| Seniors in high school often have to make an | | | | 7. Economics/Finance/Banking ($45,191 average |
| important decision, which college major to choose. | | | | starting salary) |
| There are many majors to choose out of and | | | | 8. Civil Engineering ($44,999 average starting salary) |
| students have to start choosing their major before | | | | 9. Business Administration/Management ($39,850 |
| even stepping foot on college campus. It is however, | | | | average starting salary) |
| often a difficult decision because students have | | | | 10. Marketing/Marketing Management/Marketing |
| many interests and not enough expertise to make a | | | | Research ($36,260 average starting salary) |
| decision. | | | | It appears that students that enjoy engineering have |
| Many college students, in fact, change their majors | | | | a lot of flexibility in choosing their major without |
| during their college years; sometimes, students have | | | | much detriment. If they realize that you do not |
| to stay in college for 5 or 6 years because of the | | | | enjoy working with hardware, they can always work |
| changes. Nowadays, many college including the | | | | with software with a Computer Science major, or in |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke | | | | analytics with a Mathematics or Statistics major. |
| University enter all of their students into a General | | | | Students who enjoy working with finances also have |
| Program during the first two years. However, some | | | | flexibility choosing between Accounting, Economics, |
| programs such as Engineering at North Carolina State | | | | Finance, Banking, Business Administration, and |
| University essentially force their students to start | | | | Marketing. It may be difficult for a student to decide |
| engineering when they take their first step on | | | | whether he wants to study Accounting or Economics |
| campus. So, it is still very important for a high school | | | | while in high school. However, it may be a strategic |
| senior to evaluate his or her potential majors before | | | | decision to start leaning toward the finance field. |
| applying to colleges and universities. | | | | For most of the degrees above, a Bachelor's degree |
| The most important factor in choosing a major is | | | | is sufficient to get a job. A master's degree such as |
| interest. It is a horrible idea to spend the next four | | | | the MBA is optional and can be obtained at a later |
| years of your life studying something you despise | | | | stage. However, in other fields such as English, a |
| then having to work 40 or more hours a week in a | | | | Masters of PhD degree may be necessary to obtain |
| field that you find repulsive. However, most people | | | | the best employment opportunities. That should be |
| generally do not prefer to study a field where there | | | | taken into account. People who do not want to stay |
| are extremely low salaries and high unemployment | | | | in school for a long period of time should avoid these |
| rate. Having a backup major is generally a good idea. | | | | majors and take advantage of the alternatives. Also, |
| According to scholarships.com, the most profitable | | | | some colleges' engineering programs can be |
| college majors are: | | | | essentially 5-year programs. Student shouldn't assume |
| 1. Chemical Engineering ($55,900 average starting | | | | that all Bachelor's degrees can be completed in 4 |
| salary) | | | | years. |
| 2. Computer Engineering ($54,877 average starting | | | | There is also an opportunity in many colleges to |
| salary) | | | | double major. It may be give the student more job |
| 3. Electrical/Electronics/Communications engineering, | | | | flexibility. However, if the majors do not well overlap, |
| ($52,899 average starting salary) | | | | it will also be more time consuming. Minors can also |
| 4. Mechanical Engineering ($50,672 average starting | | | | be pursued and only consist of several extra classes. |
| salary) | | | | In my opinion, minors should only be pursued out of |
| 5. Computer Science ($50,046 average starting | | | | pure interest since most of the time, they are not |
| salary) | | | | listed on a diploma and do not give the student |
| 6. Accounting ($45,723 average starting salary) | | | | enough expertise to be employed in a field. |