachelor's

$50K starting

2.5 yr ROI

Computer Engineering

Bachelor's

$50K starting

3 yr ROI

Chemical Engineering

Bachelor's

$82K starting

3.2 yr ROI

Nuclear Engineering

Bachelor's

$50K starting

3.3 yr ROI

Electrical Engineering

Bachelor's

$80K starting

3.3 yr ROI

Aerospace Engineering

Bachelor's

$80K starting

3.5 yr ROI

Mechanical Engineering

Bachelor's

$78K starting

3.5 yr ROI

Mining Engineering

Bachelor's

$50K starting

3 yr ROI

Architectural Engineering

Bachelor's

$78K starting

2.5 yr ROI

Materials Science & Engineering

Bachelor's

$50K starting

3.8 yr ROI

Ceramic Engineering

Bachelor's

$75K starting

3 yr ROI

Biomedical Engineering

Bachelor's

$72K starting

4 yr ROI

Industrial Engineering

Bachelor's

$75K starting

3.5 yr ROI

Civil Engineering

Bachelor's

$68K starting

3.8 yr ROI

Environmental Engineering

Bachelor's

$65K starting

4.2 yr ROI

Construction Management

Bachelor's

$50K starting

3.2 yr ROI

Health

(1 majors)

Athletic Training

Master's

$52K starting

3.5 yr ROI

Healthcare

(16 majors)

Pharmacy

Bachelor's

$50K starting

3.5 yr ROI

Health Informatics

Bachelor's

$50K starting

3.8 yr ROI

Nursing

Bachelor's

$68K starting

3.2 yr ROI

Healthcare Administration

Bachelor's

$50K starting

4 yr ROI

Occupational Therapy

Bachelor's

$50K starting

3.8 yr ROI

Dental Hygiene

Bachelor's

$50K starting

3 yr ROI

Speech-Language Pathology

Bachelor's

$50K starting

4.2 yr ROI

Public Health

Bachelor's

$50K starting

5.2 yr ROI

Radiologic Technology

Bachelor's

$50K starting

3 yr ROI

Health Sciences

Bachelor's

$50K starting

5.5 yr ROI

Nutrition & Dietetics

Bachelor's

$50K starting

5 yr ROI

Respiratory Therapy

Bachelor's

$50K starting

3 yr ROI

Kinesiology

Bachelor's

$50K starting

6 yr ROI

Exercise Science

Bachelor's

$50K starting

6.5 yr ROI

Physical Therapy (DPT)

doctoral

$0 starting

0 yr ROI

Pre-Med / Biology

bachelors

$0 starting

0 yr ROI

Humanities

(15 majors)

Chinese Studies

Bachelor's

$55K starting

4 yr ROI

Linguistics

Bachelor's

$50K starting

5.5 yr ROI

Philosophy

Bachelor's

$44K starting

6.5 yr ROI

Foreign Languages & Literatures

Bachelor's

$50K starting

6.5 yr ROI

English

Bachelor's

$42K starting

7 yr ROI

History

Bachelor's

$44K starting

7.5 yr ROI

Classical Studies

Bachelor's/Master's

$45K starting

6 yr ROI

Classics

Bachelor's

$50K starting

8 yr ROI

Africana Studies

Bachelor's

$42K starting

5 yr ROI

Art History

Bachelor's

$50K starting

7.5 yr ROI

Creative Writing

Bachelor's

$50K starting

8 yr ROI

Religious Studies

Bachelor's

$50K starting

7.5 yr ROI

Gender Studies

Bachelor's

$50K starting

8 yr ROI

Music

Bachelor's

$40K starting

9 yr ROI

Theater & Drama

Bachelor's

$40K starting

10 yr ROI

STEM

(32 majors)

