College students today have a new perspective impacting what careers they want to pursue. Having lived through the 2008 recession and the current economic downturn resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, many students are prioritizing career fields that offer financial stability and job security, such as insurance and risk management. PropertyCasualty360.com's ALM colleagues at ThinkAdvisor recently ranked the 20 best-paying college majors from PayScale's annual College Salary Report. The report collected alumni compensation data representing 835 majors at 1,736 colleges and universities across the U.S. The ranking considers mid-career pay — median salaries earned by holders of bachelor's degrees with 10 or more years' experience — as opposed to just starting salary or 0–5 years' experience. Engineering degrees are omitted from the ranking, as these continually dominate the top of the list. In the 2020 rankings, engineering comprised eight of the top 20 best-paying majors. Petroleum engineering took the top spot, with bachelor's degree holders in that field earning a median $182,000 a year at mid-career. Click through the gallery to see the best-paying college majors in 2020. Related: |
- Launching insurance careers: College RMI programs
- How insurance pros unite with colleges to foster next-gen talent
- Attracting the next generation of leaders
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Michael S. Fischer
Michael S. Fischer is a longtime contributing writer for ThinkAdvisor. He previously reported on trade and intellectual property topics for the Economist Intelligence Unit and covered the hedge fund industry for MARHedge and Reuters News Service.
