Find your perfect college degree
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When it comes to choosing a bachelor’s degree, there are many factors that college students take into consideration.
Sometimes, students think about convenience, such as the geographic location of their prospective university, and they also consider the economic achievability or cost of their chosen degree or program. But most of the time, it’s the reward that students consider the most.
It’s understandable that the ultimate reason why students go to college is to establish a safe future. With this, university goers survey their possible earnings after graduating college. In the eyes of all college students, a great promise in terms of money can be enough to draw them toward a certain degree. The greater the income, the better.
The following are the top five top-paying bachelor’s degrees in the United States of America:
#1 Petroleum Engineering
Oil and gas are extremely valuable resources that are challenging to retrieve. Petroleum engineers come up with strategies to provide solutions and develop methods for extracting oil and gas from underground deposits, including new sources and old wells.
Petroleum engineers work in the fields of chemistry, geoscience, and physics – a bachelor’s degree in engineering, especially petroleum engineering, would qualify one to work in this field. Petroleum engineers are expected to work in either office or drilling sites, and travel is frequently required.
With an increase in the worldwide need for energy, it is expected for the number of individuals studying petroleum engineering to increase. Currently, the average wage for petroleum engineers ranges from $137,330 to $208,000 per year.
There are numerous universities in the United States that offer a degree in petroleum engineering such as the University of Texas (ranked as #2!) and Colorado School of Mines.
#2 Actuarial Mathematics
In businesses, it is common to experience business problems that involve risk and uncertainty of unplanned events. Actuaries utilize their skills in mathematics, statistics, and finance to evaluate scenarios that could lead companies into unpleasant situations.
They are responsible for determining the financial risk associated with uncertain events. Actuaries pursue a career in finance and are in charge of weighing and managing risk. Different industries such as banking, investment, finance, management, consultancy, and insurance are always in demand for these kinds of positions.
Persons involved in actuarial mathematics should expect to earn around $111,030 to $196,010 annually. The University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pennsylvania are a few of the universities in the United States that offer a degree in actuarial mathematics.
#3 Actuarial Science
Individuals with degrees in actuarial science will get to enjoy an annual salary of around $83,660 to $159,560. Actuarial science involves the analysis of risk in business transactions. The primary role of an actuary is to analyze the risk of a financial transaction, minimizing the risks that the company will have to endure.
In actuarial science, they are also concerned with having to construct appropriate models for different financial and business needs, such as flood insurance, insurance claims, and pension commitments. This field is definitely suited for individuals who have taken mathematics A levels, and are interested in learning about the world of finance and insurance.
Universities in the United States that offer degrees or programs in actuarial science are Arizona State University, the University of Calgary, among others.
#4 Nuclear Engineering
Nuclear engineers are involved in research and development. Their career is centered on studying and formulating procedures, instruments, materials, and systems that are concerned with nuclear energy and radiation. These experts need extensive knowledge on all processes concerned with the production of nuclear energy, the properties of radiation, and nuclear reactions.
Their findings are used in various industries such as agriculture, science, and medicine, as seen in medical treatments that require radiation therapy. Nuclear engineers can also use their skills in greater feats, such as in the development of nuclear power sources used in ships and spacecraft.
For nuclear engineers to put their skills into practice, they are required to earn four years of experience, as well as acquire a license. Employment for nuclear engineers is expected to temporarily decline by up to 8% by 2030.
Because of nuclear energy’s high development cost, as well as concerns over safety, it is likely that nuclear engineering will be focused on industries such as medicine and the military.
Nuclear engineers earn approximately $116,140 to $185,550 per year. Those who are considering becoming nuclear engineers should look at top nuclear engineering universities like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Georgia Institute of Technology, and the University of California Berkeley.
#5 Chemical Engineering
Chemical engineers can enter various fields of expertise and can earn a whopping $108,540 to $168,960 annually, depending on their chosen career. Chemical engineers are given the duty to transform processes developed in laboratories into practical and usable applications for the production of commercial products like plastics and synthetics.
Part of their job is also to find more efficient ways to use raw materials. Taking a degree in chemical engineering doesn’t necessarily mean having to work in a laboratory. Some chemical engineers work in research and development, medicine, architecture, and food processing.
Among the best schools where one can earn a degree in chemical engineering are MIT, the University of California Berkeley, and the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Summary Points
- There are other careers that require only bachelor’s degrees that also offer promising sums of money after graduation such as dentistry, information technology, and optometry. Whatever field you are most inclined to in, there is a high-paying job that is ideal for your interests and skill set.
- Your responsibility now is to choose a college or university that offers an excellent education that will help you reach greater ranks, guaranteeing that you can earn a greater income as you progress in your chosen career.
- If you are applying for college, you may consider seeking guidance from your school’s career and guidance counseling office. The wisest thing to do is to select a career path that you already love, or can learn to love in the years to come.
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