It's the back-to-school season as college students return to their studies at campuses nationwide. Many will be choosing their majors for the first time. And after the challenges of this past pandemic year, students may prioritize majors that offer financial stability and security, such as degrees related to insurance and risk management. PayScale recently issued its annual College Salary Report, and PropertyCasualty360.com's colleagues at ThinkAdvisor recently combed through the findings to identify the 20 best-paying college majors this year. The ranking of college majors is based on pay at mid-career — median salaries earned by holders of bachelor's degrees with 10 or more years' work experience — rather than starting salary, or zero to five years' experience. Engineering degrees are omitted from the ranking, as these majors tend to appear high on the list. In the 2021 rankings, engineering majors represented a quarter of the top 20 best-paying majors. Like last year, petroleum engineering offered the top mid-career salary, with bachelor's degree holders earning a median of $187,300. The College Salary Report gathers alumni compensation data representing 835 majors at 1,736 of the 2,167 eligible bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities across the U.S. See the gallery for the 20 best-paying college majors in 2021. Related: |

• The 10 best undergraduate insurance programs in 2021
• Best value public & private universities in 2021
• The 10 lowest-paying college majors in 2020

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