When selecting a major in college it can be difficult to imagine the odds of where one will be placed employment-wise after graduation. For those students who have not selected a major or have just begun your collegiate career you may want to consider the following statistics. This information can also be helpful in selecting a minor if that is an option in one’s college or university studies.
The 2010 Census data broke down an extended list of majors according to the unemployment percent, 25% earnings, median earnings, 50% earnings, 75% earnings and popularity.
Looking at these statistics from an optimistic standpoint the top jobs according to the lowest unemployment percentages are actuarial science (0.00%), education administration and supervision (0.00%), geological and geophysical engineering (0.00%), school student counseling (0.00%), and geological and geophysical engineering (0.00%), and pharmacology (0.00%).
The top 5 most popular jobs are business management and administration (1), general business (2), accounting (3), nursing (4) and psychology (5).
Looking at these statistics from a pessimistic standpoint, the top jobs according the highest unemployment percentages are miscellaneous fine arts (16.2%), United States History (15.1%), library science (15.0%), clinical psychology (19.5%), educational psychology (10.9%) and military technologies (10.9%).
The least popular jobs by major are military technologies (173), school student counseling (172), educational administration and supervision (171), astronomy and astrophysics (170) and pharmacology (169).
Although money and popularity is not everything, one may want to take a closer look at these statistics if you are undecided or unsure of your hiring potential in your major.
From the entire list of statistics please check out the Wall Street Journal’s article: http://graphicsweb.wsj.com/documents/NILF1111/#term=
And please keep in mind these statistics are constantly changing so be sure to check the Census Bureau for annual updates!
- C.S.
