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2023 Payscale Report Lists 10 Highest-Paying College Majors

According to Jessica Dickler's recent story for CNBC, the latest Payscale report on top salaries found that petroleum engineering currently holds the top spot for highest-paying bachelor’s degrees in 2023, followed by operations research and industrial engineering. According to Dickler, "While students who pursue a major specifically in science, technology, engineering or math — collectively known as STEM disciplines — are projected to earn the most overall, Payscale’s college salary report found that petroleum engineering currently holds the top spot for highest-paying bachelor’s degrees in 2023. Graduates in the field earn nearly six figures just starting out and more than $200,000 with 10 or more years of experience." After petroleum engineering and operations research and industrial engineering, the next highest-paying majors are interaction design, applied economics and management, and building science. The top 10 majors, some of which are available to Turner College and other CSU students, are listed below.
 
                                                                                                     10+ Years       ≤ 5 Years
                                                                                                    Experience    Experience
1. Petroleum Engineering                                                       $212,500          $97,500
2. Operations Research + Industrial Engineering            $191,800          $98,300
3. Interaction Design                                                                $173,600         $74,700
4. Applied Economics + Management                                $164,400         $76,500
5. Building Science                                                                   $163,100          $69,000
6. Actuarial Mathematics                                                       $160,000         $70,700
    Operations Research                                                            $160,000         $92,200
8. Systems Engineering                                                          $159,100          $87,000
9. Optical Science + Engineering                                          $158,300         $79,600
10. Information + Computer Science                                   $157,800          $76,000

As explained to Dickler by Jackson Gruver, a data analyst at Payscale, "STEM degrees dominate the rankings for highest-paying majors and STEM careers continue to offer highly competitive salaries in the job market. These ‘hot’ jobs rely on specialized skill sets that are hard to come by. Such talent scarcity drives up the demand for these workers along with their pay.” Payscale’s college salary report is based on alumni salary data from nearly 3.5 million respondents nationwide.


 

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