25 Most Popular College Majors (2022).

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25 Most Popular College Majors (2022).

Methodology: The following list of majors is based on data provided by the National Center for Education Statistics and The Economic Value of College Majors by Georgetown University.

  1. Business Administration
  2. Accounting
  3. Nursing
  4. Psychology
  5. Communications
  6. Marketing
  7. Education
  8. Elementary Education
  9. English
10. Computer Science*
11. Finance
12. Criminal Justice
13. Biology*
14. Political Science
15. Economics
16. Electrical Engineering*
17. History
18. Liberal Arts
19. Sociology
20. Fine Arts
21. Commercial Art & Graphic Design
22. General Engineering*
23. Journalism
24. Computer and Information Systems*
25. Social Work

Source:  This "My Degree Guide" Article 

This is unsettling.  There are only 5 STEM* courses on this list, and the most popular STEM course is in tenth place.

(I did not count nursing as a STEM course because I see it more as a care-giving profession than anything else. Your opinions may differ, of course.)

This means that our current generation of college graduates are most likely to be employed in capitalist, media, and/or political endeavors while science, technology, engineering, and maths lag behind.

No wonder the global economy has been stagnating since 2008.

Last edited by Fnord on 15 Mar 2022, 11:42 am, edited 1 time in total.

Derived from the same source as above are these average yearly salaries for degreed professionals . . .

$183,580 -- Nurse Anesthetist
$141,490 -- Advertising or Marketing Manager
$134,180 -- Financial Manager
$132,290 -- Sales Manager
$125,130 -- Compensation and Benefits Manager
$118,610 -- Aerospace Engineer
$118,430 -- Fundraising Manager
$116,780 -- Computer Network Architect
$111,680 -- Nurse Practitioner
$110,140 -- Software Developer
$108,350 -- Economist
$107,540 -- Electronics Engineer
$103,590 -- Information Security Analyst
$100,830 -- Electrical Engineer
  $98,890 -- Administrative Services Manager
  $98,860 -- Database Administrator
  $97,270 -- Art Director
  $92,120 -- Environmental Engineer
  $90,160 -- Mechanical Engineer
  $89,330 -- Personal Financial Advisor
  $89,190 -- Computer Programmer
  $88,950 -- Industrial Engineer
  $87,660 -- Management Analyst
  $86,940 -- Detective
  $84,400 -- Microbiologist
  $83,660 -- Financial Analyst
  $77,700 -- Multimedia Artist
  $75,330 -- Registered Nurse
  $74,970 -- Credit Analyst
  $74,650 -- Technical Writer
  $73,560 -- Accountant or Auditor
  $73,230 -- Environmental Scientist
  $72,580 -- Transit or Railroad Police
  $71,640 -- Industrial Designer
  $69,600 -- Social or Community Service Manager
  $67,250 -- Film or Video Editor
  $67,120 -- Writer or Author
  $66,610 -- Cost Estimator
  $66,350 -- Zoologist
  $65,810 -- Market Research Analyst
  $65,720 -- Television or Radio Producer
  $65,540 -- Patrol Officer
  $63,400 -- Editor
  $62,870 -- High School Teacher
  $62,810 -- Public Relations Specialist
  $62,700 -- Training and Development Specialist
  $61,420 -- Special Education Teacher
  $60,940 -- Elementary School Teacher
  $60,810 -- Middle School Teacher
  $58,770 -- Sales Representative
  $56,990 -- Curator
  $56,760 -- Archivist
  $55,690 -- Probation Officer
  $55,640 -- Tax Examiner
  $54,940 -- Advertising Sales Agent
  $53,380 -- Graphic Designer
  $52,340 -- Fine Artist
  $51,760 -- Social Worker
  $49,300 -- Reporter
  $49,300 -- Journalist
  $49,300 -- Reporter or Correspondent
  $49,210 -- Social Science Research Assistant
  $49,160 -- Preschool Director
  $45,710 -- Museum Conservator
  $31,930 -- Preschool Teacher

