STEM jobs--those requiring a science, technology, engineering, or math-related degree--not only account for more than 10% of jobs in the United States, many of them pay wages close to double the U.S. average, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
What can newly-minted professionals embarked on STEM careers expect to earn?
To determine the top paying STEM jobs for recent graduates, Forbes worked with compensation information site Payscale.com to obtain salary data for STEM jobs, as defined by the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Information Network (O*NET). The data provided applies to candidates with three years of experience in their job or field or less and a Bachelor's degree.
Compensation information is determined by combining base annual salary or hourly wage, bonuses, profit sharing, tips, commissions, and other forms of cash earnings where relevant. The figure does not include equity, cash value of retirement benefits, or cash value of benefits such as healthcare.
Payscale.com notes that the compensation information provided here is based on national medians; the range in pay within a job can be significant based on factors like experience, level of responsibility, or geography.
Topping a list dominated by engineering jobs is drilling engineer, a field with median pay of $113,900. By comparison, the overall median pay for this group--professionals with a bachelor's degree and three years or less of experience--in all fields in the U.S. is $43,400. Petroleum engineer, mining engineer, and welding engineer are also in the top five, with technology analyst as the lone job outside of engineering that lands at the top of the list.
In pictures: The Top Paying STEM Jobs For Recent Grads
“Overall this list is pretty consistent,” says Katie Bardaro, Lead Economist at Payscale.com. “The ones at the top stay at the top—mainly STEM jobs associated with oil and gas. There are a few new jobs in healthcare and medicine, but overall it’s an engineering-heavy list.”
Baradaro says that for those looking to earn serious paychecks right off the bat, engineering and computer science-related jobs are the way to go.
"With engineering and computer science, it's almost like a vocational degree--you're trained to do something that you then go and do. With math and science it's less defined, and there's a wide plethora of jobs available to you so it depends on what you want to go do."
For those who are planning to pursue math and science-related careers, jobs like clinical research associate and biomedical engineer fall within the top 20 best paid STEM occupations. But Bardaro also cautions that while many early-stage math and science jobs may be lab or research-focused, and not pay as competitively as entry-level engineering or computer science jobs, there's the potential for strong salary growth over the lifespan of a career.
“Math and science professionals have been shown to have strong pay growth over their careers, because a lot of the things they take from their early careers into private industry can translate to salary growth as they gain more experience.”
No. 1 Drilling Engineer
Median Pay: $113,900
No. 2 Petroleum Engineer
Median Pay: $97,300
No. 3 Mining Engineer
Median Pay: $71,300
No. 4 Technology Analyst
Median Pay: $67,500
No. 5 Welding Engineer
Median Pay: $67,500
No. 6 Chemical Engineer
Median Pay: $65,900
No. 7 Network Security Analyst
Median Pay: $64,000
No. 8 Computer Hardware Engineer
Median Pay: $62,900
No. 9 Manufacturing Engineer
Median Pay: $62,600
No. 10 Electrical Engineer
Median Pay: $61,900
No. 11 Clinical Informatics Specialist
Median Pay: $61,400
No. 12 Software Developer
Median Pay: $61,300
No. 13 Forensic Accountant
Median Pay: $59,300
No. 14 Mechanical Engineer
Median Pay: $59,000
No. 15 Clinical Data Analyst
Median Pay: $58,500
No. 16 Field Engineer, Construction
Median Pay: $57,400
No. 17 Industrial Engineer
Median Pay: $57,300
No. 18 Clinical Research Associate (CRA)
Median Pay: $56,500
No. 19 Biomedical Engineer
Median Pay: $56,200
No. 20 Quantitative Analyst
Median Pay: $56,100
