Chemical Engineering	$59,361	+5.4%
Computer Engineering	$56,201	+4.8%
Electrical Engineering	$55,292	+3.2%
Mechanical Engineering	$54,128	+4.6%
Computer Science	$53,396	+4.1%
Civil Engineering	$48,509	+5.4%
Finance	$47,239	n/a
Accounting	$46,718	+2.3%
Business Admin/Mgmt	$43,701	+3.9%
Marketing	$40,161	+6.1%
Political Science/Government	$34,590	+5.9%
History	$33,768	+3.3%
English	$32,553	+5.3%
Sociology	$32,033	+3.5%
Psychology	$31,631	+4.7%

yep..always good to study technical subjects...

only people with half a brain study bisness and arts

F U C K...psychology is on the last...that sucks man..my major is Psychology....Damn...but still I am not gonna change my major..I love it man...thanks for the information anyways...

i know some highschool drop outs are making more than 100 k in sales.. so it's all bull.. garnay layee jay ma pani cha... kajag bhayo bhanay help huncha..

hahaa.. I got it.. darro paisa kamaune raichu...

Average salary statistics are very misleading. I opine that the best major, if something like a "best major" exists, is math. It's the most versatile degree ever. If you're good at math, it doesn't take long for you to become good at something else (gross generalization). I mean, I'd a friend who was a math major, and he learned advanced macroeconomics in a week better than people who had been reading it for two years of college.

I agree with Commando.  If I had to do it over again, I would major in Math, and perhaps minor or double major in Finance or Accounting.  After Bachelors, I would work few years in Financial Sector and do MBA at one of the top 10 B schools.

I don't know if the topic is necessarily the 'best' major, but in terms of profitability, I think the above list is fairly accurate.

In the class of 2008 at my school, Chem Engg topped the highest starting salary (around 65K) with Electrical (62K) and Mechanical(59K) following them. Ater that, it was Mathematics and Economics (55K) joint majors.

But the average starting salary is very misleading as commando pointed out. I have seen American Chem Enggs majors get 92K offers from Exxon mobil while Chem Engg international students taking 45K jobs.
If you aren't a permanent resident or a citizen, chances are you will earn significantly less than these averages. I was reading recently that the average salary of H1-B holders is significantly less than their American peers.


Having said that, I would still advocate engineering major as a very good choice in terms of the future, if you are interested in science and maths. The basic fact being engineering provides skills in problem solving, something that is very critical in a career. Also, engineering majors are forced to learn new tools every day, from design softwares to programming to getting your hands into other disciplines.

To contrast that, you can still major in Math and learn nothing more than to prove theorems that were developed a century ago. Same thing with economics, art, literature, etc. That is not to criticize these majors but to point out that the passing down of knowledge is very gradual in non technical fields.  

On a recent interview after the financial crisis, the former chairman of the Fed Reserve made the following comment:

"It seems to me what our nation needs is more civil engineers and electrical engineers and fewer financial engineers,"
http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/10/24/volcker-u-s-needs-more-civil-engineers-and-fewer-financial-eng/

Obama also made similar comments at Gerogetown University while talking about his economic recovery plan. The administration realizes the impact of technology on the economy and that is why engineering and science jobs are here to stay.