Finally, here are the Top 25 Non-Degreed professions, ranked by median yearly salary:

$65,540 -- Patrol Officer
$59,050 -- Flight Attendant
$56,900 -- Electrician
$56,230 -- Wind Turbine Technician
$52,690 -- Computer Support Specialist
$52,500 -- Firefighter
$52,180 -- Insurance Sales Agent
$48,820 -- Licensed Practical Nurse / Licensed Vocational Nurse
$46,470 -- Solar Photovoltaic Installer
$43,760 -- Actor
$43,620 -- Massage Therapist
$42,000 -- Community Health Worker
$40,850 -- Maintenance and Repair Worker
$37,940 -- Ophthalmic Medical Technician
$37,350 -- Medical Secretary
$37,050 -- Delivery Truck Driver
$35,850 -- Medical Assistant
$32,320 -- Taxi Driver
$31,730 -- Landscaper and Groundskeeper
$31,250 -- Recreation and Fitness Worker
$31,050 -- Security Guard
$28,800 -- Restaurant Cook
$27,080 -- Personal Care Aide
$27,080 -- Home Health Aide
$24,960 -- Bartender

Source:  This US News Article 

I'm not sure how it is in other states, but Texas schools do a piss-poor job at preparing students for any career, let alone STEM. It's all about standardized testing. Teachers prepare you for that, but half-ass everything else. Once you've passed that test, they're more or less done with you.

That, and the pernicious influence of the evangelical/fundamentalist Christian church, which has expressed open hostility toward science in general.

I agree it is unsettling. Similar picture in the UK I suspect. By comparison China is churning out a staggering number of engineers each year...

On your list the one subject that is never included as STEM but is a clear candidate is economics. I say this as an economist so am biased, but mainly so that autistics on here do not overlook economics as a subject because they have been advised that STEM subjects are most suited to them. Economics at good universities is an applied maths degree but to my mind with often more interesting practical applications than physics and chemistry, and certainly appeals to autistics that are also interested in societal and resource allocation problems. When I was at university the biologists would often come to us for help on maths and in particular statistics problems so I chuckle that they count as STEM but not economics.

True, but the half-assing is the worst.

Ya the standardized tests in my years in Texas schools were a absolute nightmares it was stressful and horrifying to think you would not graduate high school because of a test also I knew some people who dropped out because they could not pass

Well I love that so many people are becoming accountants I love to study the tax code all I can there will always be a need for accountants it is a very marketable degree I am glad that people are studying finance because that will always be important I have my doubts about business degrees because you don’t need one to start a company I certainly did not I think it’s ironic that most college business classes are taught by professors who have never started a business or side hustle I mean I thinks it’s ironic that business courses are taught by non business owners read rich dad dad Poor dad cash flow quadrant and why a students work for c students and read books about legal entities and tax free wealth by Robert kiyosaki and his team to learn how business works and save the tens of thousands in student debt

Last edited by Texasmoneyman300 on 27 Mar 2022, 12:08 am, edited 1 time in total.

I think business administration jobs I mean degrees are bad. They don’t give the grad a business to own and no business owner myself and my dad included would turn over Management of a company one year after college graduation

I wonder how many people sit in bed dreaming of becoming a business administrator?....um zero

Another myth, biology is fun....watching animal planet is not quite the same as dissecting snails or watching mice eat each other when some student in your group forget's to feed them during the holiday break.

I think stem degrees and disciplines should be given priority for students who are capable I think school should really stress math and science college has become a joke although be sure to get a degree only if you need one I think studying free market economics should be prioritized more

I think sociology is a pretty lousy degree

My cousin has a masters in market economics. She sells insurance to make a living.

Well you can make a good living selling insurance but I debated studying economics in college I think be a economics professor would of been nice I have a friend who studied economics and now he is a banker I am a liberal arts major and now I am a pastor and lease flipper and oil producer and oil well driller

Last edited by Texasmoneyman300 on 27 Mar 2022, 2:07 am, edited 1 time in total.

market economics = sales OR academia