<p>What UVA majors generally earn the highest? </p>
<p>Some national studies show that technical majors often have the highest starting salaries, but that many students with a broader education catch up later. (Except drama majors, who starve.) You might try to find some data at UVa’s career services website. i would guess Commerce, Computer Science and Engineering for starting salaries. There also are variations among the engineering disciplines. Many students in other majors go to graduate and professional school soon after their bachelors.</p>
<p>A recent comparison of long-term earnings suggested a Computer Science BS from UVA (in-state) was actually the best long-term return on investment for any college, any major, over a 20-year span. That’s assuming you pay “sticker price” of course (i.e., not accounting for net price after need-based aid).</p>
<p>I think this is the article FCCDAD references. Fun little read. </p>
<p><a href=“Which College—and Which Major—Will Make You Richest? - The Atlantic”>Which College—and Which Major—Will Make You Richest? - The Atlantic;
<p>^That’s the one. (The Atlantic in conjunction with Payscale). “But once again, for dollar-for-dollar investment, nothing beats going to the University of Virginia as an in-state student. PayScale found that a degree in business, or computer science, or engineering, or economics at UVA has a higher dollar-for-dollar return than any major at any other school in the country. Yes, better than majoring in finance at Harvard, or computer science at Stanford, or business at Berkeley, or anything at Harvey Mudd.”</p>
<p>They show UVA Computer Science (in-state) as an annual 14.3% return on investment, earning $1.239M over 20 years on a $94,300 initial cost. Pretty schweet! (Surprisingly, CS at Washington and BYU tied in 2d place at 13.6% ROI, and UMCP is tied for 4th place with Berkeley at 13.5% ROI.)</p>
<p>If you select the option to take FA into account, the ROI for UVA CS skyrockets to 22%! No other school, public or private, gives a 20% ROI, in any major.</p>
<p>I read a similar article that argued for CS from Carnegie Mellon:</p>
<p><a href=“The Best ROI? A CS Degree from Carnegie Mellon - IEEE Spectrum”>http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/at-work/tech-careers/the-best-roi-a-cs-degree-from-carnegie-mellon</a></p>
<p>Looks CS is a winner everywhere. </p>
<p>^ the link suggests best ROI, but in the article they talk about highest average reported starting salary instead, without considering how much it cost up front. This matters. As Warren Buffett could tell you, getting a $10 return on a $2 investment is MUCH better than getting a $20 return on a $10 investment.</p>
<p>Virginia actually does a study of all colleges in the state using actual income data=not Payscale self-reported info. </p>
<p>It has listings by school and major. The have also done a long-term study showing income after 20 years. Somebody else can go find that.</p>
<p><a href=“http://esm.collegemeasures.org/esm/virginia/school/profile/University-of-Virginia-Main-Campus-(VA)”>http://esm.collegemeasures.org/esm/virginia/school/profile/University-of-Virginia-Main-Campus-(VA)</a></p>
<p>I know that SEAS publishes this info every year, a google search of “UVa SEAS salaries” should get you the info. Just remember, as any data sample is, the info isn’t always the best to go. Not everyone reports, some report salaries for jobs not related to their field (i.e., I went into a (very) different industry than my major), some folks join things like Teach for America that has a meager salary but full housing/etc benefits, location pay (i.e. DC jobs are going to likely be more than a job in Alabama), and some people don’t have an official offer until after graduation.</p>
<p>Also, just my usual two cents: don’t pick a major on pay chances. You can end up in a totally different field, you can hate your major, etc etc etc.</p>
<p>“Yes, better than majoring in finance at Harvard, or computer science at Stanford, or business at Berkeley”</p>
<p>Does Harvard actually offer a finance major? That would be sad. </p>
<p>Why would it be sad? </p>
<p>Anyway, yes, money does play a big part in my decision-making. I’d rather have a degree in something which pays well and which I mildly enjoy than something I greatly enjoy but which is totally unprofitable. </p>
<p>For the record, I would major in Poli Sci if Stanford accepted me…but that’s probably not gonna happen.</p>
