<p>aStyle, I believe this list comes out of that survey that only looks at people with BS degrees that haven’t sought further education (no MS, PhD, MD, MBA, etc.).</p>
<p>wooo economics and government! Jobs! </p>
<p>Economics can definitely be pretty lucrative. It is also very versatile - you can go into the applied economics/math/engineering/industrial side, the business/firm side, the government side, the academic side etc.</p>
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<p>If you get a job. Civil engineering graduates at Berkeley in 2009 (real estate and construction crash) had much poorer job prospects compared to civil engineering graduates at Berkeley in 2006 (real estate and construction boom and bubble). Obviously, economic and industry cycles are quite important.</p>
<p>[From</a> Berkeley career center](<a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/CivilEngr.stm]From”>https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/CivilEngr.stm):</p>
<p>2009: 19% employed, 48% seeking employment (23% grad school, 10% other)
2006: 49% employed, 2% seeking employment (38% grad school, 11% other)</p>
<p>Some other engineering majors, as well as computer science majors, did significantly better in 2009 than civil engineering majors.</p>
<p>The Berkeley career center indicates that business administration majors have the highest chance of getting a job, but are not paid as well as engineering majors.</p>
<p>VandyEng, this proves that our businesses recognize the importance of math and science, not that our culture promotes it. “Geeks” and “nerds” are still made fun of for liking/ being good at math and science.</p>
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<p>30 years from now, petroleum engineers will be either figuring out how to squeeze oil out of “difficult” places (e.g. oil shale, tar sands, etc.) cost effectively and without destroying the environment, or developing new exotic petrochemicals.</p>
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<p>I don’t think that’s why nerds are made fun of. Take a guy who plays Div1 hockey (basketball/football in the states I suppose) in hs but also loves math and science and makes straight As. Does he get teased?</p>
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<p>Umm… Athletic Training, Nutrition, and Dietetics aren’t exactly cake-walks. I have a degree in athletic training-- it is one of the hardest and most grueling majors at my school! And the nutrition/ditetics classes I had to take were hard too. All the lab values and the physiology involved-- all stuff that is not taught until med school normally…</p>
<p>^I agree, it has nothing to do with “easiness” of a major. You are very, very misinformed if you believe that music majors are anywhere near on the easy side of things.</p>
<p>Of course, it depends on the school. A music major in the middle of Nowhere University is not going to be as rigorous as a top-notch conservatory. I’m sure that applies for every major on the “worst-paying” list. Also, usually, the ones who study hard but don’t study smart don’t do as well. It’s nothing about the “easiness” of the major. If you don’t take music business classes, you won’t do as well in the music industry, whether you’re a jazz guitarist, classical composer, etc. Also, if there is an over-abundance in a certain major (Graphic Design) there are less and less job opportunities available to the recently graduated. Let me stress the fact that if you attend the right school, no major should be considered “easy.”</p>
<p>“Nerds” aren’t mocked for liking math or science. They’re mocked because they’re timid and self-conscious and into anime and world of warcraft.</p>
<p>Is Mechanical Engineering really not a good paying major?</p>
<p>My roommate is going to hate to hear this…</p>
<p>While Athletic Training may have some courses that are difficult (the anatomy and physiology courses), in general is it not considered one of the most difficult majors.</p>
<p>Like it or not, the list reflects the correlation between quantitative degrees (in general regarded as the most difficult majors) and higher pay post graduation.</p>
<p>It appears the ability to do higher level math separates lower paying degrees from higher paying degrees. There’s not a ton of math required for a Athletic Training degree.</p>
<p>It comes down to simple Economics. Less people are able to obtain a degree in a field means employers need to pay more money to attract those with the degree. If getting a degree in PetrolE were easy than more people would do it.</p>
<p>College Degree - Starting pay - Mid-career pay</p>
<ol>
