College majors with biggest paychecks

    5:22 PM, Aug 23, 2012   |    comments
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    NEW YORK (CNN) - If you're headed off to college, but unsure what to study, listen up.

    A new study lists the majors that lead to the highest paychecks.

    With tuition prices soaring, and student debt at an all-time high, many college students are looking for careers with a big paycheck right after graduation.

    The Collage Majors Handbook, a published study led by Drexel University researchers, says it helps if you've got a nose for numbers.

    Math and science related majors have the highest average salaries for people straight out of school. Pre-med grads topped the list, with median pay of $100,000.

    That's versus median pay of $54,000 for all majors with a full-time major in 2010.

    Engineering, pharmacy, and computer science grads also pulled in paychecks that were significantly higher.

    So what if you're not a math and science kind of student? The college majors handbook says salary isn't the only payoff.

    History majors, who make well less than the median number, report having higher job satisfaction that most other grads. The same is true for many liberal arts degrees like English.

    Regardless of concentration, the average employee with a bachelor's degree earned 80 percent more than someone with a high school diploma.

    From med school to liberal art school, consider it a good investment.

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