13 Most Useful College Majors: Nursing, Math, and More (PHOTOS)
With graduation around the corner, The Daily Beast calculates which college majors pack the greatest promise for real-life wages. From the expected (finance!) to the surprising (foreign language?), see our top picks.
Landov (top left); Corbis (2); AP Photo (bottom right)
The last few years haven’t been easy for recent college graduates. Cast into a deep economic recession and bogged down with record levels of college debt, they have faced challenges unlike any other previous generation. So earlier this week, The Daily Beast unveiled the most useless college majors, to show which college diplomas have the least value according to job opportunity and earnings statistics.
Of course, the obvious silver lining is that certain majors are statistically more useful than the less-promising counterparts. To determine the majors that, in general, lead to less unemployment and higher earnings, and which are in industries projected to grow in the next decade, we referred to research from Georgetown University that charted two years of census data to determine the likelihood of positive financial returns in relation to college majors. We also utilized data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics about employment projections. Each of these five data points was weighted equally:
- Recent graduate employment
- Experienced graduate employment
- Recent graduate earnings
- Experienced graduate employment
- Projected growth in total number of jobs, 2010-20
Landov (top left); Corbis (2); AP Photo (bottom right)
Unemployment, recent grad: 4.0%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 1.9%
Earnings, recent grad: $48,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $64,000
Projected growth, 2010-2020: 26%
Related occupation: Registered Nurse
Marko Georgiev, The Record / MCT / Landov
Unemployment, recent grad: 8.6%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 3.8%
Earnings, recent grad: $58,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $86,000
Projected growth, 2010-2020: 4%
Related occupation: Mechanical Engineering Technician
Ted S. Warren / AP Photo
Unemployment, recent grad: 7.3%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 5.2%
Earnings, recent grad: $57,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $90,000
Projected growth, 2010-2020: 6%
Related occupation: Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Andreas Rentz / Getty Images
Unemployment, recent grad: 8.1%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 4.5%
Earnings, recent grad: $50,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $81,000
Projected growth, 2010-2020: 12%
Related occupation: Civil Engineer
Gaetan Bally, Keystone / Corbis
Unemployment, recent grad: 7.8%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 5.6%
Earnings, recent grad: $50,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $81,000
Projected growth, 2010-2020: 18%
Related occupation: IT Managers
Jared Leeds / Corbis
Unemployment, recent grad: 6.6%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 5.2%
Earnings, recent grad: $44,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $72,000
Projected growth, 2010-2020: 23%
Related occupation: Financial Analysts
Bloomberg / Getty Images
Unemployment, recent grad: 7.3%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 6.0%
Earnings, recent grad: $37,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $65,000
Projected growth, 2010-2020: 41%
Related occupation: Market Research Analysts
AFP / Getty Images
Unemployment, recent grad: 6.1%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 5.1%
Earnings, recent grad: $40,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $71,000
Projected growth, 2010-2020: 16%
Related occupation: Mathematician
Bob Daemmrich / Corbis
Unemployment, recent grad: 6.8%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 4.8%
Earnings, recent grad: $43,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $65,000
Projected growth, 2010-2020: 16%
Related occupation: Accountants and Auditors
AP Photo
Unemployment, recent grad: 7.9%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 4.8%
Earnings, recent grad: $32,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $50,000
Projected growth, 2010-2020: 42%
Related occupation: Interpreters and Translators
Corbis
Unemployment, recent grad: 7.0%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 4.8%
Earnings, recent grad: $37,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $60,000
Projected growth, 2010-2020: 22%
Related occupation: Management Analyst
MCT / Landov
Unemployment, recent grad: 4.8%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 3.4%
Earnings, recent grad: $33,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $40,000
Projected growth, 2010-2020: 17%
Related occupation: Kindergarten and Elementary School Teachers
Landov
Unemployment, recent grad: 9.4%
Unemployment, experienced grad: 5.7%
Earnings, recent grad: $48,000
Earnings, experienced grad: $76,000
Projected growth, 2010-2020: 6%
Related occupation: Economist
MORE COLLEGE RANKINGS:
The 13 Most Useless Majors
America's Happiest Colleges
America's Druggiest Colleges
America's Most Rigorous Colleges
America's Most Gay-Friendly Colleges
PLUS:
Admissions Data: Who Got in This Year?
All the Gossip From Harvard Sex Week
Richard Drew / AP Photo
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