An interesting analysis by Ben Casselman:
Casselman notes:
“… These figures don’t
necessarily mean that switching majors will bring a big financial boost.
Economics majors, for example, earn $7,000 — 18 percent — more on average than
“general business” majors, but economics is also generally considered a harder
and more prestigious major, and therefore tends to draw more top students; it’s
unlikely all those business majors could have gotten themselves a $7,000 raise
just by switching to econ. Similarly, majoring in astrophysics won’t net a
$62,000 salary for someone who flunks Calculus 101.” UPDATE:
College Majors and Earnings Potential