College 101
6 Careers to Keep Debt Collectors off Your Back Article Type: Top 10
Engineering
You want to pursue a career that will allow you to live comfortably. We'd like to assist you in that process. This age-old concern is our meat and potatoes.
Take note: Engineers of all stripes tend to make decent money. That extra cash even allows them to spend their off-hours building doomsday devices. Sound appealing to you? Great.
There are at least five engineering degrees that post blockbuster median mid-career earnings (source):
- chemical engineering ($109,000 per year)
- electrical engineering ($103,000 per year)
- materials science and engineering ($103,000 per year)
- aerospace engineering ($102,000 per year)
- computer engineering ($101,000 per year)
The high return on your investment in these majors makes them incredibly attractive to students with strong science and math skills.
Sorry, poets. We just don't have that kind of pull.
Math-Based Careers
Mathematics doesn't have a rep as the sexiest field. However, if corralling numbers comes as easily to you as breathing, there's definitely a place for you in the working world. Physics ($101,000 per year), economics ($94,000 per year), and statistics ($93,000 per year), all have highly respectable median mid-career earnings (source).
By the time you retire, you'll be counting your yachts while others are watching their bills pile up. Nice.
Human Resources
We're not saying that employees will revert to a completely feral state without some oversight, but it could happen. Luckily, the human resources people of the world keep organizations ticking along without incident.
Compensation and benefits managers make a median $94,000 per year, recruiting managers make $88,000 per year, and human resources managers round out the list at $87,000 per year (source). We think that's more than fair, considering that you'll have to be the one to talk to Larry after he kicks the water cooler because his team lost the Super Bowl.
Chill out, Larry. Chill out.
Information Technology
Computers are useful for more than just parkour videos and snarking on your ex's hideous prom date. Information technology is a solid field in which a Bachelor's degree goes a long way.
Median salaries for a few careers in this field are (source):
- web applications developer ($80,000 per year)
- business intelligence specialist ($109,000 per year)
- information technology manager ($107,000 per year)
This career path will also allow you to develop a mastery of computing and data manipulation. Who knows, you might just end up explaining how it all works to our politicians...or other important types.
Biology
You were probably the kid reminding people to wash their hands lest they unleash loads of icky bacteria upon their loved ones. Your dedication to the principles that shape all life is not just admirable, but profitable.
A biology graduate with a Bachelor's degree can net jobs as a laboratory manager ($85,000 per year), a clinical research associate ($72,000 per year), or a health and safety supervisor ($71,000 per year). In case you're bad at paying attention to numbers, we'd like to say that all of those jobs boast median incomes above $70,000 per year (source).
Just try not to clone anything ridiculous. Spoiler alert: it doesn't end well.
Government and International Relations
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) majors are super hot right now. But so were JNCOs and look how that ended up.
Seriously, though. There is light at the end of the tunnel. If you can't compute to save your life, we suggest you go into government or international relations.
Government ($87,000 per year), political science ($80,000 per year), and international relations ($79,000 per year) jobs all boast solid median mid-career pay (source) for people with Bachelor's degrees.
All you'll need now is a great suit and you're on your way.