on April 14th, 2016

Payscale has released their 2015/16 College Salary Report which takes a look at the highest paying graduate degrees by salary potential. The report focuses on graduates who have made it into their respective industries and reported back with the kind of money they are getting. The report factors in MBA, non-MBA masters' degree majors, bachelors' degree major and associate degree majors, according to the official Payscale website. 

 

Here were the results of the highest paid positions: 

1) Petroleum Engineering

Degree type: Master's

Early career pay: $96,500 

Mid-Career Pay: $173,000

2) Nurse Anesthesia
Degree Type Master's
Early Career Pay $139,000
Mid-Career Pay $159,000
3) Strategy 
Degree Type MBA
Early Career Pay $93,100
Mid-Career Pay $148,000
4) General & Strategic Management
Degree Type MBA
Early Career Pay $84,000
Mid-Career Pay $144,000
5) Finance & Real estate
Degree Type MBA
Early Career Pay $78,900
Mid-Career Pay $143,000
6) Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE)
Degree Type PhD
Early Career Pay $102,000
Mid-Career Pay $142,000
7) Computer Engineering (CE)
Degree Type PhD
Early Career Pay $111,000
Mid-Career Pay $139,000
8) Chemical Engineering 
Degree Type PhD
Early Career Pay $92,300
Mid-Career Pay $138,000
9) Biomedical Engineering (BME) 
Degree Type PhD
Early Career Pay $86,800
Mid-Career Pay $137,000
10) Economics 
Degree Type MBA
Early Career Pay $71,900
Mid-Career Pay $136,000
11) Economics 
Degree Type PhD
Early Career Pay $98,200
Mid-Career Pay $134,000
12) Finance & Economics 
Degree Type MBA
Early Career Pay $68,100
Mid-Career Pay $134,000
 

13) Electrical Engineering 

Degree Type PhD
Early Career Pay $102,000
Mid-Career Pay $133,000
14) Organic Chemistry 
Degree Type PhD
Early Career Pay $79,000
Mid-Career Pay $133,000
15) Computer Science (CS) & Engineering 
Early Career Pay $104,000
Mid-Career Pay $132,000

The fact that engineering factors quite a lot in the report is not surprising as the world continues to rely on the work of engineers. Petroleum engineering seems to be a lucrative career. "No matter what degree level you obtain in petroleum engineering, you'll probably have an easy time finding a high-paying job. It just depends on how much time you want to spend in school," Payscale says. 

What are the lowest paying jobs for people with a master's degree? Payscale also worked that out: 

  • Early childhood education ($60,000)
  • Library and information science ($57,100)
  • Music ($56,900)
  • Social Work ($67.900)
  • Counseling ($52,300) 

 

 


      

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