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30 best paying college majors: 2015

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It might not take a rocket scientist to guess which college majors lead to the highest paying jobs, but being one would put you near the top of the salary pyramid. That’s because the so-called STEM jobs (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) dominate the 30 highest paying jobs. So parents would do well to make sure the kids pay attention in all those math and science classes.

If the humanities are more your speed, philosophy majors have the highest earning potential after 10 years of experience.

The rankings below are based on data collected by PayScale.com from 1,000 universities and include graduates with bachelor’s degrees in 207 disciplines. The universities surveyed include 86 percent of U.S. schools with an enrollment of more than 5,000 and 56 percent of schools with enrollment over 1,000.

Take a look at the 30 Best Paying College Majors for 2015, ranked by starting salary:

math

30. Applied Mathematics

Starting Salary: $54,300

Mid-Career Salary: $96,500 (21st)

29. Supply Chain Management

Starting Salary: $54,800

Mid-Career Salary: $83,600 (51st)

stock

28. Statistics

Starting Salary: $54,900

Mid-Career Salary: $103,100 (14th)

27. Civil Engineering

Salary: $55,100

Mid-Career Salary: $93,400 (24th)

See also: 10 best cities for jobs: 2015

computer

26. Civil & Environmental Engineering

Starting Salary: $55,900

Mid-Career Salary: $91,800 (27th)

25. Management Information Systems

Starting Salary: $56,300

Mid-Career Salary: $95,500 (22nd)

architect

24. Mechanical Engineering Technology

Starting Salary: $56,600

Mid-Career Salary: $85,400 (44th, tie)

23. ( tie) Business & Information Technology

Starting Salary: $56,900

Mid-Career Salary: $99,100 (18th)

23. (tie) Nursing

Starting Salary: $56,900

Mid-Career Salary: $73,600 (89th)

See also: Millennials now biggest generation in work force: Pew

architects

21. Architectural Engineering

Starting Salary: $57,000

Mid-Career Salary: $90,400 (28th, tie)

20. Physics

Starting Salary: $57,200

Mid-Career Salary: $105,100 (11th, tie)

health

19. Electrical Engineering Technology

Starting Salary: $58,900

Mid-Career Salary: $88,200 (39th)

18. Biomedical Engineering

Starting Salary: $59,600

Mid-Career Salary: $92,200  (32nd, tie)

See also: 10 grimmest states for health insurance carrier jobs

business

17. Business Information Systems

Starting Salary: $59,800

Mid-Career Salary: $85,100 (32nd, tie)

16. Actuarial Mathematics

Starting Salary: $60,800

Mid-Career Salary: $119,600 (2nd)

computer repair

15. Computer Science

Starting Salary: $61,600

Mid-Career Salary: $103,600 (13th)

14. Software Engineering

Starting Salary: $61,700

Mid-Career Salary: $99,800 (17th)

See also: The best and worst fonts to use on your résumé

industrial engineer

13. Industrial Engineering

Starting Salary: $61,900

Mid-Career Salary: $97,200 (20th)

12. Mechanical Engineering

Starting Salary: $62,100

Mid-Career Salary: $101,600 (15th)

science

11. Computer Science & Mathematics

Starting Salary: $63,200

Mid-Career Salary: $101,400 (16th)

10. Materials Science & Engineering

Starting Salary: $64,000

Mid-Career Salary: $105,100 (11th)

See also: 2015 shaping up to be record year for insurance jobs

astronaut

9. Electronics & Communications Engineering

Starting Salary: $64,100

Mid-Career Salary: $113,200 (5th)

8. Aerospace Engineering

Starting Salary: $64,700

Mid-Career Salary: $107,900 (9th, tie)

computer

7. Electrical Engineering

Starting Salary: $65,900

Mid-Career Salary: $107,900 (9th, tie)

6. Electrical & Computer Engineering

Starting Salary: $66,500

Mid-Career Salary: $113,000 (6th)

See also: These are the 10 best states for business, ranked by CEOs

nuclear

5. Computer Science & Engineering

Starting Salary: $66,700

Mid-Career Salary: $112,600 (6th, tie)

4. Nuclear Engineering

Starting Salary: $67,000

Mid-Career Salary: $118,800 (3rd)

chemist

3. Computer Engineering

Starting Salary: $67,300

Mid-Career Salary: $108,600 (8th)

2. Chemical Engineering

Starting Salary: $69,600

Mid-Career Salary: $116,700 (4th)

oil

1. Petroleum Engineering

Starting Salary: $102,300

Mid-Career Salary: $176,300 (1st)

See also:

Here are the top 10 cities for job seekers

The 10 worst jobs of 2015

How millennials are changing the workforce, and what to do about it


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