Chemical Engineers Top List by Earnings

This week, the Washington Post ran a story about the value of a college degree. And which degree did they find was the most valuable, in terms of lifetime earnings? You guessed it--a degree in chemical engineering. U.S. Census data revealed that the median earnings of chemical engineering majors are close to double the median amount earned by those who simply have a college degree. (Check out a chart with 80 majors compared by median earnings here.) The researchers do point out, however, that their figures exclude consideration for earnings by doctors, lawyers, professors, and others with advanced degrees, since the research looked only at those holding only an undergraduate degree. If you're still in school, rest assured there's no question that your time is generally well spent earning a degree, no matter what it is. Looking at cumulative earnings over the entire career, the typical bachelor's degree graduate worker earns $1.19 million, which is twice what the typical high school graduate earns, and $335,000 more than what the typical associate degree graduate earns. And if you're a chemical engineering major, consider yourself among the most fortunate, with media lifetime earnings topping $2 million. You can see more about the research and findings of the study at The Hamilton Project. And check out the interactive feature for comparing majors and earnings.

Was money a factor in choosing to major in chemical engineering?