Making the Right Choice - Under-Graduate Degree

While it is still a pretty good bet that having an undergraduate degree will improve your chances for employment and a better salary. The statistic say a high school graduate will make 40% less than someone with a undergraduate bachelor degree and maybe more than twice as likely to be unemployed. In today’s economy that is not a place if given the choice and opportunity you would want to be. However, if you are going to spend both the time and money to get an under-graduate degree, selecting the right course of study would be a good way to improve the return on your investment. So here are the results of a study of the 100 most popular majors for under-graduate degrees the best and the worst you chose. Based on a study by PayScale and Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce, The following are your top ten best and worst undergraduate degrees. When selecting your course of study, do the research this is not something you want to find out at graduation. The study looked for majors whose graduates -- both recent grads (within the past five years) and those well into their careers.

The following list of the worst majors starting with the Best of the worst “English” and ending with the worst Anthropology. (Indiana Jones might not agree but he is a movie star)

No. 10: English

Unemployment rate: 6.7% (average for all graduates with bachelor's degree: 4.9%)Unemployment rate for recent grads: 9.2% (average for top 100 majors: 7.7%)Median salary: $48,000 (median for all grads with bachelor's: $54,756)Median salary for recent grads: $32,000 (median for top 100 majors: $37,000)Projected job growth for this field, 2010-2020: 6% (average: 14%)

No. 9: Sociology

Unemployment rate: 7.0%Unemployment rate for recent grads: 8.6%Median salary: $45,000Median salary for recent grads: $32,000Projected job growth for this field, 2010-2020: 18%

No. 8: Drama and theater arts

Unemployment rate: 7.1%Unemployment rate for recent grads: 7.8%Median salary: $40,000Median salary for recent grads: $26,000Projected job growth for this field, 2010-2020: 4%

No. 7: Liberal arts

Unemployment rate: 7.6%Unemployment rate for recent grads: 9.2%Median salary: $48,000Median salary for recent grads: $30,000Projected job growth for this field, 2010-2020: not available

No. 6: Studio arts

Unemployment rate: 8.0%Unemployment rate for recent grads: 11.1%Median salary: $37,000Median salary for recent grads: $35,900Projected job growth for this field, 2010-2020: 5%

No. 5: Graphic design

Unemployment rate: 8.1%Unemployment rate for recent grads: 11.8%Median salary: $45,000Median salary for recent grads: $32,000Projected job growth for this field, 2010-2020: 13%

No. 4: Philosophy and religious studies

Unemployment rate: 7.2%Unemployment rate for recent grads: 10.8%Median salary: $42,000Median salary for recent grads: $30,000Projected job growth for this field, 2010-2020: Not available

No. 3: Film and photography

Unemployment rate: 7.3%Unemployment rate for recent grads: 12.9%Median salary: $45,000Median salary for recent grads: $30,000Projected job growth for this field, 2010-2020: 13%

No. 2: Fine arts

Unemployment rate: 7.4%Unemployment rate for recent grads: 12.6%Median salary: $44,000Median salary for recent grads: $30,000Projected job growth for this field, 2010-2020: 5%

No. 1: Anthropology

Unemployment rate: 6.9%Recent grad employment rate: 10.5 Median salary: $40,000Median salary for recent grads: $28,000Projected job growth for this field, 2010-2020: 21%

The next list of the best majors starting with the last of the best “Medical Assisting Service” and ending with the best Pharmacy and Pharmacology. (Working at the local Walgreens could be a good thing.)

 Taking the same approach and using the same data base of the 100 most popular college majors, came up with the top ten best using data from Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce and Payscale.com.

