Annual Earnings by Major
What's Hot, What's Not
The data in the following table, reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, show the earnings of men and women who had earned bachelor's degrees and were between 25 and 34 years of age.
Median Earnings by Major Field and Sex
Individuals 25 to 34, 1993
| Major field |
Men |
Women |
| Overall |
$35,694 |
$29,660 |
| Engineering |
43,518 |
43,276 |
| Mathematics |
36,830 |
35,046 |
| Computer science |
41,311 |
38,960 |
| Physics |
40,254 |
* |
| Accounting |
39,096 |
35,742 |
| Economics |
36,657 |
33,597 |
| Business |
34,938 |
30,162 |
| Nursing |
* |
35,923 |
| Physical therapy |
* |
38,450 |
| Geology |
36,928 |
* |
| Biology |
33,128 |
29,399 |
| Political science |
33,272 |
28,506 |
| Psychology |
30,655 |
26,338 |
| Criminal justice |
29,400 |
26,037 |
| Communications |
30,767 |
27,316 |
| English |
28,505 |
27,388 |
| History |
30,419 |
25,990 |
| Sociology |
29,139 |
25,762 |
| Agriculture |
31,828 |
28,178 |
| Philosophy |
25,071 |
* |
| Education |
26,367 |
24,276 |
* Insufficient cases for statistically reliable estimates.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Monthly Labor Review, December, 1995
- Some points are apparent. With a few exceptions, individuals with science, business, and "professional" (e.g., nursing, physical therapy) degrees earn more than who graduated from liberal arts programs.
- Women tend to earn less than men.
- The gender differences are greatest for liberal arts majors.
- Note: the relatively high earnings of political science majors is not due
to their going into law, since these data pertain to only graduates with BA degrees.
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H. T. Reynolds
htr@udel.edu
Copyright © 1996 H. T. Reynolds
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