Prompt Engineering

Certificate/Bachelor's

$50K starting

1.5 yr ROI

Computational Linguistics

Bachelor's/Master's

$95K starting

2 yr ROI

Computer Science

Bachelor's

$85K starting

2.8 yr ROI

Software Engineering

Bachelor's

$88K starting

2.7 yr ROI

Data Science

Bachelor's

$82K starting

3 yr ROI

Astrophysics

Bachelor's/Master's

$85K starting

3 yr ROI

Actuarial Science

Bachelor's

$50K starting

3 yr ROI

Cybersecurity

Bachelor's

$80K starting

3 yr ROI

Robotics Engineering

Bachelor's

$50K starting

3 yr ROI

Applied Mathematics

Bachelor's

$50K starting

3.5 yr ROI

Statistics

Bachelor's

$72K starting

3.5 yr ROI

Cell Biology

Bachelor's/Master's

$72K starting

3 yr ROI

Physics

Bachelor's

$62K starting

4.5 yr ROI

Climate Science

Bachelor's/Master's

$72K starting

3 yr ROI

Mathematics

Bachelor's

$65K starting

4.2 yr ROI

Information Technology

Bachelor's

$70K starting

3.2 yr ROI

Pharmaceutical Sciences

Bachelor's

$50K starting

5 yr ROI

Cognitive Science

Bachelor's

$50K starting

4.8 yr ROI

Cosmetic Science

Bachelor's/Master's

$68K starting

3 yr ROI

Biotechnology

Bachelor's

$50K starting

4.8 yr ROI

Astronomy

Bachelor's

$50K starting

5.5 yr ROI

Cartography

Bachelor's

$62K starting

3 yr ROI

Chemistry

Bachelor's

$55K starting

5.5 yr ROI

Biochemistry

Bachelor's

$50K starting

5.8 yr ROI

Geology

Bachelor's

$50K starting

5 yr ROI

Neuroscience

Bachelor's

$50K starting

6 yr ROI

Biomedical Science

Bachelor's

$50K starting

5.8 yr ROI

Geographic Information Science

Bachelor's

$50K starting

4.5 yr ROI

Food Science

Bachelor's

$50K starting

4.5 yr ROI

Biology

Bachelor's

$48K starting

6 yr ROI

Environmental Science

Bachelor's

$50K starting

6.5 yr ROI

Marine Biology

Bachelor's

$50K starting

7.5 yr ROI

Science

(3 majors)

Botany

Bachelor's/Master's

$52K starting

4.5 yr ROI

Aquatic Biology

Bachelor's/Master's

$52K starting

4 yr ROI

Conservation Biology

Bachelor's/Master's

$52K starting

4 yr ROI

Social Science

(2 majors)

Criminology

Bachelor's/Master's

$52K starting

3.5 yr ROI

Communication Studies

Bachelor's

$52K starting

4 yr ROI

Social Sciences

(12 majors)

International Relations

Bachelor's

$50K starting

5 yr ROI

Political Science

Bachelor's

$48K starting

5.5 yr ROI

Urban Planning

Bachelor's

$50K starting

5 yr ROI

Geography

Bachelor's

$50K starting

5.5 yr ROI

Forensic Science

Bachelor's

$50K starting

4.8 yr ROI

Sustainability Studies

Bachelor's

$50K starting

5.8 yr ROI

Psychology

Bachelor's

$44K starting

6 yr ROI

Criminal Justice

Bachelor's

$50K starting

5 yr ROI

Sociology

Bachelor's

$44K starting

6.5 yr ROI

Anthropology

Bachelor's

$50K starting

7 yr ROI

Social Work

Bachelor's

$50K starting

5 yr ROI

Archaeology

Bachelor's

$50K starting

7.5 yr ROI

How to Choose a College Major

Choosing a college major is one of the most significant financial decisions you will make. The right major can mean hundreds of thousands of dollars more in lifetime earnings and a faster return on your education investment. DegreeCalc analyzes real salary data, employment rates, and tuition costs to help you make an informed decision.

STEM majors like Computer Science, Engineering, and Data Science consistently show the strongest ROI, with payback periods under 3 years and high mid-career salaries. Healthcare majors such as Nursing and Physical Therapy offer excellent job security and above-average starting salaries. Business majors provide versatility across industries, while Arts and Humanities degrees offer lower starting salaries but strong long-term career flexibility.

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