10. Medical Assisting Service

Unemployment rate: 2.9% (Average for all grads with a bachelor’s degree: 4.9%)
Unemployment rate for recent grads: 5.4% (Average for top 100 majors: 7.7%)
Median salary: $51,000 (Median for all grads with bachelor’s: $54,756)
Median salary for recent grads: $43,000 (Median for top 100 majors: $37,000)
Projected job growth for this field, 2010–2020: 31% (Average: 14%)

9. Management Information Systems

 
Unemployment rate: 4.2%
Unemployment rate for recent grads: 7.4%
Median salary: $71,000
Median salary for recent grads: $51,000
Projected job growth for this field, 2010–2020: 18%

8. Construction Services

 
Unemployment rate: 5.4%
Unemployment rate for recent grads: N/A
Median salary: $65,000
Median salary for recent grads: $50,200
Projected job growth for this field, 2010–2020: 17%

7. Medical Technologies

Unemployment rate: 1.4%
Unemployment rate for recent grads: 5.4%
Median salary: $58,000
Median salary for recent grads: $45,100
Projected job growth for this field, 2010–2020: 13%

 
6. Electrical Engineering

Unemployment rate: 5.0%
Unemployment rate for recent grads: 7.3%
Median salary: $86,000
Median salary for recent grads: $57,000
Projected job growth for this field, 2010–2020: 6%

 
5. Chemical Engineering

Unemployment rate: 3.8%
Unemployment rate for recent grads: 7.5%
Median salary: $86,000
Median salary for recent grads: $64,500
Projected job growth for this field, 2010–2020: 6%

4. Treatment Therapy Professions

Unemployment rate: 2.6%
Unemployment rate for recent grads: 5.4%
Median salary: $62,000
Median salary for recent grads: $60,400
Projected job growth for this field, 2010–2020: 33%

3. Transportation Sciences and Technology

Unemployment rate: 4.4%
Unemployment rate for recent grads: N/A
Median salary: $68,000
Median salary for recent grads: $53,100
Projected job growth for this field, 2010–2020: 5%

 
2. Nursing

Unemployment rate: 2.2%
Unemployment rate for recent grads: 4.0%
Median salary: $60,000
Median salary for recent grads: $48,000
Projected job growth for this field, 2010–2020: 26%

1. Pharmacy and Pharmacology

Unemployment rate: 3.2%
Unemployment rate for recent grads: 5.4%
Median salary: $105,000
Median salary for recent grads: $51,200
Projected job growth for this field, 2010–2020: 25%

The fact of the matter when selecting a course of study, it is not just about the money you will make, but when you consider of all the under-graduate degrees you have to chose from why not pick one you will both enjoy and also be able to make a living doing it.
 

4 Grants Available via FAFSA

As I have been saying since the creation of this blog, why pay for your college education with a loan when free money is available.  The source of that free money remains the same and the best way to position to get it is still a FAFSA application (Free Application for Student Aid).  The biggest sources of free money are made available as a result of completing FAFSA, and are awarded by federal and state program. Athletic and Academic Scholarships still only make up a fraction of financial aid for college with grants making up about 40%, with loans filling in the rest. The beauty of a grant is you don’t have to pay it back.  The unfortunate truth remains that the FAFSA process is still under-utilized by a majority of students that would easily qualify for financial aid. The general message has been apply early to get the best results for your effort, while my continued mantra has been at least apply what do you have to lose? What is the worst thing that could happen is potentially being awarded government student loan that will have a better payback interest rate then most lending institute you may use for that purpose. There are four grants that may be made available based on your personal situation, college of choice and need for aid.  They are Federal Pell grants represent the larger of the grants and are determined by need and choice of college as they apply to federal guidelines. These grants usually are a fixed amount each year and may be supplemented with additional grants for specific subject math, science and social science or academic awards based on grade point average and academic excellence.  The next would be Federal supplemental education grants to assist neediest students and State grants to encourage specific areas of study and Institutional grants from the college themselves to assist when other financial support from federal and state grants are not enough. The best way to get the most out of institutional grants is by targeting colleges that have expressed a desire for you to attend.  So I will keeping saying it, fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and submit online or request an application by calling the U.S. Department of Education at (800) 433-3243. It's smart to file as soon as possible because many colleges' aid deadlines are in early to mid-February, and their reserves of grant money may have used up substantially by the time they actually stop accepting applications. The FAFSA requires copies of your parent’s previous year's tax return. If you don't have that ready, you can include a return with estimated numbers and update them when you get better numbers.


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