<p>I know I could Google this, but I'd also like to hear thoughts from you guys. I have no major right now and I'm deciding to choose it based on the amount of money I'd make. I am going to be drowning in debt when I'm done with college and I just want to be set financially. </p>
<p>I don't want to know what majors pay the most with just a bachelors degree though. I plan on, without a doubt, going to graduate school when I'm done with college. Whether that's law school, medical school, business school, I don't know. & I'm not being nonchalant about it or acting like these are all easy feats. I make straight A's and I'm interested in a million different things, so I think I would be happy in a lot of different careers.</p>
<p>Don't even mention any type of engineering. My school doesn't offer any engineering degrees and I'm not that torn up about it, so lets think of other careers. :)</p>
<p>Some attorneys make more than MD’s and some MD’s make more than attorneys. </p>
<p>Going to business school straight from undergrad is unwise. You will have nothing to apply the material to and won’t be able to contribute to class projects like your peers who have years of work experience behind them - plus most of us have employers who are paying the tuition, so think about that.</p>
<p>Currently the market for attorneys is down, but that could change. </p>
<p>Becoming an MD is a long process and overall requires the most amount of time, which is the real unspoken cost.</p>
<p>If you are seeking a high paying career, go with finance. You could get a good paying job right of out school and after a few years go get your MBA, and most likely have your company pay for it.</p>
<p>Unless you really want to go to law school or medical school, I’d wait a few years to go to graduate school.</p>
<p>Engineering is definitely not the highest paying career out there. And with engineering, after 10-20 years you start to become useless since technology changes very rapidly (in all fields of engineering), and employers will always be preferring younger graduates who have studied and have knowledge of the more up-to-date technology. This is even referenced in Office Space. And I also have experience with this in my family- my dad was a successful engineer, but after he turned 40, the company was downsizing. Even though he was one of the best engineers there, the company let him go and preferred to keep the younger people. Oh and engineering is being outsourced like crazy these days (a couple fields are exceptions though).</p>
<p>Anyways, finance/business pays a lot but you might not have much job security (if the economy slumps there will be downsizing and layoffs).</p>
<p>As far as JDs and MDs, they both are safe jobs (MD little more than JD). If you just decide to become a general doctor (internal/family medicine or something basic) then you probably won’t make as much as a lawyer. But if you manage to get into a high paying specialty (anesthesiology, radiology, neurosurgery, cardiac surgery, etc.) then you’ll definitely make more money than a lawyer. But getting into those specialties is not easy (even for straight A students)</p>
<p>littlesurfergirl: what school do you go to? This might help us better figure out which would be a “higher paying career” graduating from your school.</p>
<p>i agree that engineering is far from the best paying, but is completely untrue. you don’t learn much about recent technology in engineering school (I go to a top school and i’ve almost graduated). you learn the fundamental science (thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, math, etc.) which is many decades, if not centuries old. There is very little difference in the education of an engineering graduate today compared to 10 years ago. The biggest differences would be with software (matlab, programming courses, CAD programs, etc.) which can easily be learned on the job. most of what you learn in engineering you learn after school. you don’t learn how to be a real engineer while in school. you just develop a foundation to build off of.</p>
<p>Professional athletes; hands down.
Or, if you’re currently attending Harvard, drop out. I know there are quite a few wealthy Harvard drop outs out there.</p>
<p>oh, and the reason they let your dad go is probably because his salary was much higher than a new grad. they push you into management after a while for that reason. they don’t want to pay you a lot to do something that a young guy can do for cheaper.</p>
<p>How are they incompatible? Yes, I will have debt after my undergrad degree. However I plan on deferring paying my loans back until I finish graduate school. I know I’ll be digging myself deeper, but I have to do what I have to do. I’m not going to not go to grad school because I have loans to pay back. I’ll deal with them later, because right now school is my priority.</p>
<p>From what I’ve heard patent lawyers start out at about 160K from a top 14 school. You’ll need like a Physics or Chemistry undergrad degree if you don’t do engineering though. That’s probably the best.</p>
<p>Entertainment (A List Actors, establish Musicians, Producers, major Movie Directors), Professional Athletes, Supermodel. But these are hard to get, and don’t require a college degree. </p>
<p>Engineering, but it’s not a career that can last, most are out by their late 30s. Women have it harder. </p>
<p>Doctor, surgeons make the most upwards of $500,000. </p>
<p>Lawyer, very hard to get the higher paying one since there’s way to many lawyers</p>
<p>Investment Banking, highly stressful, but very hard to get into. You have to be the top of your class, and go to Wharton, Harvard, Princeton, or Colombia. </p>
<p>^Surgeons actually have a lower average in general if you aren’t talking about specifics… 500k+ is the cardiologist and neurologist salary realm. </p>
<p>Quantitative investing seems to be less stressful than investment banking.</p>
<p>I don’t get why the OP is so set on going to graduate school when she doesn’t even know what she wants to do yet. </p>
<p>Going to grad school isn’t always a good financial decision. First, she needs to figure out what career she wants, then figure out if a graduate degree is needed.</p>
<p>The US World and News Report lists fields by salary.</p>
<p>Most high paying jobs are in the private secter and are at the top of the related field.
Among the highest earners are corporate Chairman, CEOs and CFOs, Individuals who start their own companies and are bought out by other companies or have large stock offerings, Movie Actors and Actresses, TV Actors, Personalities, News Personalities, Professional Sport Figures in Golf, Football, Baseball, Ice hockey and basketball.</p>
<p>Individuals working in certain capacities for the major financial organizations and banks continue to do well (Solamon Brothers, Fidelity, J P Morgan Chase etc). Other financial services including Investment Fund managers do quite well.</p>
<p>The next echelon are professionals including Lawyers especially Trial Lawyers, Physicians, Dentists, Pharmacists, Accountants and Insurance brokers.</p>
<p>CEOs and owners of big businesses, etc. do make more then doctors but thats like 1 in 1 million (like if your the owner of McDonalds) more than likely youll own a small business and be paid nothing -.-</p>