<p>It would be sad because rampant pre-professionalism has just about subsumed the liberal arts & sciences in American higher education. As the captioned study indicates, many if not most consider education valuable only to the extent it leads to higher earnings in subsequent years. There’s a place for everything, ideally, but the place for ‘arts & sciences’ is vanishing. Hence I tend to resist incursions. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that some majors provide enough flexibility for you to explore other interests, while other majors have a very rigid schedule that has little room for electives. When I was at UVa, I was able to take one class in almost every department in the college (except astronomy) .</p>
<p>“Anyway, yes, money does play a big part in my decision-making. I’d rather have a degree in something which pays well and which I mildly enjoy than something I greatly enjoy but which is totally unprofitable.”</p>
<p>You’re never set in stone about your career with your major. You’re much, much better off doing a major that makes you happy and land a job that makes you happy than going for something you only “mildly” enjoy. Without passion, you’ll never flourish, and it’s that passion that can accelerate your career faster than anything (trust me, I went in to an interview saying “I love aviation and want to be a part of it” and got a job that I had zero background in, and have seen others do the same in other fields). Majors don’t lead to money. Read that again: majors don’t lead to money. A solid head, good attitude, and sometimes a GPA get you a job and after that, experience, hard work, and passion gets you the rest of the way to a dream career and money. You’re going to sit in a major for four years…you might as well enjoy it. You’re going to one day sit at a desk for 8-12 hours a day…you might as well enjoy it.</p>
<p>Well, the job I actually want to pursue has little to do with a college education (filmmaking). Finance is kind of my backup field, and I generally enjoy what I’ve seen of it. </p>
<p>I mean, if I get a full-ride, I’d probably major in something which would allow me to become a speechwriter for a few years. They get paid fairly well, and I like politics. Plus, it could help get me off the ground, and it would give me time to develop my screenwriting skills, since I want to both direct and write. </p>
<p>I just realized how awkward that would be. A conservative filmmaker. LOL.</p>
<p>Are you sure about that? I have two friends that wanted to go into filmmaking and they both attended school for it and have been tirelessly following it since. One went to Wisconsin & Chapman, the other went to UGA. Another, a producer-type, went to UNC School of Arts. All studied something that had to do with film and followed on with internships, then small jobs, and now are doing fairly well (or so I can tell). College is a time to discover skills, find which ones you excel at/are passionate about, and hone them. </p>
<p>While I know I said that you don’t necessarily have to work in the field you study, you can’t expect to study arts and be an engineer. Is it possible? Sure. But it’s going to be really, really tough to convince someone that you have the skills necessary to get going. If you’re going to go the route of finance, get involved in as many film-oriented activities/clubs as possible to gain experience. Maybe go for a double major in writing and finance, or do finance as a minor (which would be useful for any career).</p>
<p>I don’t want to rain on your parade, I just want to give you my take on experiences that I’ve had. I stayed within the engineering realm, had prior systems engineer practice, and knew at least the operational background of the field I went into. Getting a finance degree and hoping to be a director/writer one day is quite optimistic, they’re very different fields. </p>
<p>If filmmaking/writing is your passion, go after it. You’ll not only focus studies on it and do well, but you’ll gain way more exposure to skills, opportunities, and experiences as a film student than a finance student. </p>
<p>@shoebox10 Engineering requires qualifications. Directing does not. The vast majority of successful filmmakers were uneducated (something I do not want to be); they didn’t go to college and just honed their craft on their own time, something which I will do as soon as I finish college (as well as during college, through clubs and maybe a Film minor, since there is no Film major).</p>
<p>Keep in mind that none of the schools I have a good chance of getting into without going broke offer Film majors. Maybe I’ll do Political Science & Finance, with a Film minor. Or maybe Political Science & English, with a Film minor. I don’t know. But I know of one college where I have a high chance of getting a full-ride, and if I get accepted there, I’m going without hesitation.</p>