Looking for Best Paid Jobs in US? Here Are Top 10 Bachelor Degrees

The choice of an education degree can have a big impact on the future salary. Engineering topped the list of highest-paying bachelor degrees in the US, according to PayScale, a provider of executive compensation data.

In fact, out of the top five highest-paying bachelor degrees, only one – actuarial mathematics – was not associated with engineering, says PayScale’s 2015-2016 College Salary Report which ranks over 1,000 schools by salary potential.

Actuarial mathematics was ranked third based on mid-career pay of $119,000 per year. Mid-career pay refers to median salary for alumni with degrees in a particular subject with 10-plus years of work experience.

Petroleum engineering topped the list with mid-career pay of $168,000. It also topped the list in terms of early career pay with average pay of $101,000. Early career pay refers to median salary for alumni with degrees in a particular subject with up to five years of work experience.

Nuclear engineering ($121,000), chemical engineering ($118,000) and electronics & communications engineering ($116,000) were the other high-paying degrees in the top 5 of PayScale’s rankings.

The sample considered for the 2015-2016 College Salary report was 1.4 million college graduates. Only employees who possess a bachelor’s degree and no higher degrees are included in this study. This means bachelor’s degree graduates who went on to earn a master’s degree – MBA, MD, JD, PhD, or other advanced degrees – have not been included.

According to PayScale, here are the top 10 highest-paying bachelor degrees in the US, based on mid-career pay.

(Source: PayScale)