What a load of crap. You mean to tell me that majoring in Liberal Arts, Education or Psych actually has a negative return? I'm shocked.
I bet they never even considered the return on African American studies, women's studies or changing gender roles. I bet that's a fricken license to print money.
You know, I'd like to take those snide remarks back. I'm beginning to think my sarcasm isn't that funny. How about that!
Top College Degrees by their Return on Investment
By Kayla Zhu, Visual Capitalist
Oct 18, 2024
Career prospects, and especially expected lifetime salaries, can be a strong motivator or deterrent in pursuing certain college degrees.
Not all degrees guarantee higher lifetime earnings compared to entering the workforce after high school without a degree—as some degrees may end up costing more than their financial benefits.
This graphic shows the average return on investment of a degree in the U.S., based on analysis from CollegeNPV of data from the U.S. Department of Education and Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The return on investment of a degree is the expected lifetime value of the degree (net of debt) compared to entering the workforce after high school.
STEM Degrees Have The Best Bang For Their Buck
Below, we show the average return on investment of various degrees in the U.S.
Engineering, computer and information sciences, mathematics, and engineering technician degrees are the most valuable degrees in the U.S. when looking at expected lifetime income minus debt compared to working right after high school without a degree.
As for specific programs, Harvard University’s computer science degree ranks first for ROI, according to CollegeNPV.
Graduates of this program can expect an ROI of over $4 million in their lifetime, with $256,539 in median income and $14,000 in median debt.
On the other end, humanities degrees like visual and performing arts, theology, and English are among the least valuable degrees when looking at lifetime earnings.
With a negative ROI of about $39,000, English language programs have also experienced the greatest decrease in graduates, with 32% fewer students completing these programs compared to 10 years prior.
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