Thomson Reuters
Sometimes you have to wait until you've got some experience under your belt before you see a substantial payoff.
PayScale recently looked at salary data from this year's College Salary Report and analyzed the difference between starting (less than five years of experience) and mid-career (10 or more years of experience) pay by college major.
While salary-growth potential shouldn't necessarily encourage students to pursue a particular major, it's an important consideration to make when thinking about the future.
Here are the 18 college majors with the greatest increases in wage between early- and mid-career.
18. Meteorology
A common job: Meteorologist
Starting median pay: $43,600
Mid-career median pay: $82,700
Increase in pay: $39,100 / 90%
17. Marketing and management
Common jobs: Marketing manager, marketing coordinator, marketing director
Starting median pay: $44,700
Mid-career median pay: $84,800
Increase in pay: $40,100 / 90%
16. Agribusiness
Common jobs: Staff accountant, credit analyst, executive director
Starting median pay: $43,200
Mid-career median pay: $83,100
Increase in pay: $39,900 / 92%
15. Biology and chemistry
Common jobs: Quality assurance manager, chemist, medical/clinical laboratory technologist
Starting median pay: $41,500
Mid-career median pay: $79,900
Increase in pay: $38,400 / 93%
14. Advertising
Common jobs: Marketing coordinator, marketing manager, graphic designer
Starting median pay: $41,400
Mid-career median pay: $79,800
Increase in pay: $38,400 / 93%
13. Technical theatre
Common jobs: Technical director, lighting designer, carpenter
Starting median pay: $35,100
Mid-career median pay: $67,700
Increase in pay: $32,600 / 93%
12. Broadcast communication
Common jobs: Film/video editor, marketing manager, video producer
Starting median pay: $35,600
Mid-career median pay: $68,700
Increase in pay: $33,100 / 93%
11. Actuarial science
Common jobs: Actuary, actuarial analyst, financial analyst
Starting median pay: $60,800
Mid-career median pay: $119,000
Increase in pay: $58,200 / 96%
10. Physics
Common jobs: Software developer, senior software engineer, project engineer
Starting median pay: $55,100
Mid-career median pay: $108,000
Increase in pay: $52,900 / 96%
9. Applied mathematics
Common jobs: Software developer, data analyst, senior software engineer
Starting median pay: $56,100
Mid-career median pay: $110,000
Increase in pay: $53,900 / 96%
8. Physics and mathematics
Common jobs: Data analyst, software developer
Starting median pay: $56,200
Mid-career median pay: $111,000
Increase in pay: $54,800 / 98%
7. Molecular biology
Common jobs: Research technician, research associate, chemist
Starting median pay: $45,500
Mid-career median pay: $90,100
Increase in pay: $44,600 / 98%
6. Government and politics
Common jobs: Paralegal/legal assistant, marketing manager, management consultant
Starting median pay: $44,600
Mid-career median pay: $90,400
Increase in pay: $45,800/103%
5. Marketing and international business
Common jobs: Marketing manager, marketing director, marketing specialist
Starting median pay: $45,400
Mid-career median pay: $94,800
Increase in pay: $49,400 / 109%
4. Government
Common jobs: Paralegal/legal assistant, marketing manager, account executive
Starting median pay: $49,600
Mid-career median pay: $105,000
Increase in pay: $55,400 / 112%
3. Biochemistry and molecular biology
Common jobs: Research technician, research scientist, research associate
Starting median pay: $46,000
Mid-career median pay: $97,500
Increase in pay: $51,500 / 112%
2. Telecommunications
Common jobs: Marketing director, film/video editor, video producer
Starting median pay: $40,800
Mid-career median pay: $87,100
Increase in pay: $46,300 / 113%
1. Aviation management
A common job: Aviation/aerospace program manager
Starting median pay: $41,900
Mid-career median pay: $90,200
Increase in pay: $48,300 / 115%
Find out how your salary stacks up on PayScale.
