Engineering Degrees Most Lucrative Within Five Years of Graduation, Study Finds

Graduates aiming for high salaries within five years of earning their university degrees should strongly consider engineering fields, according to research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The study reveals that 80% of the top ten highest-earning university majors are engineering disciplines, underscoring a significant trend toward technology-focused careers.

Computer engineering graduates lead the pack, achieving a median annual salary of $80,000 within five years post-graduation. Even within engineering, specialized fields like aerospace, electrical, and industrial engineering tend to yield slightly higher incomes than more general engineering degrees. Computer science, closely related to engineering, also ranks third with an initial median career salary of $80,000.

Financial majors also make the list, securing the tenth spot with an expected annual salary of $70,000 for graduates aged 22 to 27. This contrasts sharply with graduates from liberal arts and humanities programs, whose earnings are roughly half those of their engineering counterparts.

Majors in theology, religious studies, performing arts, and humanities are among the lowest-earning, with average annual incomes around $38,000. Other science fields, including biological sciences, therapy, and nutrition, also fall into the lower-earning category, with starting salaries reaching up to $50,000. For context, the median personal income in the United States is $45,180.