The Choice: What’s Your Major Worth?

 

As the cost of college climbs ever higher each year, amid a national economic forecast that remains cloudy, questions about the value of a four-year degree are being raised with increased urgency.

The latest piece of evidence to become part of that debate is a report released Tuesday by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. Its seductive title: “What’s it Worth? The Economic Value of College Majors.”

The good news? “While there is a lot of variation in earnings over a lifetime,” the center said in a press release, “the authors find that all undergraduate majors are ‘worth it,’ even taking into account the cost of college and lost earnings.”

And yet, for those applicants to college seeking the most bang for their buck — at least as defined as maximizing their lifetime earnings — the authors used census data to conclude that the top majors as ranked by highest median earnings included petroleum engineer ($120,000), pharmacy/pharmaceutical sciences ($105,000) and mathematics and computer sciences ($98,000). The lowest? Counseling/psychology ($29,000), early childhood education ($36,000) and theology/religious vocations ($38,000.)

Often in discussions like these, the “value” of a liberal arts education becomes difficult to peg. While not always utilitarian or pragmatic, a degree in English or the humanities can enrich one’s life, in incalculable ways, for decades. But do such degrees “pay”?

“Liberal arts and humanities majors end up in the middle of the pack in terms of earnings and employment,” the center says in its release. “They are the third most popular major group, and earn median incomes of $47,000. Moreover, about 40 percent of people with these majors obtain a graduate degree, reaping a return of almost 50 percent.”

Those who wish to dive further into the report, which numbers more than 200 pages, can do so here.

But as a less intimidating first stop, I suggest that readers detour instead to the Web site of The Chronicle of Higher Education, where the editors have created an interactive graphic in which users can easily seek out the range of career earnings for those who have studied particular majors.

But regardless of where you seek out more information, I hope you will take a moment to register a comment on The Choice using the box below. I am particularly interested in how strong a factor you believe one’s future earnings should be in choosing a course of study in college.

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