Chariot Learning
  • About
    • FAQ
    • Our Curriculum
    • Areas Chariot Learning Serves
  • Services
    • SAT & ACT Prep
    • SAT/ACT TestFlip
    • Academic Coaching
    • Subject Tutoring
    • Strategic Reading Club
    • Proctored Practice Tests
    • GRE Prep
    • College Essay Coaching
    • Roots2Words
  • Calendar
  • Testimonials
  • Blog
  • Resources
  • Contact
December 27, 2019 by Mike Bergin

Lifetime Income Distribution Estimates by College Major

Douglas A. Webber, a professor in the Economics Department at Temple University, has explored a wide range of issues related to higher education over the last several years, from the student debt crisis to the dubious value of a name-brand degree. His primary focus, however, seems to lie in the intersection of education and economic benefit. Webber has a compiled an exquisite data set analyzing various aspects of expected lifetime earnings for different majors. Anyone interested in a deep dive into this data will find ample opportunity to immerse themselves on Webber’s site, but the first stop should be the brilliant Tableau graph depicting College Majors and Lifetime Income Distribution Estimates created by Jon Boeckenstedt. This graph makes analysis of different majors and earning distributions easy to analyze.

While everyone should experience the delight that comes with plays around with a well-designed data visualization, I’ve pulled out a few key points regarding lifetime earnings and college majors:

  1. In general, individuals who do not earn college degrees can expect to earn less than those who do.
  2. About 75% of those who graduate with just a high school degree can expect to earn less than what 90% of college graduates earn.
  3. Social science and humanities majors tend to rank at the lower end of the earnings spectrum, with the notable exceptions of Communications, Journalism, and Political Science.
  4. Sciences tend to rank at the upper end of the earnings spectrum, with physical science majors out-earning life science majors.
  5. Unsurprisingly, majors related to Engineering, Computer Science, and Finance presage high lifetime earnings.
  6. Surprisingly, Construction seems to be a lucrative college major.

What’s most interesting is how high the 99th percentile of earnings are across all majors and even those without college degrees. The ranges within each major also suggest a certain elasticity of expectations, underscoring that a given college major is neither a guarantee of easy wealth nor a sentence of certain poverty. Don’t feel that you have to major in Engineering, Finance, or Construction (who knew?) to make a good living.

college major

Previous articleProfessional Development and the 2020 Winter Prep ConferenceNext article 2020 SAT & ACT Test Dates
Mike Bergin
Tens of thousands of students a year prep for the SAT & ACT through programs Mike Bergin created or organized. After more than 25 years of intensive experience in the education industry, he's done it all as a teacher, tutor, director, curriculum developer, blogger, podcaster, and best-selling author. Mike founded Chariot Learning in 2009 to deliver on the promise of what truly transformative individualized education can and should be.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Helping high schoolers with tests, school, and life is what Chariot Learning is all about. Let us know how we can help you!

Latest Posts

  • What Does ‘Smart’ Mean in the 21st Century
  • How to Read Percentiles
  • Do SAT & ACT Subscores Matter?
  • Evaluating College ROI
  • What to Read This Summer

What is TestFlip?

Learn about the ultimate in self-directed supplemental SAT/ACT prep, powered by Chariot Learning:

  • Set goals that are *almost* out of reach.
    by chariotlearning 1 week ago
    Set goals that are *almost* out of reach.
  • Be patient when becoming someone you haven
    by chariotlearning 6 days ago
    Be patient when becoming someone you haven't been before.
  • Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it. Here
    by chariotlearning 3 weeks ago
    Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it. Here's to your success!
  • Do not waste time thinking about what you could have done differently. Keep your eyes on the road ahead and
    by chariotlearning 2 days ago
    Do not waste time thinking about what you could have done differently. Keep your eyes on the road ahead and
  • Life is about
    by chariotlearning 2 weeks ago
    Life is about 'not knowing' and then doing something anyway. Get good at it!
  • Being intelligent is not a felony but may get you in trouble anyway ;)
    by chariotlearning 1 week ago
    Being intelligent is not a felony but may get you in trouble anyway ;)
  • You have no idea what you can "survive" until you have no choice!
    by chariotlearning 2 weeks ago
    You have no idea what you can "survive" until you have no choice!
  • When someone says you can
    by chariotlearning 2 weeks ago
    When someone says you can't do it, do it twice and take pictures!

Subscribe to Mike’s Podcast

Subscribe to Tests and the Rest

PARENT GROUP AND NEWSLETTER

Are you an Upstate New York parent with questions about college admissions, testing, and scholarships? The Upstate NY College Conversations Facebook group is for you. Join today!

And also sign up for College Road, our free email newsletter delivering expert educational advice, test news, admissions action steps, special offers, and more.

Upcoming Events

  1. SAT/ACT Extended Class – Summer Mornings 2022

    July 6 @ 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
  2. SAT/ACT Online Flipped Class – July 2022

    July 6 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
  3. Practice SAT – Brighton (7/8/22)

    July 8 @ 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
  4. Practice ACT – Pittsford Library (7/12/22)

    July 12 @ 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
  5. SAT/ACT Extended Class – Summer Evenings 2022

    July 12 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

View All Events

Testimonials

Thanks again for all your help, I’m more than happy with my scores and I appreciate all of your help in the past few months.

Greg, Brighton student

Read more testimonials...
© 2022 Chariot Learning, LLC. All rights reserved.