Five Degrees That Offer Some of the Best Opportunities for Jobs

By Anita Ginsburg

A college degree is widely viewed as the most certain way to a lucrative job, and with good reason. The US Census Bureau states that college graduates typically earn more in salary compared to those who have only a high school diploma. The reality is that some degrees and their related careers are more financially rewarding than others. Below is a look at the ones that are more likely to bring you a good salary:

Nursing

Nurses typically have a starting salary of $56,900 and can earn more than $70,000 in the middle of their career. The need for nurses is constant and a 16.3 percent job growth is expected over the coming decade. Factors in that growth include the aging population and the fact that there will be more insured people. Nursing programs include courses on anatomy, chemistry and nutrition along with clinical experience in specialty areas like pediatrics.

Computer Science

Graduates with a computer science degree have a median starting salary of $56,600 and their mid-career median salary is almost $98,000. This degree can prepare them for work in fields like video game development and healthcare IT. Students who take computer science courses will be taught about today’s technology so that they have a foundation on which to innovate tomorrow’s advances. An online master’s degree in computer science will offer students the ability to specialize in areas like data mining and networking.

Civil Engineering

This is one of the many high-paying engineering fields. A graduate from a civil engineering program earns $55,100 as their median salary when starting out and over $93,000 as the median salary in the middle of their career. Civil engineers design and supervise the construction of large-scale projects like airports and sewer systems. In order to earn their degree, a civil engineering student will take courses on subjects ranging from fluid mechanics to thermodynamics.

Physics

Physics involves studying nature along with the properties of energy and matter. Those who earn this degree have a starting median salary of almost $50,000 and have a median mid-career salary of just over $100,000. They can find a job just about anywhere in the world. They may work in any of a number of environments including museums, laboratories and schools. Courses can include computational physics and complex analysis.

Economics

Graduates from economic programs typically pursue careers in the business and finance fields. They will be able to get jobs ranging from financial manager to data analyst. They earn a median salary of $51,400 at the start of their career and their median mid-career pay is over $94,000. College courses cover micro-and macroeconomics along with economic theory.

While getting a college degree of any kind will allow you to find better jobs, these degrees can have some of the best financial rewards. It’s important to get a degree that you will enjoy, but also be realistic about the types of jobs you can get with that degree.