<li>Child and family studies - $29,500 - $38,400 - NOT QUANTITATIVE</li>
<li>Elementary education - $31,600 - $44,400 - NOT QUANTITATIVE</li>
<li>Social work - $31,800 - $44,900 - NOT QUANTITATIVE</li>
<li>Athletic training - $32,800 - $45,700 - NOT QUANT</li>
<li>Culinary arts - $35,900 - $50,600 - NOT QUANT</li>
<li>Horticulture - $35,000 - $50,800 - NOT QUANT</li>
<li>Paralegal studies/law - $35,100 - $51,300 NOT QUANT</li>
<li>Theology - $34,700 - $51,300 - NOT QUANT</li>
<li>Recreation & leisure - $33,300 - $53,200 - DEFINITELY NOT QUANT</li>
<li>Special education - $36,000 - $53,800 - NOT QUANT</li>
<li>Dietetics - $40,400 - $54,200 - NOT QUANT</li>
<li>Religious studies - $34,700 - $54,400 -NOT QUANT</li>
<li>Art - $33,500 - $54,800 - DEFINITELY NOT QUANT</li>
<li>Education - $35,100 - $54,900 - NOT REALLY QUANT (unless Math Ed.)</li>
<li>Interdisciplinary studies - $35,600 - $55,700 - NOT REALLY QUANT</li>
<li>Interior design - $34,400 - $56,600 - NOT REALLY QUANT</li>
<li>Nutrition - $42,200 - $56,700 - NOT REALLY QUANT</li>
<li>Graphic design - $35,400 - $56,800 - NOT REALLY QUANT</li>
<li>Music - $36,700 - $57,000 - NOT QUANT</li>
<li>Art history - $39,400 - $57,100 - DEFINITELY NOT QUANT</li>
</ol>
<p>20 Worst-Paying College Degrees in 2010 - CBS MoneyWatch.com</p>
<p>Here are the top 20 best-paying college degrees in 2010:</p>
<p>College Degree - Starting Median Pay - Mid-career pay</p>
<ol>
<li>Petroleum engineering - $93,000 - $157,000 - QUANTITATIVE</li>
<li>Aerospace engineering - $59,400 - $108,000 - QUANT</li>
<li>Chemical engineering - $64,800 - $108,000 - QUANT</li>
<li>Electrical engineering - $60,800 - $104,000 - QUANT</li>
<li>Nuclear engineering - $63,900 - $104,000 - QUANT</li>
<li>Applied mathematics - $56,400 - $101,000 - QUANT</li>
<li>Biomedical engineering - $54,800 - $101,000 - QUANT</li>
<li>Physics - $50,700 - $99,600 - QUANT</li>
<li>Computer engineering - $61,200 - $87,700 - QUANT</li>
<li>Economics - $48,800 - $97,800 - QUANT to SOME QUANT (depending on BS vs BA)</li>
<li>Computer science - $56,200 - $97,700 - QUANT</li>
<li>Civil engineering - $53,500 - $93,400 - QUANT</li>
<li>Statistics - $50,000 - $93,400 - QUANT</li>
<li>Finance - $47,500 - $91,500 - QUANT (but typically not high level math)</li>
<li>Software engineering - $56,700 - $91,300 - QUANT</li>
<li>Management info. systems - $50,900 - $90,300 - SOME QUANT</li>
<li>Mathematics - $46,400 - $88,300 - QUANT </li>
<li>Government - $41,500 - $88,300 - NOT QUANT</li>
<li>Information systems - $49,300 - $87,100 - SOME QUANT</li>
<li>Construction Management - $50,400 - $87,000 - SOME QUANT (depending on program)</li>
</ol>
<p>So 19 out of 20 of the highest paying jobs require quantitative skills, while none of the lowest paying jobs require quantitative skills. It’s not hard to see the correlation. Math skills are paid higher in the real world.</p>
<p>“Not quant” and “definitely not quant.” Really? I don’t understand the purpose of this distinction.</p>
<p>And one could argue that music is “quant.”</p>
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<p>Yup. I would add Nursing as well.</p>
<p>how is music quant? quant means you need math like calculus etc…even economics isnt really quant compared to eng/physics/etc</p>
<p>Oh, I didn’t realize that was the definition of quantitative. Someone should call Merriam-Webster.</p>
<p>theres a difference between “hard math” and quantitative. What he meant by quant was that it involves hard math such as calculus.</p>
<p>“Not Quantitative” vs “Definitely not quantitative” has to do with the amount of math required to get a degree in those majors. “Definitely not quant” means you can get a degree in that field by never taking a math class above what you learned in the 8th grade.</p>
<p>FWIW, I’m sure many of the other majors I listed as “not quant” could also be listed as “definitely not quant”.</p>
<p>And no, music could never be argued to be a quantitative degree.</p>
<p>because you said so!</p>
<p>Because I said so? Not really. </p>
<p>Just look at the mathematical requirements of the various degrees. </p>
<p>Find me a Music program that requires high levels of math. I looked at Juilliard’s curriculum and couldn’t even find a math class that was required.</p>
<p>I’m not knocking music at all. Obviously Juilliard is an amazing conservatory. But to say music is a quantitative degree is really pushing the envelope. Get a degree in music and then to apply for a Quantitative based job. You won’t even get a call back.</p>
<p>Same goes for someone with a degree in engineering applying for a music based job. Completely different degrees and fields.</p>