Highest-Paid Bachelor's Degrees

Petroleum Engineering is the highest paid major with average starting salary of $60,879 in 2010, according to the National Association of College and Employers (NACE), followed by Chemical Engineering ($65,142) and Mining & Mineral Engineering (including Geological) ($64,552).

A bachelor's degree in chemical engineering will lead to a range of career opportunities in petrochemicals, natural gas processing, biotechnology, refining, fuels and energy, pollution control and environmental protection, plastics and composite materials, and related industries. According to the US News & World Report 2009 Best Colleges Specialty Rankings, the top 5 undergraduate chemical engineering programs are: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1st), UC Berkeley (2nd), University of Wisconsin--Madison (3rd), University of Minnesota--Twin Cities (4th), and Stanford University (5th).

A bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering will lead to a very diverse range of career opportunities. You can work as a drilling engineer, production engineer, reservoir engineer, or you can also find job opportunities in such fields as teaching, consulting, and government service. For more information please see: The Highest Paying Degree - Petroleum Engineering.

Top 5 Highest-Paid Bachelor's Degrees:
1. Petroleum Engineering
2. Chemical Engineering
3. Mining & Mineral Engineering (incl. Geological)
4. Computer Science
5. Computer Engineering
Source: NACE (Winter 2010 Salary Survey)

Comments

Author

Kelvin Wong Loke Yuen is an experienced writer specializing in education-related topics, with a strong background in teaching and training. He has a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities in education and creates practical, easy-to-understand articles that help educators, students, and professionals improve their skills and knowledge. Follow: LinkedIn.

Popular Articles

Find Articles by Category