– The Best Options
Earning a great salary is one of the ultimate goals of any college student. But many make the assumption that to earn the best pay possible they’ll have to stay in college for years and earn a grad level degree. The fact is, however, that some of the country’s highest paying jobs only require a bachelor’s degree as their main qualification. In short, you can earn your four year degree and find employment that will give you some of the highest pay in the nation.
The following list of the nine highest paying bachelor’s degree programs for 2012 is based on average salary nationwide and on job growth. You’ll notice that the majority of these programs are engineering or technology related. That should come as no surprise when you consider the growing role that technology plays in our lives. If you can find a potential career branch that interests you greatly and is on this list, you’ll be on your way to the most rewarding career path possible.
- Petroleum Engineering – Earning this degree allows you to assume a position searching for and removing natural gas and petroleum deposits. It’s a career that is in high demand and can pay more than one hundred and twenty seven thousand dollars per year on average, making it the top paying bachelor’s degree program out there at the moment.
- Computer and Information Systems – This bachelor’s degree will allow you to become a computer and information systems manager. Average salaries begin at around one hundred and twelve thousand dollars per year and the opportunity for advancement is strong.
- Aeronautical or Aerospace Engineering – This degree qualifies you for an aircraft pilot or a flight engineer, working on the design of aircraft. Private and government sector jobs are common here, and salaries average well over one hundred and ten thousand dollars annually.
- Computer Hardware Engineer – This field tasks you with overseeing all aspects of a computer system, from design and creation through to management and troubleshooting. It pays around ninety seven thousand dollars per year on average.
- Actuary Science – Earning this degree lets you enter one of the most in demand fields in the nation. Your degree will qualify you to assess risks for insurance companies and utilize math and statistics to help cut costs and boost profit in the field. Average salaries are around ninety five thousand dollars annually.
- Nuclear Engineer – A nuclear engineer can find employment in private and public sectors working in all areas of nuclear energy. Average salary is around ninety five thousand dollars per year and the job growth is among the best in the country.
- Chemical Engineer – This degree can qualify you for work in a wide range of positions, ranging from a flavoring expert in a candy or perfume company to an expert in the design of chemical laboratory equipment. Average salaries are around eighty five thousand dollars per year.
- Electronics Engineer – This degree lets you assume a job in a wide range of companies working to design and modify various electronic products. The creation of modern tech gadgets like cell phones, digital cameras, or MP3 players are good examples of what this job could involve. Salaries of around eighty one thousand dollars per year are the average in the field.
- RN – A Registered Nurse rounds out the list and earns an average of between fifty and seventy five thousand dollars per year. Pay will vary based on employer and experience level, but the job is highly in demand and offers personal rewards as well as the financial ones. It’s one of the fastest growing careers, and one of the best you can choose to enter over the next several years.
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